Cheap wheels

1986pacecar · 03-31-2011, 12:36 PM

I'm a novice when it comes to wheels and wanted opinions on some of the vendors that sell nice looking wheels so cheaply. Can you really get a well built, quality wheel set for $500? On ebay there are so many vendors selling complete 18 or 19 inch wheel sets for so little it makes me wonder how they do it. What wheels I have bought in the past were always original equipment wheels and for the price of one good set of used BMW wheels I can get two from the ebay sellers. How is that possible? Thanks.

psre08 · 03-31-2011, 04:06 PM

The short answer is: no

Remember that you have 2 tons of car resting on four circular pieces of metal that take abuse day in, day out. You get what you pay for. Cheap rims are made cheaply and will likely bend, buckle or crack under pressure.

For a good wheel and tire set you should probably budget $1k for the rims (or less if on sale or used) and another $1k for the tires.

MassBimmer · 03-31-2011, 08:02 PM

No - with that said, by far one of the best VALUES for your money are VMR wheels...18" and 19" sets will run less than $1k. People mention that gravity casting (the process VMR uses) is an inferior process but, after running 15k miles on my set, I absolutely love them. A great quality wheel

hipnotic · 04-01-2011, 12:13 PM

plus one can't go wrong with vmr or lc

Gavin@MMW · 04-01-2011, 12:20 PM

Ive owned 2 sets of VMR's, never bent one or cracked one, and they really served me well. Ive also had 2 sets of Varrstoens, and again - awesome wheels. (currently running them still)

LC I have never owned, but I hear good things about them from a lot of members, Avant Garde will be my next set of rims I think, so again - great wheels and they have a lot of positive feedback form the members Ive installed them on

Ghost170 · 04-01-2011, 03:07 PM

quality of wheels determine the strength. More expensive but strong are forged wheels. Unfortunately, I have bent a few rep wheels, so decided to go 3 piece forged. I'd just say, watch out for potholes!

03-31-2011, 12:36 PM	#1
1986pacecar Enlisted Member 0 Rep 48 Posts Drives: 2014 320i Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: PA iTrader: (0)	Cheap wheels I'm a novice when it comes to wheels and wanted opinions on some of the vendors that sell nice looking wheels so cheaply. Can you really get a well built, quality wheel set for $500? On ebay there are so many vendors selling complete 18 or 19 inch wheel sets for so little it makes me wonder how they do it. What wheels I have bought in the past were always original equipment wheels and for the price of one good set of used BMW wheels I can get two from the ebay sellers. How is that possible? Thanks.
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03-31-2011, 04:06 PM	#2
psre08 Second Lieutenant 12 Rep 204 Posts Drives: 330i E90 & 330Ci E46 Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Ottawa iTrader: (3)	The short answer is: no Remember that you have 2 tons of car resting on four circular pieces of metal that take abuse day in, day out. You get what you pay for. Cheap rims are made cheaply and will likely bend, buckle or crack under pressure. For a good wheel and tire set you should probably budget $1k for the rims (or less if on sale or used) and another $1k for the tires.
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03-31-2011, 08:02 PM	#3
MassBimmer Major General 306 Rep 7,433 Posts Drives: 2023 i4 M50 Join Date: May 2009 Location: MA iTrader: (6) Garage List 2009 BMW [9.24]	No - with that said, by far one of the best VALUES for your money are VMR wheels...18" and 19" sets will run less than $1k. People mention that gravity casting (the process VMR uses) is an inferior process but, after running 15k miles on my set, I absolutely love them. A great quality wheel
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04-01-2011, 12:13 PM	#4
hipnotic Major General 149 Rep 6,604 Posts Drives: e92 335i Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: So. Cal iTrader: (7) Garage List 2008 335i coupe [7.00]	plus one can't go wrong with vmr or lc __________________
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04-01-2011, 12:20 PM	#5
Gavin@MMW Brigadier General 406 Rep 3,879 Posts Drives: MMW Supercharged E90 328i Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: 818/805 iTrader: (18)	Ive owned 2 sets of VMR's, never bent one or cracked one, and they really served me well. Ive also had 2 sets of Varrstoens, and again - awesome wheels. (currently running them still) LC I have never owned, but I hear good things about them from a lot of members, Avant Garde will be my next set of rims I think, so again - great wheels and they have a lot of positive feedback form the members Ive installed them on
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04-01-2011, 03:07 PM	#6
Ghost170 Brigadier General 89 Rep 3,355 Posts Drives: VIP Sport 335! Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: N CA iTrader: (8) Garage List 2007 BMW e92 335! [6.34]	quality of wheels determine the strength. More expensive but strong are forged wheels. Unfortunately, I have bent a few rep wheels, so decided to go 3 piece forged. I'd just say, watch out for potholes! __________________ *07 E92 335!* AA AE GP HR LC M3 KW BMS BMW LUX CYBA STRI WORK HELIX MTECH LSWEEE(Wavetrac)!
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