Copy Alloys

[tirone]

What are your views on the copy cat rims around? especially the hsv ones. Are they actually built properly?

[planetdavo]

The price and the countries of origin should give you a hint.
Unless they are from a major company with a good warranty, be very aware. Also make sure they actually meet our design rules, as failure to do so could void your insurance, not to mention possibly putting your life at risk from a fatigue failure due to poor design and/or alloy quality.
There is a saying in life. YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR!

[tirone]

Yeah thats what i was wondering about the safety side of things. There is a place called wheels direct that have copies that look real

[planetdavo]

Yeah, I've seen them on ebay. They used to title their ads to give the impression they were genuine, but I'd say a complaint was made, so now they they say HSV or Monaro "style", or something like that. I'd ask some questions if you are interested.

[Wonky]

See sponsor's websites for good prices on genuine rims eg. www.wheelking.com.au and www.holmart.com.au. Payless Tyres, another sponsor on here, has great prices on other rims too - my XHP 20s were far cheaper from there than from anyone else - great service too!

[LS1TOY]

i bought a set:vpo: then they were balanced, ive never seen so much weight put on a wheel. personally i would steer clear.
Jake,

[Crispy]

dude i would say they would have to meet some sort of specs australia wise for safety but they do take weight when balancing and personally id rather go for an after maket rim
like XHP, ROH, Speedy u would get a better apperance i think............

[Wonky]

Seems to me that the XHPs are well made. Had only had mine on for a few days (with the low profile 20" tyres) when something distracted me for a sec and on a road I travel almost every day I hit a concrete kerb on a gradual bend at about 80kmh (fortunately one of the newer ones that come up an inch or two at a slight angle, then are angled back at about 45 degrees for the remainder). It was admittedly more a glancing blow than anything but it was hard enough that I definitely expected the rim to be buckled.

It was marked badly enough that I bought another one (can't repair chrome scrapes) but when pulled off it was still perfectly round (to the naked eye at least) - I was amazed!

[lowriding]

the genuine wheels sold via the third parties( forum sponsers for eg) are good enough value to not bother with knock offs .

[Wonky]

the genuine wheels sold via the third parties( forum sponsers for eg) are good enough value to not bother with knock offs .
Yep, totally agree! If you like the look of the genuine rims in preference to aftermarket then definitely get them from places like Wheel King or Holmart. Very good prices and you know you are getting good quality, not questionable quality.

[BigJim]

I had a set of copy HSV GTS wheels. Balanced up perfect with hardly any weight and the car drove excellant with them. $2000 with tyres you couldnt go wrong. You could never tell the difference. Great set of wheels.

[planetdavo]

dude i would say they would have to meet some sort of specs australia wise for safety but they do take weight when balancing and personally id rather go for an after maket rim
like XHP, ROH, Speedy u would get a better apperance i think............
You have mentioned a couple of very well respected brands here, including locally made product. ROH make HSV's rims. I agree to go with something like these rather than "no names".
We're not talking about brands of this quality, we are talking about virtually unknown brands, from particularly Asia, selling wheels that are as close to a direct copy of HSV wheels can be, without actually (or usually) infringeing copyright.
Sure they might meet a variety of tests, but the big unknown is just what happens when those big 18's or 19's hit say a sharp pothole. For those that want to risk sudden deflation and running off the road from possibly inferior alloys cracking, and countries with an unknown quality record, plus companies selling them with no long term backup as a reference, good luck to you! Personally, the risk isn't worth it.
When something is really cheap in life, there is almost always a reason for it.

[SS Enforcer]

I think some of the holden rims are made in asia as well. From what I have been told a lot of the asian wheel makers have to comply to a set standard for production and quality control unlike before when anything went regarding materials and quality. Having said that I believe the holden wheels are made better.

I have had no problems with my 20" Verdi rims .

cheers

[planetdavo]

Yes, a number of Holden's rims are now made in Thailand, but Thailand has become a major automotive hub of the world, with a vast number of makes and models built there, including most of Honda's current range, plus the Holden Rodeo, and recently, the Zafira.
The labour rates are cheap but the quality controls are world class.

[BLACKWAGON]

I had a set of copy HSV GTS wheels. Balanced up perfect with hardly any weight and the car drove excellant with them. $2000 with tyres you couldnt go wrong. You could never tell the difference. Great set of wheels.

I have had my vx gts copies for 2 yrs now and no problems whatsoever.
Bought em from Preston and they have been on 2 of my cars.
When I bought em the genuine rims were like 4500, I paid 2300.
Even the guys at holden were asking me how much I paid for them bcs they thought they were genuine.

[Holden Nut]

There is a saying in life. YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR!Yeah that $1000-$2000 extra gets you a nice HSV logo.

[tirone]

I have had my vx gts copies for 2 yrs now and no problems whatsoever.
Bought em from Preston and they have been on 2 of my cars.
When I bought em the genuine rims were like 4500, I paid 2300.
Even the guys at holden were asking me how much I paid for them bcs they thought they were genuine.

I was looking at a set of these and they are spot on

[BLACKWAGON]

I was looking at a set of these and they are spot on

Thats right.
There are some cheap crap copies too, Ive seen the vy gts copies good and bad, the bad seem tolook really silver instead of shadow chrome, same as the vx, although I havent seen any bad 19 vx gts yet.

[planetdavo]

Yeah that $1000-$2000 extra gets you a nice HSV logo.
Taiwan knocks off some cheap HSV logo's as well to go with their cheap rims...
There is a lot more to it than your simple view. Read back a bit earlier about alloy quality and the risk of sudden tyre deflation from rim fracture.
I've seen a few at the local tyre shops. Not good.

[Holden Nut]

I can see the 2 sides of it dont worry...its just that I don't believe for a second many of those inflated prices are justified.

[smokiebbear]

Yeah that $1000-$2000 extra gets you a nice HSV logo.

Doesn't it also get a lifetime warranty v's a 1 or 2 year warranty and the ability to buy an exact perfect replacement should you run up a gutter and smash a rim. Try finding some copy cat rim 4 years after they have stopped stockin the shelves with them. Holden or HSV do stringent testing etc and have to pass Australian standards where as the knock off copies could be made in someones shed for all you know! I just brought some genuine vy gts rims from Wheelking. Fantastic service and i couldn't be happier with the price.

If some business in Taiwan took an ls1 broke it all down and made a replica of it not knowing the exact metal compostie mix (or whatever they call it) to build the engine etc etc would you buy a motor from them for a little bit cheaper? I bloody well wouldn't.

At the end of the day if the wheels break while your doin 100kph on the freeway it's your life and maybe if you had spent that extra few hundred you woudn't be in that situation.

And i'll say this like many others have before me ..... You get what you pay for!!!

cheers - matt

[BLACKWAGON]

All of our stuff is made in China etc these days and there are good and bad examples of all things.
Simmons yrs ago used to be 3g for 15s and had a bad rep for bending easily.
I have 4 mates with X5 bmws and only 1 of them havent had major problems with rims bending whilst being driven 100% in the city........and not from abuse either. 1 of the cars has had 4 rims replaced and they are like 6g for a set apparently.

[Brandonsdad]

Had a set of VX GTS 19s on my VX SS and they looked great. They were only $300 each, but looked the real thing. Dont know about everyone else but I kept the pressure up around 40 -42 and got 55,000 k's out of them. Never had any trouble with them. Dont know where they were made but they did the job. I was told that if you keep the pressure up theres less chance of piercing your tyre wall over pot holes and less chance of cracking your rims, but you get a firmer ride. Each to their own. Depends on how much moula you want to spend. You can have my VE SS wheels if you want.

[y-b-jls-4]

I'am intrested in buying 19inch vy senator rims for my vx. Just wondering if anyone knows whether Direct Wheels have copies of this rim.

[DVS VT Clubby]

Yes wheels direct have a copy of the VY senator rims, but be wary of them.
I bought a set of VY GTS 19 copies and they were crap, they looked the real deal and you couldn't tell the difference, but when it came to balancing it just could not be done they would not balance up properly, and as well as not balancing i compared 1 of my rims to one of my mates genuine rims and the copy's were a fair bit heavier in weight.

[HSVREDSLED]

Go to your trusted local rim repairer (like I just did) and wander around looking at the graveyard of broken rims taking careful note of the brands.
It is not a pretty sight, but it wont take you long to sort out the rubbish from the good brands.

[y-b-jls-4]

Cheers guys thanks for the help. What are your thoughts on BBoss Eleanor wheels would you say built quality etc is good.

Also if it came down to choosing between 19inch VE SSV alloys and 19inch BBoss Eleanors what would be your choice for a black VX S Pack.

[PhilXR8]

Cheers guys thanks for the help. What are your thoughts on BBoss Eleanor wheels would you say built quality etc is good.

Also if it came down to choosing between 19inch VE SSV alloys and 19inch BBoss Eleanors what would be your choice for a black VX S Pack.

Good looking wheels but very overused, i see them all the time. I's go for something more unique

[Brandonsdad]

Cheers guys thanks for the help. What are your thoughts on BBoss Eleanor wheels would you say built quality etc is good.

Also if it came down to choosing between 19inch VE SSV alloys and 19inch BBoss Eleanors what would be your choice for a black VX S Pack.

VE SS-V's for me, powder coated black. Would look pretty good against a black car, I think.

[DVS VT Clubby]

Check the offset of the VE wheels i'm pretty sure it has changed and they're not a straight bolt on to older model cars now VT-VZ.

[y-b-jls-4]

What are your opinions on these wheels. They are the exact copies of the vx or vy hsv gto wheels.

http://www.mswt.com.au/products_closeup.asp?part=18+INCH+SPECIALS&part_no=289


I have seen them up close and you cant tell the difference. $1590 includes the tyres aswell while Wheel King sells these rims alone for $1680. Ofcourse I would also get the hsv centre caps to.

[Brandonsdad]

What are your opinions on these wheels. They are the exact copies of the vx or vy hsv gto wheels.

http://www.mswt.com.au/products_closeup.asp?part=18+INCH+SPECIALS&part_no=289


I have seen them up close and you cant tell the difference. $1590 includes the tyres aswell while Wheel King sells these rims alone for $1680. Ofcourse I would also get the hsv centre caps to.

19in VX GTS copies look better to me.