997 Turbo Replicas (Xpost)

I posted this originally on the Wheel & Tire forum but there's not much action over there... Been looking for some replicas so I can mothball the oem wheels on my Millennium Edition (they're starting to peel). Found these and the price is so low I'm very skeptical. Does anyone have any experience with these? Link

They're inexpensive,--so buy a set and let us know how it works out.

i have those on my car. i've put maybe 100 miles on them. they fit well and are no heavier than my OEM carrera 5 spoke. my car is arctic silver and i think it looks nice. aggressive without being over the top. anyway, they seem strong enough. i drive on rough michigan roads and no bends or cracks thus far. wish i had seen that ad, those are $200 cheaper than what i paid.

I'm going to follow this one closely - those are great looking wheels! Hopefully they're as reliable as the fine print says it should be... If they are, they're on the list for next year. Hopefully this is a deal good enough to be true... Rudy

Gotta be made in China!

sold a lot of things and has a very high rating - that doesnt make the wheels good/bad though... someone ask where the manufacture plant they talk about is... plus I love these wheels, but not as much on the 996 as the 997's BTW: why do you want replicas? with a millenium edition wouldnt it be best to keep the period wheels, just have them re-done? do you have pics of the current set up? post them

I haven't talked to the vendor yet. Been too busy. But, I would think for the price they must be Chinese made. My main goal was to get the originals off the car to preserve the original finish. But, I've procrastinated enough that it's becoming futile. The right front wheel had another good sized piece flake off last weekend. I spoke to Wheel Enhancement and they said this finish is not reproducible. I could just refinish these but it wouldn't be the same process. I will not have them chromed. I could have them stripped, polished and clearcoated. Someone locally suggested that I have them polished and clear powder coated. But I haven't seen what that looks like. It's supposedly way more durable and the powder coating doesn't knock down the brightness of the polish too much. Speaking of brightness, I'm not usually into the "chrome" look. But, I've seen other Mill Editions with just plain silver painted wheels and I don't think it looks as good with the exterior paint. That's one of the reasons I like the 997 Turbo wheels. The machined face gives a little of that look without being over the top. I also think the anthracite background of the wheels would subtly pick up some of the exterior color. Here's a couple of the current (stock) setup...you can see how the paint changes color under different lighting conditions.

I also spoke with them, they said they are all replica - would not tell where they were made

Quotes source post: 6721963

That says alot right there.

If they won't tell where they're made then i will pasadena on them. There's a source for these replicas that are made in Italy.

I had (still technically have in boxes) italian reps, that manufacturer only made 19s and no longer sells them in the US according to everyone I know in the wheel business, which is not exhaustive but at least extensive. The italian wheels were far, far more expensive, but at that time there were no easily available OEM narrowbody applications (you can now buy the narrowbody parts through the tequipment catalog, less $$$ than before but still alot, but 19 inch only last time I looked) all the reps are now from china, and from what i hear all from the same factory. they are fine if you're getting 18s for the street, don't stress out, but don't expect too much from $500 wheels either!

If you like 'em buy 'em. How can you go wrong for $500. You can't even get a set of Cragar's or American Racing wheels at Pep boys for less than that. You could buy 2 sets at that price. You'd have a back up set available and still have paid less money than 2 OEM rims.

actually less than 1 oem rim, retail on one 11" rear is $1300

Quick Update--I'm taking a chance on those $500 set of Turbo Reps. I have the wheels and will have them installed this afternoon. I had them spun on a Hunter machine last week and they looked good. One of the front wheels will require a little more weight than the others. That can probably be offset with proper location of the high spot of the tire. The runout was good on all four. I didn't get printouts, but I'll try and get all the info this afternoon and post it up.

hope it works out... visually they look nice

It amazes me that you so rarely hear about wheel failure. I'm sure these various $500 sets of wheels are cast using the lost-dung method from recycled beer cans. But they still seem to hold up fine, not shatter at highway speeds, even stand up to a trackday or two. Never mind Porsches, think about all the kids in Hondas putting tires with a 1" sidewall on the cheapest wheels they can find. Any failure is immediately posted up on every car forum on the web with the "$10 helmet for a $10 head" curmudgeons on one side and the "how big is your lip" fanbois on the other both taking shots. I've shattered three (3) heavy, heat treated, tested, premium brand rally wheels on a single (1) stage. It's not fun. But I wouldn't hesitate to put most of these replicas on a street car. They just don't fail very often.

it'll be fine, they're 18s so the extra half inch of sidewall should keep their strength from being tested too often. If they hold up well, I'll buy a set for my snows this year, so keep us posted!

Quotes source post: 6814774

This is a good post, but you know what's funny is that where you hear about wheel failure is in 997 land (19s), but it's not total failure, it's just terrible but mostly repairable bending. I know literally 25 or 30 guys in both NY and LA who have bent their 997 OEM wheels, both cast and forged, but really just the 19s. I've been in a couple of my buddies' cars and asked if they realized why their steering wheels were jumping all over the place at 30 mph, and few even realize that the wheels are bent, they invariably say something (while driving straight through a pothole) like, well I just assumed that Porsches are supposed to ride rough, or that they are going to replace the suspension with PSS9s or something equally rich. I used to this very hilarious for some reason, until the first time I bent a 19" wheel (not a pothole since i dodge them like an old man in a cadillac, but was a large rock around a blind turn on a high mountain pass, so it was either run over the rock or run off the cliff!). My first thought was, bent a control arm, must have bent a control arm. haha The most common Porsche fitment wheel I've known to crack (esp. in the cold) is amongst the most overpriced and highly prized by the 6speed set, the Techart Formula. Now have heard about 5 different sets cracking

I had the wheels installed. I wasn't able to get a printout of the all the weights and runout measurements. One of the front wheels required rotating the tire a bit more to find the spot that required the least weight to balance. But, the worst case was about 25-30 grams. We weighed the wheels on a UPS scale and they came up ~26 1/2 lbs. and 29 3/4 lbs. front and rear respectively. So far, I've mainly driven the car around town up to 65 mph. But, I did get on the highway between exits (~ 3 miles) and ran it up to 85 mph and they felt good. No shimmer, shake, etc. Here's a few quick pics.

Looks great! A couple of my turbo twists are starting to look a little shabby so maybe I'll get a set of these and use the old ones for winter wheels...

The weblink in the first post does no longer work. Could somebody post a new link to the seller�s website. I want those wheels under my 996 C2. What is the ET-number of the wheels by the way?

Quotes source post: 7019628

Here . Also, check ebay; usually lots of them there as well.

Quotes source post: 6843532

The Fuchs version of these (made in Germany, obviously) are forged, and weigh: Forged Turbo Wheels - 102 lbs, 12 ozs. 8.5x19" 23 lbs. 8 oz 11x19" 27 lbs. 14 oz. You can get the Italian replicas from Wheel Dynamics. They mention (if pressed) that they are from Italy, but caviate emptor.

For the wheels pictured on my car, the sellers website is here . I have no affiliation with these guys, I just bought mine from them. They are in fact Chinese made. But, cosmetically they are very close to the factory wheels. They balanced up nicely and I've had no issues so far. I strictly street this car, it does not see any autox or DE's. If you're trying to stay in a 18" wheel, the factory is not an option.

Were the original wheel bolts ok with 997 turbo style replicas? I placed an order today, on a web shop in U.K. Wondered if I need new wheel bolts.

As long as this is the season to bump old posts, I'll make my contribution. I just ordered this set of wheels from OEWheelsllc.com. $497 for a set of four, two 18" X 8" for the front and two 18" X 10" for the rear. No tax since buying in FL and shipping to CA, shipping costs were $89... About $35/wheel to mount and balance. Should be here in two weeks, but excited enough to post after confirming the order. Pictures to follow installation. Rudy

Make sure when you sell the car that you advise potential buyers that you put on Chinese wheels.

19" 997 turbo wheels might be findable used so you wont be leaving the proverbial farm. Always is nice to buy new though. Bought my 19" 997 turbo wheels used. Well actually they came with the car

If they're safe, I see no problem whatsoever with these as a second set. Edgy, you have a different viewpoint?

Finally got mine mounted. In my opinion, a big upgrade from the stock twists. Rudy Before: 021a.jpg After: wheels01.jpg wheels04.jpg

Quotes source post: 6714255

Why don't you just get your OEM refinished? It's only around a $100 a wheel, which includes any straightening.

Hey guys, I've been looking to buy a set of 997 turbo wheels on ebay but yours (Blake's) seem to have a darker shade of graphite colour, I LOVE IT! I'm looking at getting the 18's with a 225/45 r18 (8") in front and 285/35 r18 (10") in the rear for my C4S , this is 10mm higher (side wall) than the stock tires, I'm really hoping that this will provide a much needed softer ride because the roads up here are killing me and my car!! Does anyone know what size spacers I'm going to need to fit those 10" rims in place of the stock 11's? (the offset available on the rims is 65, 50 or 45) Thanks guys. Sid. BTW. Blake & Rudy congrats on your wheels they look awesome!

SId, What offset is on your current 11" wide rear wheels? If you know that I can help you determine what offset (65, 50 or 45) on the 10" wheels will be your best fit and maybe you will be able to avoid the need for spacers.

Hey Tim, The stock offset is 45. Cheers, Sid.

Quotes source post: 7229941

Sid, Going from an 11" wide wheel with a 45mm offset, a 10" wide wheel with a 45mm offset would change in the following ways: - there will be 13mm more inner clearance - the outside of the wheel will retract by 13mm So if you want the outside of the new 10" wheel to be in about the same position as your current wheel, you will need to add 15mm spacers to a 10" wide wheel with 45mm offset. The offset is measured from the middle (center) of the wheel width. A higher offset number (in mm) means that more of the wheel will be inside the wheel well. Assuming the same wheel width in both of the following examples, a 65mm offset wheel will be 20mm (about 3/4") more to the inside than a wheel with a 45mm offset. Here is a link to an offset calculator which may help you in the future. Wheel Offset Calculator Hope this helps. Let me know if you have any questions.

Excellent! Tim you have a real talent for expressing yourself in such a manner it's real easy to understand. As usual, your the man! Thanks, Sid.

Quotes source post: 7230043

side which bumper is pictured on your car? did it come with that 997 signal/lamp or is that the oem part? Looks slick

Quotes source post: 7230043

Thanks for the kind words. I am glad I could help.

Quotes source post: 7231115

It's a '08 997 GT2 bumper modified to fit a 996 ($3.000,-), the grills, lip and indicator/driving lights are OEM ($1250,-) I got it from Wicked Motor Woks in LA, it did need quite bit of detail modifying before paint to get a good fit though ($2000,-). Cheers, Sid.

Quotes source post: 7231344

Sid, very fresh look! Thanks for sharing. Best, Hans

Quotes source post: 7231573

Any time