Style 168.Replica or OE? Made by Ronal
 

Guys, took my wheels off to wash the interior part and found that the rears and fronts are made by Ronal difference is that rears are made in Poland and fronts in Mexico
Gets me thinking, are they OE?is Ronal an OE supplier for BMW?
I was expecting to see Borbet or BBS.Never stumbled upon Ronal's

Yes the original BMW 168 style are made by Ronal .

Yes Ronal is OE for 168 and they have factories in both countries

Ok thanks for clarifying !
For a second I thought I'm running reps

Even ACS wheels are made by Ronal. As long as you have BMW stamp on it with all the info, they are the real deal.

will they have a BMW part number if they are reps?

do multiple suppliers make the same style wheels? I want to say the 63's I got are two different suppliers, but for some reason I think its side to side and not front to back but I could be wrong.

As long as they don't say Made in CHEENA they aren't reps lol

I've never seen a replica wheel that has the BMW logo & 11 digit part nbr on it before....at least not engraved or molded into the wheel like BMW does for its oe wheels

BMW oe wheel info:

engraved info usually means the wheel is forged...meaning made from one solid piece of alloy...which means any wheel info must be engraved into it like in these Style 37 forged MPars:

http://bimmerboard.com/members/q/ori...All%20Four.jpg

(rear MPar w/ BMW part nbr engraved
http://bimmerboard.com/members/q/ori...r%209.5x18.jpg

(front MPar w/BMW 11 digit part nbr & wheel specs {8"x18" w 13mm offset} engraved)
http://bimmerboard.com/members/q/ori...el%20Specs.jpg


(BMW logo engraved into rear spoke of a Style 37 MPar)
http://bimmerboard.com/members/q/ori...of%20Spoke.jpg

molded wheel spec info means that the wheel is cast alloy...when the alloy is poured into the wheel's mold...the info is then molded into the wheel

(BMW oe Style 87 wheel specs w/BMW logo & part nbr & other wheel specs molded into the wheel)

http://bimmerboard.com/members/q/ori...ound%20Hub.jpg

Q are you really saying that style 168 or 87 are gravity cast and not forged?
I was under the impression that the "higher" grade wheels like the ones on 4.6, 4.8 were forged..I guess they arent really that strong.

I also dont see any info on the outer part of the 168 like the pic you posted for the 87.Instead, the info is on the back.Mind to explain that?

to add even more to the confusion, style 168 are lighter than style 87 even though they have 2 more spokes?I guess the process of manufacturing is different?

style 168: 26.9 lb
style 87: 31.5 lb

Info pulled from a member's post who checked the weights with the dealership.

They definetely arent that strong ,our roads are a little rough down under and unless you are doing all city driving it would be hard to find a set that hasn't had a repair of one of the wheels .One of mine was repaired when I purchased the vehicle and has since cracked again .I spoke to a professional repairer who repairs all sorts of wheels who made the comment that they are a poor excuse for a wheel to fit the size of vehicle the X5 is.

Again, if the wheel's info is "raised" (as in "molded" into the wheel like the image of the Style 87 above)...there's no way for the wheel to be forged alloy since this type of wheel is made/cut from a solid piece of alloy...unless it's a 2 or 3 piece wheel where the spokes may be the forged section but the barrel or other section is cast and the wheel's information was cast into that section of the wheel.

The location of the wheel's specs varies based on the design of the wheel. Sometimes the info is on the back of the spokes & sometimes it's located around the hub of the wheel. And sometimes if the wheel has a hub cap...the info is located around the hub that is hidden behind the hub cap.

I've never seen the location of the Style 168 wheel specs...but if the info is on the back of the spokes and is molded into the design instead of being cut/engraved into the spokes...then that wheel is cast alloy & not forged alloy.

yes they are a cast alloy

Our wheels have the info cast into the back of one of the spokes. It is not on the front as some other BMW wheels. The OE replacement wheels are coming from Ronal in Poland. Same fit finish as the Mexican ones your 4.8is came with from the factory. The logos match, part numbers etc.
I have purchased new front wheels from the dealer and noticed the change of location of manufacturing. I think some were made in both locations during production of 4.8is with168 style wheels.
To address the question of strength, these wheels are designed to be on a road going, sport truck, not an off road vehicle. The dead give away is the fact they have LOW PROFILE tires mounted on them. If you want rock climbing ability you need TALL side walls and a different tread pattern designed for the way you want to drive. Our short sidewall tires handle great, but expose themselves to potholes and other roadway damage. Nature of the beast. You cannot have both.

They weight exactly the same. This is what I got when shipping the style168 from my 4.8iS

Front (kg/lb) 12.46 / 27.46
Rear (kg/lb) 14.33 / 31.59

Hmmm... :confused: seems like there's some discrepency...the weight you found, TMV's weight from shipping...and the weight information from the part database (bmwfans.info):

Style 87: http://bmwfans.info/parts-catalog/E5...star_spoke_87/

• front: 36 11 6 753 516 - 9.5"X20" ET:45 - 27.5 lb- $605.20
• rear: 36 11 6 753 517 - 10.5"X20" ET:30 - 31.6 lb - $661.25

Style 168: http://bmwfans.info/parts-catalog/E5...168/#6766069_3

• front: 36 11 6 766 068 - 9.5"X20" ET:45 - 38.1 lb - $605.20
• rear: 36 11 6 766 069 - 10.5"X20" ET:30 - 39.2 lb - $672.69

how is there a 10 pound difference?
that's huge...
makes me want to change to style 87

Q, TMV's weight is almost exactly the same you posted for 87's
something is not right here..anyone willing to take the tires off and weigh their wheels?haha

Weight difference is the actual part + box they come in as most companies stock and ship based on total packaging weight for freight estimation. After handling, mounting and balancing two fronts and two rear wheel + tires, I can say without a doubt these things weigh a lot. 13" light weight wheels they are not.

Come on guys its a wheel on a 5,000# vehicle. I think our batteries weigh more than two wheels combined.:bustingup

Stephen my thoughts exactly. Its an OE cast wheel, it is not forged and it is not light in 20".

From one cast wheel to the other in OEM 20" size the weight difference is negligible considering we are moving 3 ton trucks.

Yes unsprung weight is the killer of acceleration but 20" wheels are for looks, unless you get lightweight HRE's or similar wheels, comparing "which 20" OEM wheel is lighter" is not the most productive discussion when talking about our trucks lol

:iagree: