BMW 451 OEM wheels made in China?

[gershon]

Hi all, I recently purchased a CPO X5 last week. It's been a few decades since I had a BMW and have been enjoying it so far.

Upon returning from the dealership, as I always do, I washed the X5 thoroughly, including a full clay bar treatment & wax, as well as taking the wheels off so that I can clean the inside of each rim.

I noticed that all 4 wheels are stamped "China" and "BMW Mold 1#", as well as "ZCW". Because it's been a while since I owned a BMW, I have been under the assumption that BMW wheels are made in Germany, Italy or Mexico only. Please see attached pics.

My intention isn't to have a made in China quality debate, or even a replica vs OEM debate - I'm just hoping an expert can chime in to educate me if these wheels are OEM or not, for the simple fact that the price of the X5 was sold based on them being authentic OEM, which was factored into the selling price of the X5 by a few thousand.

If they are authentic OEM, which is what I hope, then that's great. If they're not, then I'm going to talk to the dealer to make good on authentic OEM wheels.

The wheels are the 20" style 451 wheels.

Thanks in advance for any input.

G

[RED_Y_]

I think they were made in Taiwan for some M models, not sure about China. May be previous owner had custom wheels and when the lease was up sourced some China replicas to return the car?

Update: Quick google search shows that they might be legit.
https://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/sh...d.php?t=719312

[turboawd]

Probably real. I couldn't find any 451 replicas back when I was looking for rims.

[gershon]

Thank you both for the quick replies - both give good validation.

For what it's worth, the dealership didn't have a way to authenticate besides asking if there was a part # stamped on the inside, which seems to be 6853960, taken from the rear wheel, per the picture.

Back in the day, the surefire way to validate would be to weigh the rim, vs a known oem rim, since replicas were a little heavier.

I don't know the stampings on the inside of a replica rim, but if they didn't make this 451 wheel in a replica, then that will have to do for now.

[9mmkungfu]

I wouldn't be surprised if it's authentic. My OEM 612M wheels are made in Taiwan.

[Kraftwerk AG]

Originally Posted by 9mmkungfu

I wouldn't be surprised if it's authentic. My OEM 612M wheels are made in Taiwan.

Yep, my 612's were made in Taiwan 🇹🇼 as well

[gershon]

Hi all,

A lot of good information so far - appreciate all who've contributed.

I had another idea to try to authenticate my wheels - I've been going through ebay auctions, as well as member posts here, and have not been able to see a set of wheels with the same inside stampings as my wheels. So, are my wheels just made at a different factory as all the other style 451 wheels?

I guess I'd like to see one other set of 451 wheels with my same stampings, from a known original owner (since mine is CPO).

thanks again,

g

[gershon]

update: found this thread, which has someone asking the same question, essentially, from ma few years ago:

https://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/sh....php?t=1012305

But also, in various classifieds, I've seen stamping from Italy and Mexico.

Additionally, I cannot find a single replica 451.