Is there really a big dif between"Authentic" and "Replica" wheels??

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caseywan

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Oct 6, 2006

#1

• Oct 6, 2006

• #1

Are the replica wheels worse quality or anything than the authentic ones??

 

carbed87

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#2

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y 93 cobra replicas in the mail about 30 minutes ago, and the fit and finish looks great... thats about all i can tell you right now. if you do decide, go through "wheel replicas" on ebay, they got them shipped to my door in like 5 days!

 

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DeVus1

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#3

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• #3

Best place to get rims is American Muscle.com (formerly Mustang Tuning). Ive ordered two sets of rims from them, and they have been great.

 

wythors

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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

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Oct 7, 2006

#5

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I bought a set of silver ponies about 10 years ago from California Mustang, they look great.

 

bigcat

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#6

• Oct 7, 2006

• #6

wythors said:

Last year I decided to upgrade the rears to 17x10.5 with a 335/35 tire and bought the replica Bullitts from Mustang Tuning.

Click to expand...

WOW!!!! 335s

 

90mustangGT

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#7

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The big difference is price. Most replicas are actuall better.

 

281cammer

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#8

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Price is where it's at, I've owned 2 set of saleen replica's and 1 set of replica Cobra R's. I'll buy replica's anyday.
Steve Ricketts

 

Bolt on 5.0

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#9

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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

 

Mustang5L5

That is…until I whipped out my Bissell

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#10

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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.

 

GSP393

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#11

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I plan to get a set of chrome bullits for mine from cjpony after I do the 5 lug swap

 

Darkwriter77

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#12

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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.

 

Mustang5L5

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#13

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Darkwriter77 said:

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)..

Click to expand...

'93 LX limited edition had chrome pony wheels

 

Darkwriter77

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#14

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Ah. Thought those were just polished aluminum.

 

tunedin302

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#15

• Oct 8, 2006

• #15

Darkwriter77 said:

(obviously replicas - Ford never made Pony rims in chrome, to my knowledge, maybe only in polished aluminum).

Click to expand...

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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caseywan

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Oct 8, 2006

#16

• Oct 8, 2006

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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.