As I've been browsing around for some 18" factory Infiniti rims, I've come across these:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/18-NE...31691146QQrdZ1

-and-

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/18-In...30193196QQrdZ1

Although these are the same rims, or appear to be, there seems to be a big difference in price. Comments...?

 

The first wheels are not authentic Infiniti wheels, but they say they are made at the same plant (so they claim). They are also smaller in width 7.5" versus the 8" width the OEM. They are also a higher offset of +35 versus +30 on the OEM.

In simple terms they would be approx. 1/4" more inside the fender than the OEM wheels.

IMHO, one is too weak in size and offset vs. the OEM and the other are ridiculously expensive for OEM just to have the chrome.

If that's what you're looking for I'd suggest you look for a nice used set on this board and you'll get them anywhere from $600 up to $850 for rims and tires.

 

don' trust everything you read on e-bay.

 

There are some people on the board that have purchased the O.E wheels and they seem to be happy with their purchase. It all boils down to if you are looking for value. I have a +35 offset on 8.5 inch wheel and it's flush with the fenders a +30 would stick out to much which could be an issue if you plan to lower the suspension. Maybe some of those people will add their comments...

 

Perhaps I could scrounge around here for I would like to get 18" Infiniti OEM rims. The 17" that I have on my X are just too small looking, and the 18" OEM's woulod looks much better - and since it's leased, I'm not interested on spending a furtune.

Anyone got some for sale...?

 

I have the 18x7.5 rims from my 05 sedan if you're interested.

 

Ask around in the Coupe section too!

 

Perhaps - these are not staggered correct...? As you know this setup will not work correctly on the X.

Send PM me some high resolution pics [1600x1200 or >] and $$$ and let me take a look. Let me know if you need an anternate address...

 

Here's a telling exchange from the seller's feedback (he/she has 98.x% on 13,000+ feedback responses):
And so on.


In my experience (atempting to) buy expensive-ish stuff on ebay, Sellers that have that many negative feedbacks (around 2-3 per month) and that many "mutually withdrawn" feedbacks are a little shady.


What does "original equipment plant" mean, anyway, if they're replica wheels?

I would definitely pass on this seller. He / she reminds me of some con artists that attempted to sell me a pair of what would charitably be called "speakers" (here's the item listing). And by the way, the whole reason I bid on them was to bid up the price of the auction (yes, that was kinda mean, and yes, I should have looked at what I was bidding on, and yes, I learned that lesson). All sorts of warning bells went off when I won a "$4000 set" for $78.00!

I refused to pay, said so several times, citing a bunch of google searches for "Digital Research" (here's a good thread) or whatever they were, showing that people were buying these crappy things out of the backs of vans. The sellers would claim they were $2000+ systems, and that they could cut you a deal for $400 or whatever if you bought 'em "right now." They claimed that the 50+ pages of forum posts were BS, of course, so I said "try me," and opened a fraud claim against them. They closed it within an hour, with the official reason being "item was shipped as requested," and I never heard from them again. I think eBay suspended their account for a few days, but they're back, and stronger than ever. Go skim through this user's feedback: http://feedback.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAP...item=-1&de=off . Note all the "mutually withdrawn" items. I'm personally proud that I shafted them out of around $25 in ebay listing fees.


To bring my rambling post back onto topic: Stay away from this sort of thing on eBay.


~ Mike