drexappeal

I'm not saying you can get authentic LM's for that much, I'm just saying that I'd rather get a set of 1 piece forged rims buy a more prominent manufacturer than a set of replicas. That's just my preference. I'd sooner stay stock than do that.

anthuny, in your case, you have 2 sets of rims, so I'm surprised that youw would be so leniant on the "replica" mindset because your DTM Kreuz are bad-*** rims and worth the $$$.

Blake P

+1. That's about the price I got my BBS RG-R's for.

The other good option is buying used. I got my authentic Brabus Mono VI's for $1600 in excellent condition.

rlee02135

the DTM's were sick wheels

mig888

vs.



I'll be honest though, nothing shines brighter in my eyes than an authentic anything. They were/are both 18s.

anthuny85

I know, i jus think even though they are replicas doesnt make them a bad wheel, i mean if you look at iforged/hre, most of their styles are similar, so who's replicating who? you know what i mean. so would it be the same if someone got some i forged that look like the 549r's and someone say what a poser HRE wheel.? i mean as far as replicas go, yea some look like crap, but there are some great looking reps out there for enthusiasts who dont have the cash. i personally wouldnt get replicas, only for the LM's b/c i love those wheels so much, but cannot afford/get hands on them for a decent price.

im jus saying that out of his two options, get the LM's, its within his means not ours, and out of the two styles he wants, the LM's no doubt, all day every day.

drexappeal

Yeah, I understand what you're saying. But just remember, my opinion is also coming from the fact that I held off getting my rims for the first 2.5 years I owned the car, just putting money aside and trying to decide which I'd go with.

Ultimately, people have the choice to be patient and hold off for something better or just go with what's in front of them just because it's convenient for the moment. You never know what will pop up around the corner. I do know that there was someone selling their HRE's that they have on their w209 for very inexpensive. And I know Enrique posted that he's considering parting out the car. You just never know what will pop up. I know that if there was someone selling a set of HRE's for 1/2 the price that I paid for my 'Leggera III's, I would've done it in a heartbeat.

jay_mark_paul

Joyofcola be careful with which monoblocks you get though. They are all not the same. I've seen 4 different versions the the same wheel. All have major differences in both design, shape, finish and offset. Do your homework. I still have to disagree with you Drex, as we've all seen wheels which cost $3000-$4000 that still look like ****. It all comes down to the shape and style of the wheel, 3 piece or not.

drexappeal

3 piece wheels are usually forged. Better material than 1 piece cast replicas. Sorry, I definitely disagree with you. If it means the difference between one of my rims bending on a small bump or not and keeping air in my tire...I'm all about safety first no matter what.

anthuny85

i respect that, patience is a virtue.

see, i love modding cars and switching things whenever i get bored, and am very impatient when it comes to wheels/lowering etc.

so impatient that after 2 months of having my car i slammed it.

i do want to save up for a nice set of wheels, i almost had my hands on a set of 549r's for an incredibly low price, but stock is calling my name, maybe some merc. 18's? , jus got in an accident and this car continues to **** me off.

jay_mark_paul

Drex I understand what you saying. Anyone of us would love to put a 3-piece wheel on our Merc. But if you read his original post he states he's can afford/wants replicas at this point. With a hugh mortgage payment here in So Cal and needed capital for my business, I'm also in the same boat. All the "good stuff" will come later in life....

drexappeal

Nah, I understand where he's coming from and I understand that completely, but it's just my personal preference that if I mod, I won't do it unless I can afford it. That's just me. Doesn't mean anybody has to carry my ideals. The problem is, if you're going for something quick, fast and cheaper, a lot of people don't do the necessary research on how the product is made. They're just looking at the price tag. In most cases, replicas are not made very well, although there are well established companies (i.e. Moven, TSW) that have been around for a long time that make decent quality replicas. I'm just less willing to take the chance on my Benz vs. when I was modding up my JDM before. Parts are 2-3X's more expensive to replace on the Benz, so that is a huge risk I wasn't willing to take.

drexappeal

What happened to the DTM Kreuz though? It's not like those are cheapy rims

Blake P

I drove my coupe straight off the lot at Beshoff to CarLAB to have TEIN's installed. At that point, I had a little under $2k in hand to buy wheels/tires and could have easily settled for replicas... but I waited and found a great set of used Brabus Mono VI's for $1600. A year later when I had saved up enough for a nice set of forged wheels I bought the BBS' and sold the VI's for a nice little gain. It's all about your mindset. Personally, I can't justify buying fake ANYTHING.

anthuny85

i had to get rid of them man, lol, needed money to pay bills. unfortunate for me, but hey you gotta do what you gotta do.

so i ended up getting the mrr gt1's, not as great, but the black/polished lip look jus made my car look 10x different, still gets the heads turning and compliments all the time. i kinda like the more aggressive look, i dunno whats in store next, b/c i need to fix my car and the rear fender got pushed in and my 9.5's now rub so i had to take them off.

drexappeal

Aw, man. That sucks. Sorry to hear that, but hey, I definitely understand why you did it now. Gotta take care of business first.

exanimas

You make some great points drex. I agree with 99% of it (except with the fact that replica's don't bother me). I think that the newbies take a lot of **** for wanting to get replicas when, like you said, some of them ARE quality made. So maybe my Moven's aren't as good as their authentic counterparts, but the wheels are actually not that bad. I can also understand the newbies not knowing build quality of reps, because when I joined here a very short time ago, I had the "a wheel is a wheel" mentality. After reading what all of you experts had to say, I did a bit more research and realized that I couldn't have been more wrong. In the end I decided that the money I would save that I could put towards other things was more important to me regardless of if I bought them with 1 paycheck or saved a little each check for 3 years. As for risk taking, I might have replica wheels, but that doesn't mean I would go cheap on something like brakes or anything that I thought could end up being life threatening.

drexappeal

What a lot of people really don't understand is that I've been into modding cars ever since before I got my license (some 14 years ago). I had so many older cousins and friends that were into it also and would warn me about certain things and what can happen. I've seen cars with high quality rims roll over a pothole and not bend at all and other cars go over the same pothole and have 2 bent rims and a completely undrivable car, having to pull over and get the car towed. Granted, in most cases, I'd hope that people try to avoid potholes, but I can't assume that everybody is a good driver and aware of all their surroundings the entire time they're driving. And even the best of drivers might not see a pothole and all of a sudden...BOOM...Now you're trying your best to control a car w/ a bad tire and a mangled rim. Not a good situation. And on top of that, it's a Benz! If we're talking 1994 Civic LE where the parts and labor would be relatively "cheap" to fix, that's one thing. But even for the C230K Coupe cl203 (w203), lowest in pricing barrell, parts are still 3X's that of other makes, simply because it's Benz.

The worst threads are the ones where people are saying, "OMG, I bent a rim" or "I had a blow out on the tire because my rim was bent badly." I hate seeing those because it's almost as if that whole situation could've been avoided from the beginning. Instead of being hasty to make a car "look cool", it's so much better to do the research and go with what will give you the "look", but also keep you safe.

Blake P

Safety first, but I won't buy replica wheels for the same reason I won't buy a fake Rolex, designer wallet, handbags/jewelry for wifey, etc.

anthuny85

youre right, it all depends on the driver lol, even with my stock wheels i avoid potholes, why run it over haha.

i had no idea that you are as old as you stated drex haha, in my head im thinking youre around my age (22), pardon my ignorance

honestly after i graduate and have a good job, i will guarantee that from there on its gonna be on to greater wheels, i wont hesitate on spending money on a good set of wheels, jus for now, i play around b/c im still in college and working a sorry *** job.

KIRA

http://www.goingfaster.com/spo/you_m..._ricer_if.html

sdsilverm3

ZOMG! my car got sucked in a black hole and blew up because I own a C230 and slapped on C55 badges.

drexappeal

markmam1

hey i guess after reading my title you would go for the BBS and the best. Plus its unique and just a little changed of mind why not go for the BBS RS-GT just for a look.

andy_meng1024

Does anyone know where I can get this grill? I can't find it anywhere. Thanks.

rlee02135

Looks custom made.

closest one is the Mattig Grille: