Replica Wheels, Factory Reproduction Wheels & OE Style Wheels

Replica Wheels: More than Copycats

There’s a reason they call some cars “hot wheels.” Indeed, a lot of a car’s looks have to do with its wheels. But authentic wheels don’t come cheap, with many priced upwards of $1,000. This is the reason why so many car owners look to replica wheels that look every bit like the original as a much cheaper alternative to sprucing up their rides without cleaning out their bankbooks.

Sure, some people will say nothing beats originals. But come to think of it, how many car manufacturers actually make the wheels they mount on their vehicles? Probably fewer than you can count on a hand. Most of them contract other manufacturers to make their wheels for them and then just stamp their names on. That is why wheels made by these contractors are called original equipment manufacturer or OEM wheels, or factory wheels or sometimes OE wheels.

So, basically, what you will be buying, for a much, much cheaper price, when you order OE wheels are not some substandard knockoffs but actually the very same wheels that, say, come with a newly purchased Mercedes, Audi, or BMW. This makes them really great backups or replacements for damaged wheels.

However, it is also good to remember that, a cheaper set of replica wheels may sound like a great bargain, price shouldn’t be the only consideration. As with anything else, the dictum you get what you pay for also applies to wheels. But with wheels, buying a set of cheap lemons could prove much more costly in the end.

We’re talking here of the increasing ranks of small outfits that manufacture replicas of OE wheels. Very often, these inferior replicas are easy to spot because they will have blemishes you’d never find in factory wheels or quality replica wheels. This is because they are most often gravity cast, which simply involves aluminum or steel into a mold and is the cheapest method. Wheels made this way tend not to fit well and are almost always weak, heavy and more likely to bend or crack. You could end up with damage not just to the wheel but to your car. Worse, if your car is still under warranty, your dealer might void it.

A good rule of thumb is to be wary when being offered wheels that purportedly fit several models by changing offsets, wheel widths and other features. Most likely, these will be inferior.

Thus, it is a good idea to do some research and apply some diligence when choosing OE wheels. This holds true especially for the ever popular aftermarket chrome wheels. Chrome-plating wheels are a complicated process that takes several stages to do properly. Badly made, they tend to chip and fade very quickly. Although many car manufacturers now offer chrome wheels on some models of the vehicles they roll out, many OE wheels never came out in chrome versions. This had led to chrome-plating becoming one of the fastest growing components of the car accessories industry.

While there are lots of replica wheels vendors online, the best way to choose a really good set is to go visit a dealer, where you can see, touch and judge whether the wheels you are thinking of getting are the right ones.