Warning if considering Replica wheels

[WHITESSTOWPIG]

Picked up a set of brand new replicas to replace my factory wheels and immediately the truck began to wobble at 45mph then shook like hell at 65mph.Soon as we tried known working set of wheels the problem would go away.Then the moment we introduced even one of the four replicas into the mix the shake would start right back up which is how we discovered it wasnt an issue with any one wheel but rather with all of them.We balanced them three times at different locations and they always checked out good for runout and balance but never rode smooth on the road.These really had us chasing our tails measuring drive line angles and driveshaft balance thinking it was the infamous chevy shake problem but it was not.I know alot of guys use replicas with no issues but I would be very careful running them especially the OE Creations brand.Hopefully this helps someone

[TJay74]

GM wont even do a ride shake run down if the truck is on aftermarket wheels, non-OEM tires or has aftermarket step bars on the truck. I am always leery of those replica wheels as I doubt most of them meet the certifications that the OEM wheels go thru. I would have ran the new wheels only on a wheel machine that can do the road force balance. It would tell you if the wheel was bad right off of the bat.

[Supreme Pizza]

I wonder what would happen if you bolted those wheels on a different make/model of vehicle. 

 

Also, if they wont balance out and run properly, can you get the retailer to replace them with another set under warranty? 

 

These ideas probably wont work, but I'm just throwing ideas out there. 

[scott.moody.9401]

Make sure when you balance aftermarket wheels that they do the road force balance. I had the same issue that was resolved via the above

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[WHITESSTOWPIG]

From what I hear most dealerships wont even consider vibrations over 65mph a problem anyway because its beyond the speed limits they are permitted to go during test drives for troubleshooting.I have had a bunch of aftermarket wheels of all different price ranges and have never had vibrations with regular conventional balances up until now.Every wheel was spun on the balancer without the tire and then the tires used on them were my original 20" tires that did not shake on my OEM wheels.Variables were all kept the same and it didnt matter which wheel it was we put on the car they all shook.We did consider having them road forced but after 3 balances and 2 months of chasing vibrations throughout the entire truck I was personally done with the problem and sold them at a loss.Yeah it freaking blows because I threw away cash and really dug how the wheels looked but so does paying every month for something that drives down the road like a paint shaker

[cor]

Just wanted to bump this post because after 5000 miles and a few balances on my replicas I went back to stock 18" wheels and the vibes are gone! It's like a new truck. Now to decide if I put my nice tires on a crap rims on something else or just be done with them.

[Nitrousbird]

If you aren't Road Force balancing a wheel, you aren't doing it right. Around here I would be hard pressed to find a place that doesn't Road Force balance, as it is pretty much the standard.  

 

I run replicas on my car and non-rep aftermarket wheels on my wife's car without issue. 

[midwestdenaliguy]

I've had mixed luck with replica wheels on past vehicles. Some with zero issues and others that vibrated no matter what was done to fix it. Now if I'm interested in a different wheel set up I keep my eye out for a clean, used set of OEM rims.

[Darmichar]

On 7/19/2018 at 7:47 AM, WHITESSTOWPIG said:

From what I hear most dealerships wont even consider vibrations over 65mph a problem anyway because its beyond the speed limits they are permitted to go during test drives for troubleshooting

My dealer has chased a shake in my truck well north of 65 MPH.  I have no problem taking a tech out and showing him the issue.  I drive my truck all over the place.  I drive it at 75 MPH when I'm on the interstate.  I don't want it to shake.

[Vulcan762]

Just a follow up to this Replica Wheel discussion. I really want some 22" GM factory chrome wheels but cannot find the CV92 pattern im looking for. That said I looked into the aftermarket only to find that just about every wheel made comes out of China. But the replica GM wheels I'm seeing for sale all appear to be these gravity cast units with no certifications. Tire Rack is now selling these for $500 per wheel while describing them as gravity cast wheels. I doubt they have the JWL certification (a raised casting) on the back.

 

Here are the most common Certifications. JWL is typical for truck wheels and is found on factory GM wheels. 

SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers)
TÜV (German regulatory agency)
ISO (International Standards Organization)
JWL (Japan Light Alloy Wheel Standard, VIA conducts the tests)

 

DOT (Unfortunately here in the USA a DOT wheel means nothing other than its dimensionally correct. No testing for quality or material integrity.)

 

Below are these no-certification Chinese replica wheels that sell on Alibaba for around $20-$100 each depending on qty. and list the application as "suitable for trailers." How about someone make a quality replica GM wheel with certifications.