Frequently Asked Questions About Replay Alloy Wheels

1. How should i select wheels to fit my vehicle?

2. What is a wheel offset? can i install wheels with a non-standard offset?

3. Which deviations in wheel characteristics are approachable for safe usage?

4. I have purchased wheels but they do not fit my car. they bump into the brake calipers despite the fact that all parameters meet the required ones.

5. What should i pay attention to when purchasing alloy wheels?

6. Do fasteners (bolts/screws) for steel wheels fit alloy wheels and vice versa?

7. What unbalance tolerance is permissible when installing a wheel?

8. What is the difference between replay wheels and so-called replicas?

9. Which country are replay wheels produced in? how important is this?

10. Replay wheels and vehicle warranty. can they cancel the vehicle warranty if the wheels are not original ones?

If you have not found answers to your questions in this section, please email us! email us!!

1. How should I select wheels to fit my vehicle?

It is not so difficult to choose wheels for your car. It is important that you know the set of wheel characteristics that meet your automobile producer requirements, including the rim width, number of fasteners, pitch center diameter (PCD), wheel offset (ET), and the maximum load on a wheel (MAX LOAD).

You can obtain this information from an official dealer for your make of vehicle or use the wheel selection tool on our website. You can also ask a sales assistant at a wheel-and-tire center that is a Replay partner.

2. What is a wheel offset? Can I install wheels with a non-standard offset?

The wheel offset (ET) is the distance between the center line of the rim and the mounting surface. It is measured in millimeters. Therefore, the greater the offset is, the deeper the wheel sits. The smaller it is, the more the wheel will protrude. For example, wheels with -10 ET will significantly stick out from the vehicle’s wheel arches and significantly increase the axle track. When installing alloy wheels, it is permissible to change the offset value 3–5 mm either way from standard parameters. You should always remember that any big change in wheel offset parameters might seriously increase the load on the vehicle’s suspension elements, especially on a hub bearing, which may cause their premature failure. It also greatly affects vehicle steerability. In any case, we would highly recommend trying the wheels on your vehicle before installing them, specifically in the case that offset parameters change. You should install this only when you are sure that the wheel fits your ride well (i.e. it does not touch the brake caliper, wheel arch liners, etc.).

3. Which deviations in wheel characteristics are approachable for safe usage?

First, we need to understand which parameters we are talking about. There may be some tolerances in regards to the following characteristics:

• Wheel diameter: It is possible to use large-diameter wheels that improve vehicle steerability and its appearance. It is also permissible to use wheels with a smaller diameter. This will reduce the unsprung weight, increase travelling comfort, and will allow you to save money because smaller tires and wheels cost less (as a rule, it is a winter option).
• Wheel offset (ET): It is undesirable to change this value by more than 5mm (unless you plan to customize your vehicle), because the offset change results in a track change. This may result in a worsening of the vehicle’s steerability, increase the load on suspension elements (particularly, on a hub bearing), and cause wheel grabbing of vehicle arches and suspension when turning or under loads.
• Centre bore: It is used preliminary to precisely align a wheel axle with a hub axle of the vehicle when installing a wheel. Its size can be different and can be adjusted using special adapter rings which are made of plastic or aluminum. It is safe and will not result in any undesirable consequences.
• Rim width: As a rule, it needs to be changed when you have a wider tire. When the wheel width is selected incorrectly, the inner rim edge or a tire sidewall might rub against suspension elements when the steering wheel is turned or when the outer edges of the wheel and tire might touch the vehicle’s wheel arches.

As you see, it is not easy to select wheels according to parameters that differ from those specified by vehicle producers and this can be rather expensive when you purchase and assemble wheels and tires in different places. After purchasing wheels from incompetent sales assistants, who wants to deal with the problem of their scraping against a brake caliper, which might lead to a whole set of actions that ultimately drain your nerves and wallet?

To save a client from such unpleasing surprises, Replay wheel sizes fully fit the corresponding parameters recommended by automobile manufacturers.

4. I have purchased wheels but they do not fit my car. They bump into the brake calipers despite the fact that all parameters meet the required ones.

The distance between a mounting surface and a wheel backside is called an X-factor. This concept is quite relative. The rim construction is guided by certain standards as it needs to fit the pneumatic tire rim. The wheel construction can take almost any form. At the same time, it should be compatible with brake elements and ensure sufficient wheel endurance and a nice appearance.

To put it simply, if the X-factor value is large, the wheel will sit on a vehicle with the brake supports greatly sticking out from the mounting surface. If the X-factor value is near zero, the wheel can be used on vehicles with brake elements which do not jut out of the mounting surface, e.g. GAZ-24 (drum brakes on front and rear axles). Disc brake calipers on many off-road vehicles, including LADA 4x4 (ex-Niva), virtually do not stick out from the mounting surface. Therefore, wheels for such vehicles can have a small X-factor.

Once again, we would like to highlight that the X-factor is more a slang concept than one related to engineering. Even when the X-factor is large, the wheel can touch a brake caliper with its rim or hub, especially in the case when some customized brake elements have been installed on a vehicle.

You will not run into such an issue with any Replay wheels as they are, from the very beginning, designed for specific makes of vehicles and produced under the strict monitoring of all parameters, including the X-factor. Models that might cause any trouble during their installation on a vehicle they are intended for will not be put into production.

5. What should I pay attention to when purchasing alloy wheels?

Your eyes and hands will be your major helpers. Try to visually define the quality of painting and finishing. Impurities and uneven painting are the first signs of a poor-quality product. Pay attention to your tactile sensations. Your fingers can easily feel what is concealed with a metallic paint. Pass your hand over the wheel surface – it shall be even and smooth, without any sensible waviness or the feeling of sand under your fingers.

Before opting for some definite model, it is a good practice to also pay attention to the indirect signs of wheel quality. They are as follows:

• Packaging quality: heavy-duty carton and a multilayer inner package are mandatory for wheel safety during transportation and storage. This is also a sign of the manufacturer’s commitment to its products.
• The fasteners, provided together with the wheel, make it possible to figure out how to achieve the proper selection while saving you money.
• The quality of the manufacturing and installation of a decorative insert on the wheel, closing the center bore. It should not be loose in the hole, but at the same time, you should be able to remove it without any significant effort. A logo sticker or emblem should look nice, be tightly fixed, and follow the insert contours. The chrome-plated parts of emblems and/or logo stickers shall be covered with a protective film, signifying the high quality of this product and the manufacturer’s conscientiousness regarding the production process.
• A product certificate, assembly and user manuals, as well as warranty. In accordance with Russian laws, every wheel package must contain all of these documents.

You should also check if there is a compliance certificate (a CTP sign on the wheel and/or packaging) and product warranty conditions.

6. Do fasteners (bolts/screws) for steel wheels fit alloy wheels and vice versa?

When choosing fasteners for installing wheels on your vehicle, pay attention to the following aspects:

• In 99.9% of cases, longer fasteners are required to install alloy wheels. This is due to the fact that such wheels are thicker at the fitting point than stamped ones. Therefore, to compensate for the difference in thickness and ensure reliable alloy wheel installation, they use longer bolts and screws.
• Fasteners with various clamping parts, e.g. cone, flat or spherical, may be used for wheels of different brands.

You should take the selection of proper fasteners seriously, because safe and reliable fastening is essential to ensure secure driving.

For your convenience, all Replay wheels always come supplied with the required fasteners, designed specifically for your vehicle.

7. What unbalance tolerance is permissible when installing a wheel?

Given that Russian standard GOST R 50511-93 does not specify any unbalance tolerance, we apply the internal regulations of the companies producing the wheels as our guidelines during the process of manufacturing Replay wheels. Such companies supply light-alloy wheels to the assembly lines of international automobile manufacturers. Thus, their internal standards can be applied to the wheels used on the Russian market. To avoid any issues related to a significant wheel unbalance tolerance (according to customers’ opinions), we use the limiting unbalance values that are shown in the table and are applicable to light-alloy wheels.

8. What is the difference between Replay wheels and so-called replicas?

Replica wheels are approximate copies of OEM wheels. They replicate both the wheel design and all the parameters recommended by the vehicle manufacturer.

The range is wider, in comparison to the OEM group, due to the fact that wheels of the same design are produced in various diameters and additional color choices.

Recently, many unfair manufacturers have been using the Replica concept to offer low-quality products, thereby making the choice about which wheels to choose tougher.

So what is the difference between Replay-branded wheels and Replica wheels made by other manufacturers?

1. Replay wheels are produced under the supervision of Russian engineers and manufacturing technicians with 20 years of experience in alloy wheel production.
2. Wheels are manufactured at the same plants where the original OEM wheels are made.
3. The alloy used for our wheels is produced from high-quality raw materials and complies with the standards applied in the OEM wheels’ production process.
4. The range of Replay wheels includes over 2,000 models for 44 makes of vehicles, including those used for commercial transport vehicles.
5. Despite an abundance of similar wheels represented on the market, every Replay product can be easily distinguished by its box, made of five-layer corrugated cardboard and a wheel certificate with the Replay brand logo.
6. All Replay wheels undergo quality control testing similar to that performed on OEM wheels. In addition, we have introduced our own quality control standard called Qualex, the requirements of which are higher than for standard procedures.

Many years of hard work has helped us to improve our products and guarantee that they meet the parameters of a specific car manufacturer, create a fantastic range of designs, paint colors and finishes, and that they are reasonably priced, which makes our wheels really affordable.

9. Which country are Replay wheels produced in? How important is this?

Replay wheels are produced in Asia, under the supervision of Russian engineers and manufacturing technicians, including at the plants that make original OEM wheels.

Nowadays, we are observing significant changes on the alloy wheel market. While Chinese manufacturers were hardly known ten years ago, their world market share in 2013 reached 60%. If we take into account that many popular European brands have shifted their production sites to sites located in the east, we can understand how the share of wheels produced in China has reached 80%.

Those who have experience communicating with Chinese manufacturers know that their major work principle is to fully meet their clients’ requirements. Yes, at first, our domestic retailers were offering Russian drivers cheap Chinese scrap. However, as of today, the situation has changed and we purchase products made in the Middle Kingdom, the quality of which is equal to the quality of wheels being supplied to Europe and the USA, where customers know the value of quality.

For more than five years, Replay wheels have been successfully distributed and sold in Russia and Ukraine. They are produced in full compliance with factory parameters and undergo mandatory checks and tests of various levels.

High-quality Replay wheels are manufactured in a wide range that is regularly renewed. Their main peculiarity is their reasonably priced excellent quality, which has allowed them to establish themselves a good reputation of the wheel market.

10. Replay wheels and vehicle warranty. Can they cancel the vehicle warranty if the wheels are not original ones?

Wheels with parameters differing from those specified by the automobile producer often become the reason for rejecting a vehicle’s warranty repair. This is unlikely in reference to Replay wheels due to the fact that they are copies of the original wheels and have the same parameters and quality certificate. If you have encountered any issue of this nature, ask your automobile dealer to provide a written refusal to perform warranty repair and then contact the consumer protection agency. If your case reaches the court, the law will be on your side. If you are unable to resolve the issue in this manner, please contact us at info@replaywheel.ru and our specialists will advise you on this matter..