Is there really a big dif between"Authentic" and "Replica" wheels??
- Thread starter caseywan
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I installed FRPP 17x8 black Bullitts on my wife's car back when they first came out a couple of years ago. Her car was the only one in the Seattle area for quite a few months with them. Last year I decided to upgrade the rears to 17x10.5 with a 335/35 tire and bought the replica Bullitts from Mustang Tuning. The finish on the replica wheels are identical to the FRPP wheels. I'd buy them again in a heartbeat.
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GSP393
New Member
Bolt on 5.0
Founding Member
Yeh I would def go with a known name brand replica. I paid like $1,200 for my old cobra rims from ford racing and the box said not for street use. They looked great but I paid alot more just to have the cobra center cap
The finish when new is usually as good or better than OEM wheels.
The difference is down the line. Replica CHROME wheels never last as long as OEM CHROME wheels. Go buy a set of Authentic Chrome Saleen wheels and they will last longer than replicas will. That's really the only issue as every replica chrome wheel i see starts flaking 2 years or so after purchase.
The difference is down the line. Replica CHROME wheels never last as long as OEM CHROME wheels. Go buy a set of Authentic Chrome Saleen wheels and they will last longer than replicas will. That's really the only issue as every replica chrome wheel i see starts flaking 2 years or so after purchase.
GSP393
New Member
Yeah, my buddy's notch had a set of chrome Pony rims from Performance Wheel Outlet (obviously replicas - Ford never made Pony rims in chrome, to my knowledge, maybe only in polished aluminum). The chrome started flaking off horribly within 6 months, and they acted like total turds on the phone about refusing to honor any kind of warranty on them. They rode nice, at least, and had no fitment or balancing problems.
On the other hand, the silver painted Cobra R style rims he bought later from another company look great and haven't flaked off at all. Aftermarket chrome tends to be poop when it comes to OEM style wheels; painted or polished aluminum seems to be the best way to go.
Unless I can find someone locally that's willing to part with a decent set of Pony rims for a good price, I'll probably just eventually order a set of reproduction Ponies from 50resto.com. If you just absolutely positively MUST have OEM-made rims, just go hunt down a nice used set on eBay, CraigsList, the local boneyard, or a swap meet (like at the WFC). Buying brand-new factory original rims is just silly.
FWIW, a lot of "replica" wheels are only called such because they usually don't have the license rights to put a Ford logo (or some other trademarked symbol) on the centercap, thus they are not "authentic." This is perhaps the only reason those stupid OEM centercaps for my 10-hole rims are so insanely expensive - you're only paying for the F-word cast into the middle of it.
On the other hand, the silver painted Cobra R style rims he bought later from another company look great and haven't flaked off at all. Aftermarket chrome tends to be poop when it comes to OEM style wheels; painted or polished aluminum seems to be the best way to go.
Unless I can find someone locally that's willing to part with a decent set of Pony rims for a good price, I'll probably just eventually order a set of reproduction Ponies from 50resto.com. If you just absolutely positively MUST have OEM-made rims, just go hunt down a nice used set on eBay, CraigsList, the local boneyard, or a swap meet (like at the WFC). Buying brand-new factory original rims is just silly.
FWIW, a lot of "replica" wheels are only called such because they usually don't have the license rights to put a Ford logo (or some other trademarked symbol) on the centercap, thus they are not "authentic." This is perhaps the only reason those stupid OEM centercaps for my 10-hole rims are so insanely expensive - you're only paying for the F-word cast into the middle of it.
tunedin302
I AM the law!!!
Darkwriter77 said:
Yes they do .. I had them a little over 10 years, and the chrome was top notch.
http://www.fordracingparts.com/parts/part_details.asp?PartKeyField=1697
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Wow, thanks for all the info guys...didn't know all this.
I'm doing a 5 lug conversion this winter and was planning on getting chrome Saleen style wheels, but after what Mustang5L5 said maybe I'll get polished, unless someone can vouch for a set of chrome Saleen replicas that are as good as OEM.
I'm doing a 5 lug conversion this winter and was planning on getting chrome Saleen style wheels, but after what Mustang5L5 said maybe I'll get polished, unless someone can vouch for a set of chrome Saleen replicas that are as good as OEM.
