Anyone had genuine alloys crack?

[V8 Supercharger]

Hello all

With so many replica alloys out there at such a good price its tempting not to buy a set that looks just as good as the real thing. And the thing is that most of time you cannot tell the difference anyway.

However, the difference usually lies in quality, and there are many many occasions where seen car that we thought had punctures but in fact the tyre has been alright, the alloy has been cracked, and nearly all of the time from the inside edge.

I dont think everyone will admit it, but i also dont think everyone will lie either, when they say that cant remember taking a hard hit on it so dont know how its happened.

I want to know if Genuine stuff is prone to cracking aswell. It might not be as much as replicas i understand, but what are the chances it will crack on normal every day driving as a lot of these replicas tend to crack under just normal conditions.

Basically, a brand new set of replicas are costing me half the price of a set of used genuine ones.

I know some people will ONLY go with genuines, but thats not what im asking here, im just asking about the chances of a genuine set getting cracked?

The only time iv ever really heard of it happening is on a mates C63, the alloys seem to be genuine, with the correct part numbers stamped on the rears, and yet 3 of them have cracked. Two of them with more than one crack each.

 

[Mat B]

yes my E55 rear drivers side alloy, developed a hairline crack dead in the centre of the rim (not the spokes). I only noticed it as i kept losing tyre pressure.

 

[V8 Supercharger]

Did you get it repaired or get another one?

And i take it as you didnt really hit any potholes, kerbs or anything else with any considerable force?

 

[Mat B]

I sourced another alloy through eBay and im currently searching locally for somewhere to repair the old one.
Definitely no curbs or pot holes been hit in my ownership (last two plus years) The tyre place I use actually commented that they had never seen an alloy crack there before.

 

[jaymanek]

we get lots crack... especially larger rims with low profile tyres... big problem!

 

[V8 Supercharger]

we get lots crack... especially larger rims with low profile tyres... big problem!

Loads of Genuine ones?

I understand low profiles dont help, especially low profile AND runflat at the same time.

BMW has an ongoing issue with a certain 19" alloy they do for the 3-series that is prone to cracking. At first they were all blamed on the customers, but when about 300 of these customers approached Watchdog, BMW have now stopped selling these alloys until further "investigations" are made.

Mercedes dont seem to suffer anything as such but all im thinking is wether its worth it to pay half price, get a year or 2 out of them and then just get another brand new set IF something goes wrong . . . . all for the price of a used genuine set. As a matter of fact in my case i can get 3 sets of new replica ones for the cost of a set one genuine used ones.

 

[mercedescl500]

I had a set of ronal/Brabus monoblock split rims that had developed radial cracks (on the legs/spoke/face) and were never involved in a crash, pothole etc. Every spoke had cracked all the way through. HTH. Very scary if you consider the consequences. Just because its "genuine" doesn't mean it won't fail.

 

[V12]

Yes. AMG wheels crack a lot! I think it's more an issue with the size than the quality personally.
Wheels with little tyre suspension crack. Expensive or cheap.
Only difference is, if you crack a genuine AMG you have to spend a fortune having it repaired properly and it will still never be as good or you have to take out a second mortgage to buy a new single wheel that you can have confidence in.
Buy a cheap set of replicas and if they crack, get a whole new set for cheaper than 1 AMG wheel.

Lots of scaremongering out there but genuine AMG wheels just are hardly better than the cheap copies.

If you want to jump up to forged wheels then that may be a different story!

 

[V8 Supercharger]

I had a set of ronal/Brabus monoblock split rims that had developed radial cracks (on the legs/spoke/face) and were never involved in a crash, pothole etc. Every spoke had cracked all the way through. HTH. Very scary if you consider the consequences. Just because its "genuine" doesn't mean it won't fail.

Im also thinking along the same lines, Genuine does not make it indestructible but should make it last a little bit longer. But hit the wrong pothole and genuine or not makes no difference.

My brother has an Evo 10 which came with the standard 18" alloys. One day he told me the caliper was catching the alloy as it was making a clicking sound

I told him it wont be the caliper as that would just stop the alloy altogether. Anyways, 3 days of investigating later and i found the actual problem. The alloys are 12 thin spokes, 4 of the had cracked straight through. When i checked the rest of the alloys, another 2 had started to develope cracks in the spokes aswell. Now the only thing different to these, although a egnuine factory set, was that they had been powder coated a different colour. Some people say the oven baking process makes alloys slightly more weaker, im not 100% sure, but i knew we had to get another set for that car very soon before one completely let go.

 

[V8 Supercharger]

Yes. AMG wheels crack a lot! I think it's more an issue with the size than the quality personally.
Wheels with little tyre suspension crack. Expensive or cheap.
Only difference is, if you crack a genuine AMG you have to spend a fortune having it repaired properly and it will still never be as good or you have to take out a second mortgage to buy a new single wheel that you can have confidence in.
Buy a cheap set of replicas and if they crack, get a whole new set for cheaper than 1 AMG wheel.

Lots of scaremongering out there but genuine AMG wheels just are hardly better than the cheap copies.

If you want to jump up to forged wheels then that may be a different story!

My thoughts EXACTLY on this, crack a replica and buy a complete new set for less than 1 AMG one. And finding Genuine AMG ones in singles is no easy task either.

Low profiles tyres dont help, but i think a lot of the trouble starts with run-flat tyres. I definitely dont think they're a good idea for big wheels. Funnily enough, the BMW story above all use 255/30/19 Runflat tyres. As if a 30 series tyre was not thin enough, to then make it a runflat does not give it any flex at all really.

I think i might try my luck with another set of replicas and see what i can get.

Genuine ones are hard enough on the wallet as it is, forged is really not worth it for me.

 

[Benzowner]

My 17" wheels on the B Class had a crack the last time I changed tyres, the fitter couldn't understand why the tyre had not deflated maybe I was lucky. Had the rim repaired about £45 from memory including air test, no problem since.

 

[w300lou]

My C63 AMG 19" alloy revealed a crack, when having new tyres put on earlier this year! Last week i had to inflate the same tyre 3x in 1 week! Took it to a local garage to check for slow puncture & they said nothing wrong with the tyre but the wheel is cracked again! Can anyone recommend a 'good' repairer in the SK13 area? Lots of speed bumps around where i live, so i don't think that helps, i wouldn't mind so much if i drove it everyday & got some wear out of it, but its only been about 6 months since the same wheel cracked!

Lou-Lu MBClub UK

 

[74merc]

Another thing to consider is the weight of the replica versus genuine wheel. My understanding is that they can sometimes be significantly heavier, so affecting the unsprung weight and therefore handling.

 

[V12]

Another thing to consider is the weight of the replica versus genuine wheel. My understanding is that they can sometimes be significantly heavier, so affecting the unsprung weight and therefore handling.

It's can be the other way round.
The weight difference is usually negligible if they are the same size and style.

 

[V12]

My C63 AMG 19" alloy revealed a crack, when having new tyres put on earlier this year! Last week i had to inflate the same tyre 3x in 1 week! Took it to a local garage to check for slow puncture & they said nothing wrong with the tyre but the wheel is cracked again! Can anyone recommend a 'good' repairer in the SK13 area? Lots of speed bumps around where i live, so i don't think that helps, i wouldn't mind so much if i drove it everyday & got some wear out of it, but its only been about 6 months since the same wheel cracked!

Lou-Lu MBClub UK

If it's cracked and been repaired, my understanding is that the heat put into the repair whilst welding will upset the structure permanently and cracks will become more frequent. That's why a new wheel is normally the best option.

 

[rsvgreg]

I was looking for a CLK55 W209 in 2011/2012. I looked at lots of cars and three seperate cars I viewed (out of maybe 12) had cracked standard AMG rear alloys. All had been welded and while the repair may or may not have been sound, I decided to walk away. Nothing is bulletproof as you say.

 

[V8 Supercharger]

If it's cracked and been repaired, my understanding is that the heat put into the repair whilst welding will upset the structure permanently and cracks will become more frequent. That's why a new wheel is normally the best option.

Again, this is true. Once an alloy has been cracked it can be a right pain in the ****. My friend in the C63 has learnt this the hard way, as every other week one would either get a fresh crack or a previous crack repair would let go again.

Im really thinking a set of replicas is the way to go, the price difference just offsets the amount of time they last. Its either £700 for a set of replicas which may last a year before one cracks, or £2000 for a set of genuine ones which may last a year before one cracks.

Problem is, once cracked, both wheels are pretty much useless and will give the same amount of hassle if repaired, but you probably wont feel too bad with the £700 set.

 

[w300lou]

If it's cracked and been repaired, my understanding is that the heat put into the repair whilst welding will upset the structure permanently and cracks will become more frequent. That's why a new wheel is normally the best option.

Thanks for your feed back - struggling to find a genuine AMG single wheel replacement, will have to ring Mercedes tomorrow for their ridiculously over priced quote!

 

[V8 Supercharger]

struggling to find a genuine AMG single wheel replacement, will have to ring Mercedes tomorrow for their ridiculously over priced quote!

My point exactly.

When you get back up off the floor once they give you the quote it might be time to get some replicas.

 

[Chris Murray]

V12 I agree, I get numerous calls from people with cracked alloys and would say the majority are from BMW owners and people who have bought replica or fake alloys. Mercedes alloys are the least I get calls on and normally people will comment that they have had the wheel welded numerous times so I agree a new wheel is always the best way forward remembering that a wheel is quite a high safety priority on the vehicle. Also we have no issue sourcing single genuine AMG wheels.

Thanks Simon