Aftermarket WHEELS

[Rodeo]

Thinking of changing over to a set of aftermarket 18" wheels (likely chromed) once I get my car and then using the stock 18" appearance wheels for snow performance tires.

 

What brands of aftermarket wheels are good?

 

Which are to be avoided? (poor experience or poor mfg. tolerances etc.)

 

Looking in the $200-$350 price range per wheel and there's allot to choose from in that range.

 

Thoughts? Opinions?? Photos???

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[Grey]

Most wheel manufacturers will comply with recognized safety and design standards. Some wheels will be car specific (up to a certain load limit) and others will be designed for trucks, Any knowledgeable retailer will have guidelines for your vehicle. Since you are looking at Chrome, I would make sure they are triple chrome plated or they meet the OEM chrome specs. That is one area it is easy to cut cost, but will show up months down the road. :shift:

[Rodeo]

Most wheel manufacturers will comply with recognized safety and design standards. Some wheels will be car specific (up to a certain load limit) and others will be designed for trucks, Any knowledgeable retailer will have guidelines for your vehicle. Since you are looking at Chrome, I would make sure they are triple chrome plated or they meet the OEM chrome specs. That is one area it is easy to cut cost, but will show up months down the road. :shift:

Excellent point! Thanks!

 

I have heard some bad things about "Bremmer Kraft "wheels, supposedly made in China and poor mfg tolerances etc. That's what I want to watch out for too. I'll probably buy my wheels from an on line discounter like Tire Rack only because those so called knowledgeable retailers also have higher prices too.

I won't rule out alloy or aluminum wheels just yet either. The 6 I posted above have caught my eye.

[2010SEL]

Excellent point! Thanks!

 

I have heard some bad things about "Bremmer Kraft "wheels, supposedly made in China and poor mfg tolerances etc. That's what I want to watch out for too. I'll probably buy my wheels from an on line discounter like Tire Rack only because those so called knowledgeable retailers also have higher prices too.

I won't rule out alloy or aluminum wheels just yet either. The 6 I posted above have caught my eye.

 

I hope you don't rule out aluminum alloy wheels. 99.5% of all aftermarket wheels are aluminum alloy. The difference is in the finish. Some are left bare (bad idea), some are painted, some are machined and usually clear-coated, and some are chromed. I do not recommend ASA or OZ wheels. The clear coat on them always tends to peel, or get discolored. The "Sport Tuning" wheels sold by Tire Rack are made in China, but are pretty nice, and many types have decent warranties on the paint/finish. I have the "Flight" Sport Tuning wheels on mt '10 Fusion and so far am happy with them.

[Rodeo]

I hope you don't rule out aluminum alloy wheels. 99.5% of all aftermarket wheels are aluminum alloy. The difference is in the finish. Some are left bare (bad idea), some are painted, some are machined and usually clear-coated, and some are chromed. I do not recommend ASA or OZ wheels. The clear coat on them always tends to peel, or get discolored. The "Sport Tuning" wheels sold by Tire Rack are made in China, but are pretty nice, and many types have decent warranties on the paint/finish. I have the "Flight" Sport Tuning wheels on mt '10 Fusion and so far am happy with them.

I have not ruled anything out except paying a high price over my desired budget. I'd really like to stay south of $300 a wheel. I like the "look" of the stock wheels that come on the FF Sport model as they have "wider" spokes then what you selected for your Fusion. I also want something that is easy to clean and hit with a sponge when washing the car, not something filled with nooks and crannys or stud heads etc that will trap and hold dirt. You also provided good input so thanks. How hard was it to get your car to recognize the pressure sensors on your new wheels? Did Tire rack do a good job with mounting and balancing etc? (Or did you buy the wheels loose?). Did you put the door molding on yourself?

 

I'm liking the left wheel in the bottom row the more I look at it. I don't remember who makes it though.

[2010SEL]

Bought the wheels, tires, sensors as a package. The car never knew the wheels were changed. No warnings on dash or anything.

[Rodeo]

Bought the wheels, tires, sensors as a package. The car never knew the wheels were changed. No warnings on dash or anything.

And no complaints?? Cool! Good to hear. I am likely to deal with them also except I'll have to get things mounted at home here since I am swapping wheels and tires twice, putting new rims with my stock tires and the old rims getting new snow performance tires. (If I go that route as I may just keep the stockers intact and buy snows as a completed package - depends if I like the stock wheels or not when I get the car.)

[danager]

I am getting the Platinum White, and considering the Zinik Z28 Revento from Tire Rack.

 

[Nasty]

A few mos later, can any of you share the wheels you decided on? Were they a straight swap?

 

Any bolt pattern and offset problems?

 

Thanks folks...

[fusionff]

A few mos later, can any of you share the wheels you decided on? Were they a straight swap?

 

Any bolt pattern and offset problems?

 

Thanks folks...

 

Well, you have to get the correct bolt pattern (5x114.3), and you need to keep the offset in the acceptable range, which will vary on size and width of the rim. There are tons of choices, you will soon see.

Edited February 12, 2010 by fusionff

[2010SEL]

Well, you have to get the correct bolt pattern (5x1114), and you need to keep the offset in the acceptable range, which will vary on size and width of the rim. There are tons of choices, you will soon see.

 

Bolt circle is 4 1/2" or 114.3mm.

[fusionff]

Bolt circle is 4 1/2" or 114.3mm.

 

Oops, that was a hell of a type error, that wheel would have been HUGE, thanks & corrected.

[Mr.X]

I hope you don't rule out aluminum alloy wheels. 99.5% of all aftermarket wheels are aluminum alloy. The difference is in the finish. Some are left bare (bad idea), some are painted, some are machined and usually clear-coated, and some are chromed. I do not recommend ASA or OZ wheels. The clear coat on them always tends to peel, or get discolored. The "Sport Tuning" wheels sold by Tire Rack are made in China, but are pretty nice, and many types have decent warranties on the paint/finish. I have the "Flight" Sport Tuning wheels on mt '10 Fusion and so far am happy with them.

 

 

 

Sport tuning is so much better than OZ anyone would be silly to put them in the same class. :doh:

[noreast]

And no complaints?? Cool! Good to hear. I am likely to deal with them also except I'll have to get things mounted at home here since I am swapping wheels and tires twice, putting new rims with my stock tires and the old rims getting new snow performance tires. (If I go that route as I may just keep the stockers intact and buy snows as a completed package - depends if I like the stock wheels or not when I get the car.)

Hello Rodeo, If you are OK with the stock rims for your summers, I would suggest you go that route. I would even consider going to a 17" or even 16" rim/tire combo for your winters. I was checking out winter tire prices and the prices jump between $50-$100 per tire when going from 16" to 17", and I am talking same tire model from the same manufacturer. Haven't checked 18" tire prices, but I will not surprised if it was even more expensive. This will save you quite a bundle on the long run.

[blue4shizzle]

so im curious, im thinking about getting rims for my sport.. preferably some 20s.. but i really dont want to lose any quality in the performance, are 18s my limit as far as performance goes, or is it possible to get a set of 20s (maybe performance/racing rims) and still have the great handling and acceleration it has now?

[2010SEL]

so im curious, im thinking about getting rims for my sport.. preferably some 20s.. but i really dont want to lose any quality in the performance, are 18s my limit as far as performance goes, or is it possible to get a set of 20s (maybe performance/racing rims) and still have the great handling and acceleration it has now?

20" wheels & tires might work if all your roads are billiard table smooth. But hit one pothole with those super low-profile tires and you'll be replacing bent/broken wheels a lot. Not to mention the very high costs. 18" is the biggest I feel comfortable with. 19" might be a compromise. The other thing to consider is that big wheels start to look really funny if the car isn't lowered.

[redneckford]

20" wheels don't affect the ride quality that much if you get quality tires, I have an 07 Fusion Sel with 20x9.5" Zennetti "five" wheels with 245/35ZR20 Toyo Proxes 4's and i have never had a problem, i had them "road force balanced" when i bought them, the are completly vibration free up to 120mph(no speed limiter(SCTX3)) on the interstate. i've put 27,000 miles on them already. the zenetti's are light enough that they don't affect performance that much