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  #11  
Old 07-16-2005, 09:17 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MCİ
Did you install the hub centric rings? If they didnt come with your wheel, you'll need the 72.56 mm --> 74.1 mm for the x5. They come in aluminum or plastic.

For more details: http://www.1010tires.com/hubrings.asp
I did figure it out! I picked up hub rings from the shop I purchased it from..when I called them to let them aware of the problem they said "oh this is quite a common problem with the replica X5 wheels we sell, you'll definitely need the hub rings which will resolve this problem!" - .. I was like wtf why didn't you bring this to my attention in the first place...I took it back and no more shaky steering
HOWEVER when I am trying to brake on some roads the steering wheels goes crazy..it this normal? The roads I'm talking about are a bit bumpy or uneven but the way it shakes the steering seems very dangerous
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  #12  
Old 07-17-2005, 08:52 AM
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Yes. Slight pull and/or wander on uneven roads are common with wide low profile tires. These wheels behave differently then your stock, give it a week and you wont notice the difference as much.

Also, check your tire pressure when the tires are cold to make sure its properly inflated. Some folks follow factory spec. 32 front - 39 back; I prefer 35 all around...to each their own.

Last edited by MCİ; 07-17-2005 at 09:37 AM.
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  #13  
Old 07-17-2005, 11:57 AM
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Thanks for the advice!

Quote:
Originally Posted by MCİ
Yes. Slight pull and/or wander on uneven roads are common with wide low profile tires. These wheels behave differently then your stock, give it a week and you wont notice the difference as much.

Also, check your tire pressure when the tires are cold to make sure its properly inflated. Some folks follow factory spec. 32 front - 39 back; I prefer 35 all around...to each their own.
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  #14  
Old 08-17-2005, 01:06 PM
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More Wheels Questions

Not to beat a dead horse, but I am thoroughly confused here. The 'guide to purchasing replica wheels' post says to order them without rubber. Some members have had success ordering wheels with the tires already balanced (which is what I would prefer to do). There is a reply that references the hubcentric rings too. I talked to the AFS Wheel guys in CA. They can get me a set of staggered 20's with Proxes mounted, balanced, and shipped for $2137. My biggest concern, of course, is the prospect of shipping wheels 1200 miles to and fro to resolve a problem.

Any further insight would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
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  #15  
Old 08-17-2005, 02:50 PM
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That's the million-dollar question.

I've been working with my vendor for 9 weeks now to get satisfactory resolution with some defective rims I was shipped back in June and although I am slowly making progress toward having a working set - honestly the time and effort in getting various aftermarket wheels balanced, dismounted, remounted, rebalanced, return shipped etc has been a royal pain in the aZZ.

Timeline:
Early June - first set of chinese-made (SAW) staggered chrome replica 20"s from Truck Accessory Outlet in Corona CA
Late June - After 3rd balancing of fronts, rims determined to have out-of-round manufacturing defect, possibly rears too
July - 2nd set of front rims shipped (non-SAW from THE WHEEL GROUP by mistake). Horrible quality, didn't even mount them
Early August - 3rd set of front rims shipped (SAW). Mounting, balancing and ride of fronts seem acceptable.
Late August - work on getting rear tires/rims remounted balanced and/or replaced

I've traced some of the problems with the replicas to inconsistencies in manufacturing quality. The main center hole of the wheel is cut in the correct location and this is what your tire center will use when balancing the rims to 0. However, as I've discovered - many wheels have their 5 lug holes (which are cut as a group when the wheel is manufactured) cut slightly off-center by .5mm to 2mm. The distance between the holes is correct and thats why the wheel will mount properly, but the fact that (as a group) they are slightly off-center creates various degrees of perceivable "bounce" regardless of how well the wheel is weight balanced (for example, imagine if your rims were egg-shaped - even if they were perfectly weight-balanced they would still wobble up and down as you drove down the road). Now look at an OEM rim from BMW, the wheel cuts are absolutely perfect - even on the cheapest spare tire the 5 lug holes and the center holes are all equi-distant from true center.

Despite the wheel issues, I've had no problems with the Toyo Proxies.

Though I understand not everyone has had the same experience I have had with their replica purchases....based on these last 3 months here would be my personal recommendations:

1. Firstly if someone can afford it - I would recommend they purchase OEM rims directly from BMW (or Crevier, Pacific etc). The fit and finish will be outstanding and both the quality and your pride of ownership will be high. You will avoid many headaches and hassles though be (much) lighter in the pocketbook.

2. If you do get replica wheels, I recommend you either purchase them separately from the tires (get those locally) or have them shipped UNMOUNTED if you order them with tires from the same company. Not only will this give you an opportunity to check out the fit and finish of the rim but by having them spun alone you will get a chance to ensure you have a quality rim that is free from defects in workmanship. Most vendors don't balance worth crap anyway, so having a local shop mount and balance them gives you someone to go back to if you're not satisfied with the quality of the ride. Also, I think you would be much more likely to get a better rim initially from the vendor if he doesn't have the option of blaming some other object for your troubles (like the tire manufacturer...or the "new guy he just hired" to do the balancing at his shop...or the FedEx guys for dropping the package during shipping etc, etc.)

3. When you do have your wheels balanced, use a quality DYNAMIC balancer (like the Hunter 9700 series) and have weights placed on BOTH inside planes of the wheel, not just the inner-most rim like many aftermarket vendors do to save time.

4. Pay with a credit card that will standing behind you in case you have to put the credit-card charge in dispute.

5. Document every phone call, fax and email between yourself and the vendor if problems arise.

6. Follow the other suggestions in the "replica wheels buyers guide" article online

Good luck!
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  #16  
Old 08-17-2005, 04:02 PM
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Thanks for the in-depth response, Wolf! I just picked up my 01 4.4 (topaz blue w/blk, sport, premium, 44k mi.) the other day. This board has been very helpful to me, as I have been a guest for the past few weeks.

I have a local guy looking into the prices on some Proxes for me. I will have him mount them up and hope for the best.
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  #17  
Old 08-17-2005, 05:26 PM
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Thanks for the info, Wolf. I dont see hubcentric rings mentioned in your post, and this thread is the first mention I've seen of them. Are they necessary for some replica wheels for the reasons you mentioned?
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  #18  
Old 08-17-2005, 05:44 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TahoeM3
Thanks for the info, Wolf. I dont see hubcentric rings mentioned in your post, and this thread is the first mention I've seen of them. Are they necessary for some replica wheels for the reasons you mentioned?

From what I gathered at various places today, the answer is 'sometimes'. It sounds like they help compensate in certain situations. My guy at the tire place who's going to do the mount/balance said he'll see what they (wheels) look like when they get here. I just ordered some from Lakeshore Wheel and Tire in MI (ebay) for $975 shipped. Jason at LWT said that they don't need hubs, so we'll see. He also told me that each wheel they ship is spun-out previous to delivery. I'm keeping my fingers crossed on this deal!
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  #19  
Old 08-18-2005, 01:33 PM
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I have had aftermarket wheels in the past on Mercedes that have required hub-centric rings, but I did not use them when mounting my 4.6i replicas, as the vendor said repeatedly that they were not needed. Which is curious because the center holes on each of my replicas (from 2 different manufacturers) were cut at 72.6mm and those who have purchased wheels from AFS apparently have used 72.56 (72.6) to 74.1 reducer rings to get a more centered fit on the X5.

Honestly, with some of my rims already being off-center by .5mm to 2mm due to poor quality control, I can't see ring reduction helping much but they're pretty cheap so perhaps its worth a try regardless.
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  #20  
Old 09-06-2007, 04:28 PM
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As a follow up for future readers - I did eventually try the metal version of the 74.1mm to 72.56mm hub rings from http://www.1010tires.com/hubrings.asp as MC suggested earlier in this thread and they made an ABSOLUTELY DRAMATIC difference in the quality of the ride.

In my situation, the chinese aftermarket manufacturer (surprise) labeled their rims as being 72.56mm on the shipping container but manufactured them to 74.1mm probably to fit a wider-variety of BMW's that also use the 120mm bolt pattern.

If your 20" aftermarket wheels just wont ride correctly, get a digital caliper and measure the diameter of the hole to ensure a precision 72.56mm opening. If its larger, get the appropriate rings to compensate for the difference otherwise your new rims will NEVER ride correctly regardless of how many times you have them rebalanced.
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