Aftermarket Alloy Wheels

[nibose]

Hi,

I've been noticing several sellers listing Golf alloy wheels that are a replica of the OEM wheels. Has anyone got any experience with these wheels?

I'd like to upgrade my alloys, though I prefer the OEM design, open to aftermarket designs as well; which are the decent brands to go with? What about shops such as bobjane etc?

I'm worried about the aftermarket alloys being heavier and/or brittle.


Please suggest.

regards,

Nitin

[Trentm]

Hi,

I've been noticing several sellers listing Golf alloy wheels that are a replica of the OEM wheels. Has anyone got any experience with these wheels?

I'd like to upgrade my alloys, though I prefer the OEM design, open to aftermarket designs as well; which are the decent brands to go with? What about shops such as bobjane etc?

I'm worried about the aftermarket alloys being heavier and/or brittle.


Please suggest.

regards,

Nitin

Rotiform while not OEM looking have some good designs. I like the KPS.

[Dutch77]

Avoid OEM reps - they will be of poor quality and the firms that sell them do not have your interests in mind. Some of these places are selling a set of 4 with tyres for not much more than a single quality rim.. you get what you pay for.

Depending on your budget, and requirements, I'd be looking at:

1. Set of quality after market rims
2. Set of second hand quality after market rims or the OEM rims you are after

Obviously the latter does come with its own risks, but people are always swapping around and some good bargains can be had if you keep your eye on the adverts.

Rotiform cast wheels are heavy but reliable, and big in the VW scene so worth a look. Also a benefit of being fairly cheap compared to some of the higher end players.

[Lucas_R]

VMR is a decent brand and make a good range of wheels to suit Audi/VW at a decent price. I had a set of VMR V705 5 spoke rims on my Mk6 GTI and they were great. And a mate of mine has had a set of VMR V701 multi spoke rims on his Mk7 R for about 4-5 years now.

As others have mentioned, try to avoid those "Tempe Tyres" type shops that predominantly sell garbage at rock bottom prices.

Mars Performance are one of the Australian distributors for VMR wheels: Products | Mars Performance

[Guest001]

Gumtree have a fair few on there, some advertised as genuine VW rims

[nibose]

I've been to VMR site; the cost is quite reasonable. How is the weight and durability?

Any other brands worth considering?

I did come across a Golf-R OEM wheels for sale on Perth VW Group but was too late.

[Lucas_R]

I've been to VMR site; the cost is quite reasonable. How is the weight and durability?

Any other brands worth considering?

I did come across a Golf-R OEM wheels for sale on Perth VW Group but was too late.

The VMR's are cast wheels (same as all normal/generic wheels) so they are not lightweight wheels. You need to pay big bucks (at least double or triple) if you want a lighter wheel.

As for quality - I am very fussy with my cars and I was more than happy with them. I had them for about 2 years before i sold the car and they still looked great - no damage or issues.

TSW and Koya are two other brands to look at.

[nibose]

The VMR's are cast wheels (smae as all normal/generic wheels) so they are not lightweight wheels. You need to pay big bucks (at least double or triple) if you want a lighter wheel.

TSW and Koya are two other brands to look at.

I'm okay as long as the quality and weight is equal to OEM.

[Dutch77]

As Lucas said, the VMRs a good compromise on a budget.

Note that some VMRs now come flowformed as well which makes them a bit lighter than some of the other older wheels in the range for not much more.

Another one to look out for is Neuspeed, they are to the Mk7 what VMR was to the Mk6 - harder to come by here reliably compared to the USA where they dominated the Mk7 scene, but strong and light for the price.

Otherwise I have a bent for OZ.. and I can't argue with BBS on a Golf either.

[Fastygolf7half]

Highly recommend Enkei and SSR wheels, much cost-effective and stronger.

18 and 19 inch wheels are generally About AU$1800.

unless you are after forged wheels such as OZ and BBS ( recently bankrupted) which are priced between AU$2700-4000

DO NOT buy any OEM wheels…

[Dutch77]

Yep, agreed on Enkei and well priced in Australia unlike some others.

BBS has filed for bankruptcy protection in Germany but this won't impact production fortunately.

If OP can find a set of good condition second hand OEM wheels though that suits needs, no problems there either.

[bgroper]

Please forgive my display of totally subjective personal prejudice.
I do happen to rather like the Audi S3 wheels on my Mk7 R.
Sorry 'bout that.
YMMV

[Golf R 2020]

... DO NOT buy any OEM wheels…

Why not OEM?

[Dutch77]

Why not OEM?

OEM is fine unless you're looking to drop some weight for a performance application (although very few look any good these days.. but I appreciate that is subjective). With the exception of the 19" Pretoria OEMs are generally quite heavy but the flipside is they're strong (again, minus the 19" Pretoria) and make good second hand value (definitely excluding the 19" Pretoria).

[tigger73]

... DO NOT buy any OEM wheels…

Why not OEM?

I think Fasty's referring to the cheap OEM copies. There was a big expose of this done a while back by Mercedes/Holden and tested the OEM wheels vs. the cheap knock-offs. The cheap copies basically shattered when they hit a pothole.

There's several articles written around the same tests but do your research and only buy genuine (second-hand genuine) rather than cheap knock-offs which often use inferior casting processes and don't have the same strength.

Link to one article here: Why you shouldn’t buy knock-off wheels