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Has anyone bought a set of BMW 'knock off' unbranded replica wheels? The ones that every man and his dog are selling on the 'Bay.
If so, any good?
With the cost of OEMs being £4,000 a set, I'm really tempted by the £200 a corner reps but worry about the strength.

Pondrew wrote: Thu Nov 03, 2022 9:48 pm Has anyone bought a set of BMW 'knock off' unbranded replica wheels? The ones that every man and his dog are selling on the 'Bay.
If so, any good?
With the cost of OEMs being £4,000 a set, I'm really tempted by the £200 a corner reps but worry about the strength.

I was thinking the same,if the strength is there?
I wouldn't want them on my z, rather buy a known aftermarket brand instead (if not buying BMW o.e)

There's been rep wheels produced for 25 years. Are they worse than ever they were? I had a set of E36 M3 knock offs many years ago and they were fine.

No idea what they're like these days but considering that various BMW wheels aren't well regarded for longevity, I don't think I'd be worried as long as they went thru balancing without a tonne of lead attached to them.

smorris_12 wrote: Fri Nov 04, 2022 12:32 am No idea what they're like these days but considering that various BMW wheels aren't well regarded for longevity, I don't think I'd be worried as long as they went thru balancing without a tonne of lead attached to them.

That's my thinking. So many "BMW" wheels are terrible quality, I don't see any advantage in spending the extra thousands. BMW don't make wheels anyway, they are all out-sourced.

I have been doing quite a bit of research. It looks like CM Wheels own several 'brands' of wheels. I presume they import Chinese unbranded wheels, then market them as 'branded'. It's the perceived quality and obviously higher price that I am wary of. Difficult to separate the wheat from the chaff nowadays.

It worked for Alan Sugar and the like, so why not?

Buy British and support the empire, that"s what I say. God save the queen.

Veemans are great quality and usually reasonably priced

Was just going to echo the sentiments that I’ve had several new BMWs with wheels made of cheese

Apparently it’s our roads that are the problem according to bmw

mr.tourette wrote: Fri Nov 04, 2022 11:59 am Veemans are great quality and usually reasonably priced

I just can't find any Veeman's I like. I've looked at EVERYTHING (below a certain price) and still keep coming back to the BMW style replicas.

bigwinn wrote: Fri Nov 04, 2022 12:03 pm Was just going to echo the sentiments that I’ve had several new BMWs with wheels made of cheese

Apparently it’s our roads that are the problem according to bmw

So surely it makes sense to buy cheap wheels that break, rather than expensive ones that break, no?

Pondrew wrote: Fri Nov 04, 2022 12:54 pm

bigwinn wrote: Fri Nov 04, 2022 12:03 pm Was just going to echo the sentiments that I’ve had several new BMWs with wheels made of cheese

Apparently it’s our roads that are the problem according to bmw

So surely it makes sense to buy cheap wheels that break, rather than expensive ones that break, no?

Agreed

I bought some Atomic CSL replicas from BM Autosport for not much more than £600 earlier in the year. I am pleased with the finish on them and so far have had no problems. I found BM Autosport helpful and good to deal with.

IRD wrote: Fri Nov 04, 2022 5:31 pm I bought some Atomic CSL replicas from BM Autosport for not much more than £600 earlier in the year. I am pleased with the finish on them and so far have had no problems. I found BM Autosport helpful and good to deal with.

Very shiny there, Sir!
I have looked at BM Autosport but they don't have anything that really floats my boat. Same with CM wheels, they used to sell the wheels I want but not anymore. Only people selling through eBay have them, which also makes me a bit dubious.

When I was involved in sourcing parts / placing manufacturing in China there was for most products at least 3 levels of what appeared to be the same product….a version that was on par with something you would expect to see from Germany / Japan… a middle level analogous to a rust belt built product and a third version that was not expected to be used frequently and/or to an exacting level..

The problem with an eBay type purchase you don’t know whether you are getting a level 2 or level 3 product…

Having said that the technology behind wheels is not particularly revolutionary and s long as they err on the side of more metal then they are probably ok…

Personally hammering around a bumpy corner with potholes at high speed in a no name product doesn’t fill me with joy…

B21 wrote: Fri Nov 04, 2022 6:03 pm the technology behind wheels is not particularly revolutionary

Surely revolutionary is the one thing they all have to be?

B21 wrote: Fri Nov 04, 2022 6:03 pm Personally hammering around a bumpy corner with potholes at high speed in a no name product doesn’t fill me with joy…

Me neither, Peter, especially as I'm looking at 20" with lower profile tyres. And there in lies my quandary. BUT are the 'so-called' branded items with brand names no-one has ever heard of any better?

Another side problem I am having is finding matching front and rear tyres of the sizes I need. 235/35/20 and 275/30/20. I have found only PS4S come in both those sizes so far. And the cost is over £1,100 for the 4!!