Author Topic: Romac Wheels  (Read 9332 times)

Offline Adam T7

  • I live here
  • *****
  • Posts: 1,025
Romac Wheels
« on: 28 September 2024, 16:54 »
Nephew wants to buy some new wheels for his elderly Audi 3 - are Romac any good - look very cheap?
MY2019 GTI Mk 7.5 Performance. DSG, 5 Door, Rear Camera, Climate Windscreen and Rear Window Factory Tints, Indium Grey.

Offline SRGTD

  • I live here
  • *****
  • Posts: 3,676
Re: Romac Wheels
« Reply #1 on: 28 September 2024, 22:44 »
I don’t have any personal experience of Romac alloys. However, I’ve just had a look at their website and it looks as if they go through a fairly comprehensive set of safety and quality tests. Romac alloys are also manufactured in TUV approved production facilities and they’re JWL and VIA certified, so they ought to be OK.

https://romacwheels.com/production-testing/

They’re probably better than some of the replica alloys where the provenance and manufacturer might be unknown and replicas are less likely to have been subjected to safety and quality testing. 

Edit; On the issue of price; if you’re comparing them to the cost of VW alloys then yes, they probably do seem cheap. Maybe it’s VW’s alloys that are very expensive.

I’ve had a set of aftermarket alloys on my Polo GTI+ for nearly four years; RC Design RC32’s in a matte ferric iron finish. They weren’t expensive (cost just under £500 for the set of four in 2020), but I made sure I thoroughly researched them before buying. They are TUV approved, KBA safety certified (from memory, I think they’re JWL certified too), and they were made specifically for the current shape VW Polo with exactly the same spec as my OEM factory alloys (same diameter, width, offset and centre bore size, and they even used VW OEM bolts whereas many aftermarket alloys require different bolts). On poorly maintained UK roads, during the past (nearly) four years they’ve seen their fair share of potholes and sunken drain covers and the only damage sustained was a small kerb scrape when I had to avoid an oncoming dustcart heading towards me on the wrong side of the road. The choice was easy - either damage to my car or to the front nearside alloy and I chose the latter! Got a cosmetic repair to the alloy and as good as new. Other than a few small stone chips (I’ve touched them in with a paint pen), they’re still as good as new.

So IMHO lower cost alloys don’t necessarily mean poor quality, but always do your research to minimise the risk of buying alloys with the structural integrity of chocolate. Here are the RC32’s on the car;

« Last Edit: 29 September 2024, 10:45 by SRGTD »
2020 Polo GTI Plus; Pure White, DSG (because they all are)
Gone but not forgotten;
2016 Polo GTI; Blue Silk
2011 mk6 Golf GTD; Carbon Grey
2007 mk5 Golf GT (2.0 170bhp TDI version); Deep Black Pearl
2002  mk4 Golf GTI (the 150 bhp diesel version); Deep Black Pearl