There is so much talk now a days in the car scene about having either real wheels or fake wheels. People who dont spend $3000 or more on real ones get looked down on and talked crap about. Whats your opinion of people who ride on replicas?

 

Depends. If it's your show car, then yes. I'd also hate on you if it was full of ebay knockoff crap parts. If it's just your beater and you want a cheap set of wheels to replace the stockers, then I wouldn't hate on them much.

 

Yeah there seem to be more and more cars with $4k+ wheels "ET Perfect" with 5°+ of camber lately. Don't let it rile ya up though. I've heard more crap talk about over priced wheels this past year than reps to be honest.



To answer your question though, I guess sometimes I will "hate" on reps. My only problem is Reps of common aftermarket wheels seems ridiculous.



Quick Example: The plethora of BBS RS/LM reps currently sold.



Sure there is a premium now because everybody thinks their the sh*t, but a set of old RS can be had for relatively cheap. Some people on Craigslist don't know what they are other than old aftermarket wheels. A friend of mine bought a set of 5 18" BBS LM for $450 on a facebook group.

You can always look for used wheels, some people just want to get rid of them and you can get a good price on some cool old wheels. I bought a set of late 70's Porsche 911 32 bolt race wheels for $750, and a set of hard to find 16" Epsilon wheels for $800 shipped. Deals are out there for some cool wheels, just gotta look a bit harder.



I'm not saying reps are all junk, and nobody should buy them. I'm running a set of Reps right now, 2 years running pretty solid, no bends, only the finish is starting to show wear. The OEM Style wheels I wanted were never mass produced, so this was the only option I found to get the wheels I wanted. I've still never seen another set in my size.



TLR

I'd much rather buy some cool used wheels for a little extra, than some average reps of already common wheels. Less common reps get a pass in my book tho.

 

I have reps on the Genesis (ESM's) but I dont really care. NY isn't exactly the best for modified cars since our roads suck so bad but if you watch how you drive and pay attention, you'll be ok. I like how they look on the car (way better than the stockers), and the fact that I got them at such a cheap price....it would have been stupid to NOT buy them. At some point, I probably will get some nice real ones, but for now...I'm content with what I have.

 

buy what you like and who cares what people think or say.

 

^^Exactly. Well put.

 

Problem with the people who buy them? Nope. Problem with the entire thieving Chinese economy and the fact that the US Gov't seems to have no interest in stopping this business by impounding fake goods at the port? Yep.

 

Here's a question:



What's considered a "Fake" wheel, and how do you spot one without also knowing which one is the real deal? Is it the brand? Is it a minimum price tag?

 

I'd say "Rep" "Replica" is a better way to put it. "Fake" just sounds wrong, I mean a wheel is a wheel how can it be a fake wheel?



Basically I'd consider a Rep as anything that isn't the original manufacturers design, and I'll give ya a few examples



Lets talk Mesh wheels

BBS for example has the RA, RM, and RS along with many more.

SSR has the SSR Formula Mesh



ESM Wheels has the 002R which is a Copy/Rep of the BBS RS

Axis Wheels had the OG Sans which is a Copy of the SSR Formula Mesh



Off the Mesh wheels, onto others

Avant Garde M240 which is a one piece replica of the OZ Future 3 piece wheel

Wagen Wheels CS1 is a replica of the 3 piece OZ Turbo



Then you have the Miro 111, VMR v710, 3SDM 0.01, Avant Garde M310, Alzor 349. Nobody really cares if these are "Real" because most don't know what real is... I have no clue



There are ways to tell the differences between the real deal and the reps, I'm not 100% sure of them all. Brand name on the Center cap, Example. The material finish is a good hint on if they are Real or Reps, but they could have been painted or just good reps. BBS RS center caps spin off, some replicas do the same, some snap into place. The Valve stem placement can give away some replica wheels, the Original manufacturer places them in specific spots. Specific markings like a BBS Logo in the wheel face

 

So, what you're saying is, even though you've done a ton of research and know a lot of brands, it's still difficult to know what's a rep?



Don't you think that means you should go easy on people who haven't wasted their time doing hours of research in order to chose a wheel?