This is why I'd never put replica rims on my X5. Out of round, wrong hub size, weaker materials, poor finish, poor customer support, no center caps, etc. I contacted AFS three times with a simple question (do your style 87 rims need hub rings) and they never answered my emails. The more I read about replica rims, the easier it was to make up my mind - NO WAY!

I bought my Style 87 20" replica AFS wheels and Toyo tires from ebay seller cleanin_out_the_garage back in April. They came mounted and balanced with the plastic hubcentric rings. Luckily, I have had zero issues with them-they arrived in perfect condition and are absolutely vibration free. I now have about 6k miles on them and the wheels still look brand new with no finish issues.

I am sure there are those that have had issues, but luckily mine have been great.

I too have had a bad experience with my replicas so far. Mine are WAC style 177 staggered.

Here is my original post.

Since then I have had steering wheel vibration and finish issues (clear coat peeling off, paint scratches off easily). I'll post my pics of this later.

I think my vibration is because I don't have the 72.6mm->74.1mm hubcentric rings. I am ordering a set of aluminum ones from Tire Rack. The rims are coming off the car anway since i am going to dremel/sand down my jagged inside spoke edges and then send them off for sandblasting and powder coating (gunmetal woo hoo!).

I will then get them re-mounted and balanced at a local pro shop with a Hunter GSP9700 balancer. Supposedly this is the best technology out there. They also do some sort of run off test which will give you optimum tire wear and handling.

Lastly I am going to get a full alignment done. I expect a smooth ride after this. Should have it all done in a week or so, I'll post my results along with pics then.

Thanks everyone for the info, I had no clue about the rings. No one ever mentioned anything about it to me.

On second thought, it looks like my Style 177 rims are supposedly 72.56mm center bore already!?

I think i am going to measure them. I don't trust WAC. If this is correct than either one or more of the rims are out of round, or weren't balanced properly.

This sucks... don't buy replicas.

I bought a set of AFS wheels and tires. AFS did a wonderful job mounting and balancing the tires. No problems. They are perfect!!!

Madforce - Amazing, I had a completely different experience with AFS. I emailed multile times and each time received a prompt response. I would definitely buy AFS again.....

Yes we350z, do measure by all means. If you're not right on 72.56mm then you'll definitely need the hub rings. Hunter 9700 series is great by the way...good luck!:thumbup:

If anyone is reading this, I would not suggest getting replicas even though the ones I have are headache free. This is also a great thread.

It sounds like they are all hit or miss. I have heard good things and bad things about all of the companies now.

Just got off the phone with a local professional tire shop which I setup an appointment with next Saturday. They said that the likelihood that the wheels are either out of round, or machined improperly (center bore, lug holes) is not very high even with replicas. Anything is possible, but he said that one would experience a costant wobble or hard shaking at pretty much all speeds instead of intermittent vibration. He went on to say that it is likely to be one or more of the following factors:

1) Wheels are not hubcentric to the hub. The wheel centerbore supposed to be 72.56mm, so either it is mis-stated or was not accurately machined. if its 74.1mm+ rings can be used. This can be determined by measuring with a digital caliper and/or unbolting the rim and seeing if it has any play around the hub center.

2) Vehicle road downforce can contribute to vibrations. Especially if the vibrations are intermittent and typically go away by driving faster. Balancing, while important (and you should use a Hunter GSP9700) is not often the contributing factor here. The tire and the rim each have a high point and a low point, and in relation to each other they need to be offset for optimal handling and tire wear.

I got a digital caliper and i am going to dismount the rims to measure them all and see how they fit on the hub center. Worth a shot, hopefully the problem can be resolved.

If so I am debating powder coat vs. painting.

Did you ever get this resolved? What was the issue?