I recently purchased a second set of factory replicas from a wheel company out of Florida. These rims are the factory replica 17x7.5 5-spoke design. About three years ago, I had purchased the same style rims from this very same company and had zero issues with them (the rims). I had damaged one of the original replica wheels, which prompted me to purchase another one and while I was at it, purchased another 4 to buy snow tires.

I took the car to my local Audi/Porsche dealership and had the wheels balanced and now starts the problem. The rear end of the car shakes at any speed over 60mph and is really bad at 65mph. Took the car back to the dealership and then had the tires road force balanced, which resulted in zero improvement. Audi techs are stumped. Decided to replace the rear wheel bearings, nothing, Then had the alignment, drivetrain, and rearend inspected. Again nothing.

Took the 17s off and put on factory 16s and the ride was smooth as silk.

The Audi techs stated nothing appeared to be an issue with the 17s, but I am not convinced. When I got home I decided to look deeper at the rims and then realized these replicas, while from the same company are now made by a different source. I am attaching pictures of the original and new replicas and would like any opinion, feedback, comments that could help me identify the issue. The shaking is primarily coming from the rear of the car with these new rims. Could the solid contact between the aluminum cast and the hub be causing something to be off?

Not sure what to do and looking to AW for help!
TIA!

 

Are you using hubcentric rings and the correct lug bolts for those specific tires?

If the tire isn't perfectly center on the hub you will get a vibration.... Other than that the wheel force balancing should have told you if you had a bad tire (broken belt)

Also I would check to see if the problem can be moved to the front. swap the front and back tires to see if the vibration follows.

 

Changed fronts to rear, no change.

Given the taper of the rim, I am not sure if a hubcentric ring would work. Doesn't the rim need to have a recess to hold the ring? I did try several different lug nuts with no change in results, so I am not sure what else to try.

Thank you for you post!

 

I got some A5 rims on my car and I had the same issue...
I paid $25 only to find out that the balance wasn't off... at the end I tried hubcentric rings and (according to my gf who drove the car before the coil issue) the vibration disappeared!

Btw the A5 rims have the same issue - the hub hole is a bit taper - not sure why they do that...

 

How do I go about getting hubcentric rings? I do notice that my old S4 winter rims had the hubcentric rings, but they came with the wheels from the Tirerack.

 

Did you have them just balanced or Road-Force balanced? Big difference IMHO...

I also think you should confirm the centerbore of the wheel. The A6 has a 59.1mm centerbore, and many replica wheels are made for that specific centerbore, but many others make a "generic" centrbore so the wheels can fit other cars.

For example, my Volk wheels have a 73.0mm centerbore, but I have hubcentric rings that convert the centerbore to the 59.1 for the A6. If I move the wheels to antoher car (like a B8 A4 with a 66.5mm centerbore) all I have to do is find a different set of hubcentric rings. I do not have to buy different wheels.

If you confirm the centerbore is correct (with or without a hubcentric ring), then it is down to the balancing. Find a shop with a Hunter Road Force Balance machine and they should be able to solve the problem.

 

I got my hubcentric rings off ebay for $12.
As Boston Driver said you need to confirm if the centerbore is correct if not you need the rings...