difference between real LM5's and the replicas
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From: NJ
MGT, 12 CLS63 Launch
difference between real LM5's and the replicas
i just ordered a set of 19" lm5's and spent 5900 for the wheels and tires in chrome. i thought i got a good deal until i was browsing on the internet and saw that this company makes replica lm5s in a true 2 piece like the real lm5's for half the price. now i'm beating myself trying to figure out why i didn't notice this before i ordered. anyone know the differences between the real and replicas if there is any? the replicas are made in italy so quality of the wheels are good as well
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There are companies that make replica wheels in true 2-piece version???? 99% of the replicas out there are 2-piece look-a-like. I cannot imagine why Lorinser will let a dealer to sell both genuine parts AND replica parts. You should be careful whether they are selling replicas for the price of the true wheels.
Thread Starter
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From: NJ
MGT, 12 CLS63 Launch
Originally posted by Harris
There are companies that make replica wheels in true 2-piece version???? 99% of the replicas out there are 2-piece look-a-like. I cannot imagine why Lorinser will let a dealer to sell both genuine parts AND replica parts. You should be careful whether they are selling replicas for the price of the true wheels.
There are companies that make replica wheels in true 2-piece version???? 99% of the replicas out there are 2-piece look-a-like. I cannot imagine why Lorinser will let a dealer to sell both genuine parts AND replica parts. You should be careful whether they are selling replicas for the price of the true wheels.
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From: So. Cali
2002 CLK 430/2002 325i
Quality
You will notice that there is a quality difference with regards to finish and machining of wheel. I would also imagine that weight of each wheel will differ with original vs replica (have not verified). Verify that the replicas offer correct offsets....original LM5's provide you with correct spacers to ensure proper fitment, not sure what you would get with replicas (could be dependent on offset for vehicle application).
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...........This has been debated before. From my oint of view paying $6K for LM5 wheels makes no sense. I have owned both the authentic and replic wheels and once on your car, YOU CANNOT TELL THE DIFFERENCE. Even the one piece replica wheels are designed with a deceptive groove that makes them look like 2 piece wheels. Add to that, Rondell........the same company that makes the wheels for Lorinser and most of these other tuners also makes the new 2 piece replica wheels. Add to that, all Lorinser whhels except for the new LM6 wheels do not have Lorinser or any logo engraved on them to tell the difference. Add to that if you have $6K to spend, maybe you should wait and get a Kleemann s/c which now costs $11K for V8 and 8K for V6. Also replica wheels are not $3K. You can easily get a set of 4 LM replica wheels for $1500. To me this is a no brainer.
Ted
Ted
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...........This has been debated before. From my oint of view paying $6K for LM5 wheels makes no sense. I have owned both the authentic and replic wheels and once on your car, YOU CANNOT TELL THE DIFFERENCE. Even the one piece replica wheels are designed with a deceptive groove that makes them look like 2 piece wheels. Add to that, Rondell........the same company that makes the wheels for Lorinser and most of these other tuners also makes the new 2 piece replica wheels. Add to that, all Lorinser whhels except for the new LM6 wheels do not have Lorinser or any logo engraved on them to tell the difference. Add to that if you have $6K to spend, maybe you should wait and get a Kleemann s/c which now costs $11K for V8 and 8K for V6. Also replica wheels are not $3K. You can easily get a set of 4 LM replica wheels for $1500. To me this is a no brainer.
Ted
Ted
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..........It is not really about what people think. Wheels are just wheels. They make your car look nice and the light weight ones might add very insignificant inprovement in performance. The wider wheels with wider rubber can improve road holding characteristics of your car. All these advantages you can be derived from both authentic and replica wheels. I think the fraud is that the tunners are charging $6K for them. They do this because of R&D costs etc. If you want to contribute to Lorinser or Brabus, no problem but you don't have to. I do a lot of mods, probably more than most on the forum, but replica wheels are the best low cost investment for your car. Once you get over the concept of what others might be thinking, you can enjoy your car moore.
Ted
Ted
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Originally posted by Ted Baldwin
Add to that, all Lorinser whhels except for the new LM6 wheels do not have Lorinser or any logo engraved on them to tell the difference.
Ted [/B]
Add to that, all Lorinser whhels except for the new LM6 wheels do not have Lorinser or any logo engraved on them to tell the difference.
Ted [/B]
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real lorinser wheels DO have Lorinser engraved in them.
..........I do not think that this is correct. The logo is engraved on the centercaps which are interchangeable. You can buy these for $30 on ebay. It is the AMG wheels that have logos engraved on them while replicas do not. I have owned both authentic and replica LM5 wheels and did not see Logos engraved on either. Of course one pssibility is that all were replicas. If Lorinser wheels have Logos on them, then it must be in a hidden place in which case it will not be useful for those that want others to see that their wheels are authentic. TectiteE can help clarify this by letting us know if thre are any Lorinser Logos in any visible area on his authentic LM5 wheels except on the centercaps. The difference between authentic and replica Lorinser wheels used to be that authentic wheels were 2-piece and replica wheels were one piece. It was still very hard to tell them apart, but some seasoned observers could tell. Then came the Rondell 2-piece replica wheels. This may explain why Lorinser added engraved Logos to their newly introduced LM6 wheels. Basically, since the introduction of the Rondell 2 piece replica wheels spending $6K on Lorinser wheels is in my mind unneccessary. I understand that individual tastes vary, but if you are doing it so that others can tell your wheel apart from a replica, NO they can't.
Ted
..........I do not think that this is correct. The logo is engraved on the centercaps which are interchangeable. You can buy these for $30 on ebay. It is the AMG wheels that have logos engraved on them while replicas do not. I have owned both authentic and replica LM5 wheels and did not see Logos engraved on either. Of course one pssibility is that all were replicas. If Lorinser wheels have Logos on them, then it must be in a hidden place in which case it will not be useful for those that want others to see that their wheels are authentic. TectiteE can help clarify this by letting us know if thre are any Lorinser Logos in any visible area on his authentic LM5 wheels except on the centercaps. The difference between authentic and replica Lorinser wheels used to be that authentic wheels were 2-piece and replica wheels were one piece. It was still very hard to tell them apart, but some seasoned observers could tell. Then came the Rondell 2-piece replica wheels. This may explain why Lorinser added engraved Logos to their newly introduced LM6 wheels. Basically, since the introduction of the Rondell 2 piece replica wheels spending $6K on Lorinser wheels is in my mind unneccessary. I understand that individual tastes vary, but if you are doing it so that others can tell your wheel apart from a replica, NO they can't.
Ted
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From: NJ
MGT, 12 CLS63 Launch
Originally posted by Ted Baldwin
..........It is not really about what people think. Wheels are just wheels. They make your car look nice and the light weight ones might add very insignificant inprovement in performance. The wider wheels with wider rubber can improve road holding characteristics of your car. All these advantages you can be derived from both authentic and replica wheels. I think the fraud is that the tunners are charging $6K for them. They do this because of R&D costs etc. If you want to contribute to Lorinser or Brabus, no problem but you don't have to. I do a lot of mods, probably more than most on the forum, but replica wheels are the best low cost investment for your car. Once you get over the concept of what others might be thinking, you can enjoy your car moore.
Ted
..........It is not really about what people think. Wheels are just wheels. They make your car look nice and the light weight ones might add very insignificant inprovement in performance. The wider wheels with wider rubber can improve road holding characteristics of your car. All these advantages you can be derived from both authentic and replica wheels. I think the fraud is that the tunners are charging $6K for them. They do this because of R&D costs etc. If you want to contribute to Lorinser or Brabus, no problem but you don't have to. I do a lot of mods, probably more than most on the forum, but replica wheels are the best low cost investment for your car. Once you get over the concept of what others might be thinking, you can enjoy your car moore.
Ted
BTW- whats gonna suck even more is that i plan on changing the center caps to merc caps anyways. i've done that on my gt3's and people don't even know its not stock, but they love the look. thats the way i want it. for the car to look clean and nice but not stand out as much
Last edited by TectiteE; Nov 28, 2003 at 04:42 PM.
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From: Louisiana
E320
Originally posted by TectiteE
so your saying theres no real benefit for buying the real lm5's over the replicas? what about wieght and balancing issues? also where do you see i can get the price of 1500 for the chrome 19" lm5 replicas with tires
BTW- whats gonna suck even more is that i plan on changing the center caps to merc caps anyways. i've done that on my gt3's and people don't even know its not stock, but they love the look. thats the way i want it. for the car to look clean and nice but not stand out as much
so your saying theres no real benefit for buying the real lm5's over the replicas? what about wieght and balancing issues? also where do you see i can get the price of 1500 for the chrome 19" lm5 replicas with tires
BTW- whats gonna suck even more is that i plan on changing the center caps to merc caps anyways. i've done that on my gt3's and people don't even know its not stock, but they love the look. thats the way i want it. for the car to look clean and nice but not stand out as much
So my recommendation is, either get another set of wheels, or just buy the replicas. Performance wise I doubt there will be much advantage.
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My Lorinser RS-6 wheels have the Lorinser logo engraved onto the it and is visible.
..........Mystery solved. I just came back from Atlanta Classic cars. They are a very progressive dealership. They have an in house tunner that does Kleemann, and they sell all kinds of wheels. I went around and with a friendly rep and we inspected their Lorinser line of wheels. The truth is someone in the middle. Definitely the Lorinser LM5 wheels DO NOT have any logos anywhere except on the center cap. Not even a hidden logo. Gospel!!! But all other types of Lorinser wheels in their show room do have visible engraved Logos. I hope this clarifies the confusion. Sucks because the LM5 wheels one of the most popular. So if you want to spend $6K to have the Lorinser logo, then stay away from the LM5.
Ted
..........Mystery solved. I just came back from Atlanta Classic cars. They are a very progressive dealership. They have an in house tunner that does Kleemann, and they sell all kinds of wheels. I went around and with a friendly rep and we inspected their Lorinser line of wheels. The truth is someone in the middle. Definitely the Lorinser LM5 wheels DO NOT have any logos anywhere except on the center cap. Not even a hidden logo. Gospel!!! But all other types of Lorinser wheels in their show room do have visible engraved Logos. I hope this clarifies the confusion. Sucks because the LM5 wheels one of the most popular. So if you want to spend $6K to have the Lorinser logo, then stay away from the LM5.
Ted
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From: So Cal
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Originally posted by oggle
My Lorinser RS-6 wheels have the Lorinser logo engraved onto the it and is visible.
My Lorinser RS-6 wheels have the Lorinser logo engraved onto the it and is visible.
unfortunately, the LM-5s do not have any markings... nada, no where... it really is unfortunate... its hard to determine which are real and which are fake when it comes to buying used LM-5s.... so be careful
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Originally posted by TectiteE
so your saying theres no real benefit for buying the real lm5's over the replicas? what about wieght and balancing issues? also where do you see i can get the price of 1500 for the chrome 19" lm5 replicas with tires
so your saying theres no real benefit for buying the real lm5's over the replicas? what about wieght and balancing issues? also where do you see i can get the price of 1500 for the chrome 19" lm5 replicas with tires
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The LM is one of the best structuraly designed wheels (for street use) in the world. If a replica were of equal quality, then they would likely find another selling point than the term "replica." Then again, the costs of the forging process used in making the LM's and a few other wheels are much greater than the price of any replica I have seen to date. I would find it nearly impossible for a competetively priced replica wheel to be close in quality to the LM.
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...........I agree with you. I doubt that the replica wheels and the authentic ones are identical in quality. The issue is whether or not thy are visually distinguishable. It appears that at least for the LM5 wheels, it is not easy to distinguish any difference in appearance. I have owned both authentic and replica LM5 wheels and did not notice any difference in appearance or performance. Not being an expert in this area, I am sure mine is not the final word. The difference in price between replica and authentic Lorinser wheels is so dramatic and the diffrence in apparance and performance so oblique, that I for one would rather put the money into getting a supercharger or new brakes or updated interior etc.
Ted
Ted
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From: NJ
MGT, 12 CLS63 Launch
Originally posted by Mach430
The LM is one of the best structuraly designed wheels (for street use) in the world. If a replica were of equal quality, then they would likely find another selling point than the term "replica." Then again, the costs of the forging process used in making the LM's and a few other wheels are much greater than the price of any replica I have seen to date. I would find it nearly impossible for a competetively priced replica wheel to be close in quality to the LM.
The LM is one of the best structuraly designed wheels (for street use) in the world. If a replica were of equal quality, then they would likely find another selling point than the term "replica." Then again, the costs of the forging process used in making the LM's and a few other wheels are much greater than the price of any replica I have seen to date. I would find it nearly impossible for a competetively priced replica wheel to be close in quality to the LM.
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Originally posted by Ted Baldwin
...........The issue is whether or not thy are visually distinguishable. ............, that I for one would rather put the money into getting a supercharger or new brakes or updated interior etc.
Ted
...........The issue is whether or not thy are visually distinguishable. ............, that I for one would rather put the money into getting a supercharger or new brakes or updated interior etc.
Ted
But I'm not real sure whether there are any quality sacrifices on copies from the same factory as the originals.
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.
The 19" Rondell version is very conservative in width. It is only available in 8.0"wide vs 8.5". If you are observant, you will notice the tire will not be "stretched" like it would be on a 8.5" Lorsinser. Offset is also conservative and the overall wheel will "tuck" inside unless you add a spacer. The Rondell version even has the valve stem in the correct position as opposed to the Moven version.
