Are non OEM alloy wheels any good?

[BigAl5]

I've seen a flood of replica alloys on the market that are sub £900 for a set of 4 compared with more than £2K - £4K for the original OEM versions. I know you generally get what you pay for but there are some exceptions in life.

Have any of you fitted these to your Audi and are they any good? Appreciate your advice, thanks.

[Joe2.0E]

I would steer clear of replicas, they are often of chinese origin and prone to cracking/disintegrating if you hit a bad pothole.
OEM will also be more desirable when you come to sell.

[1781cc]

Agree, replicas are a bad idea, but non OEM other reputable manufacturer wheels are also ok, some companies used to be suppliers to audi anyway, think Ronal, Borbet, etc... depends on the look you are going for.

[Johnmed]

Originally Posted by 1781cc

Agree, replicas are a bad idea, but non OEM other reputable manufacturer wheels are also ok, some companies used to be suppliers to audi anyway, think Ronal, Borbet, etc... depends on the look you are going for.

I’d ‘steer’ clear of replicas, but yeah other wheel makers are good. I wonder if they’re any better? From reading forums and personal experience I have found Audi alloy wheels pretty soft. Don’t know if that’s because of suspension stiffness or what but A8 and A2 alloy wheels seem to be made of cheese.

[paulrstaylor]

Back in the day some 10 years ago I bent a OEM wheel on my first S4 on a pot-hole..... at the time it was cheaper to buy a full set of new style RS4 replicas than one OEM replacement, so not wanting to trust a straightened and welded repair I chanced the replicas.

They were fine, good finish, good fit (needed a spigot ring and different bolts, which were supplied in the cost). They did the next 60k miles (fuel was cheaper) and when I sold the car the dealer asked me to leave them on!

The supplier had wrapped my original wheels in plastic packaging for me, so when I bought by D3 and wanted some winter wheels, noticing that the B6 S4 wheel was the OWN size for D3 winters I got them out. Welded, powder coated and new tyres they served as my winter wheels for a number of years refurbished on my D3, doing easily over 50k. They ran true and straight, no wobble, no issues. I sold the car, the wheels went to a D2 owner last year!

What I learn was that not all replicas are bad. Not all welded repairs will fail. Many people on the internet say both will kill you, they may be right, but not always

The supplier of my reps was https://www.wheelbasealloys.com/, but please do your own research and talk to the supplier and look at the rims, a lot can change in 10 years

[tintin]

I had a set of 18" replicas of 9 spoke D2 S8 20" FE alloys on mine as winters and they were/still are just fine.

I had them on for three years until I got hold of a set of genuine W12 D2 alloys last year, so not all replicas are dodgy...