avant garde poor finish

[saxon]

just thought id give my 5,000 mile review

bought avante garde m510 from an authorized seller this summer , installed my summer tires and drove approximately 5000 miles.

at first i was in love with the satin finish until i realized they were impossible to keep clean, then every time i did clean them i kept finding random spots where they were chipping.

today i went and had a tire shop dismount the wheels and while dismounting the tires a plastic coated tool "rubbed" the wheel and the coating just peeled right off like it was cheap nail polish!!

i just thought id point this out to other enthusiasts since ive had over 50+ sets of wheels over the years and i have never had a coating chip off so easily!

of course they dont warranty this as its caused by "road hazards" and they want you to spend nearly $200 to ship the wheels to them with no guarantee you will get any help. also very reluctant to deal with a customer because thats what "dealers" are for, my dealer said they have no control except they have to basically tell Avant garde that they sold the wheels and the date they were sold

here is another post where people had problems but of course it was closed...

http://www.audizine.com/forum/showth...-wheel-quality

i will never buy these "cheap" wheels again and i'll make sure to let everyone know of my experience and "customer experience" while on the phone with them.

[SilveR316]

Lots of issues with AG finishes recently. A friend paid $800 for a custom finish on top of the regular price of the wheels only to find that it's flaking off around every minor rock chip.

[audistealth]

Thank you for the honest review. Please follow up if they make it right, or otherwise.

[RavinJetta]

I also am experience a lot of chipping on my m510s on top of them being impossible to keep clean. Will be getting them powder coated soon so they have a proper finish.

[AKPS4]

When these issues started to come up I immediately sold my set before mounting them. Got some Forgestars which are amazing so far.

[ModdedEuros]

Hmm we are running 2 sets right now. One on our S6 and one on our CC here. No issues at all and we have sold sets to bunch of customers.

Guessing you already talked to the reseller where you got them as well as AG but I reached out to our rep at AG for you to make sure they are aware as like I said we have yet to have any issues and have sold plenty of sets and run them ourselves.

[d.p]

I guess you get what you pay for? Forgestars aren't the holy grail either man. Lots of complaints about them as well.

[RickFLS4]

This is my concern about buying wheels... Not the first time I've read this about AG or various others. Thanks for the heads up.

[AKPS4]

I guess you get what you pay for? Forgestars aren't the holy grail either man. Lots of complaints about them as well.

I dont think i said anything about holy grail... and i believe i said "...so far"

if any issues come up, i'd certainly bring it up with the distributer and forgestar first then with the community. And, there have been MANY more complaints about AG's finish's on this forum than with Forgestars. no need to get into a pissing match but i guess you feel very strongly about AG's.

[apexit1]

Most of the complaints for forgestar seem to be about taking 4+ months to receive the wheels. Thanks for posting this up Saxon

[audistealth]

Why not post here while working with the distributor? It'll let people know issues, and how helpful certain reps are.

[d.p]

I dont think i said anything about holy grail... and i believe i said "...so far"

if any issues come up, i'd certainly bring it up with the distributer and forgestar first then with the community. And, there have been MANY more complaints about AG's finish's on this forum than with Forgestars. no need to get into a pissing match but i guess you feel very strongly about AG's.

Not all man but just for you to suggest forgestar as an alternative is not something I would do. To each their own.

[audistealth]

Not all man but just for you to suggest forgestar as an alternative is not something I would do. To each their own.

Any reason besides delays?

[drob23]

Most of the complaints for forgestar seem to be about taking 4+ months to receive the wheels. Thanks for posting this up Saxon

Yup, forgestar is terrible during the ordering process, but I've been very happy with them since. Just order during the winter.

I did bend one wheel, but that was on a track hitting a curb.

[d.p]

Not to mention I believe they are owned by iforged which doesn't have the best reputation either.

[saxon]

Let's keep it on topic for avant garde problems guys ��

[Usa]

I too have had similar experiences, im at about 5000 miles and have noticed minor abrasions to small rocks.

19 x 19.5 brushed tinted clear

[SpfldS4]

I do love the styles they offer and some of those custom finishes look great from a distance. But I've seen a lot of photos online of inconsistencies in the finish and that "brushed" finish looks like, well someone wiped a brush on it.

How do the standard finishes hold up compared to the custom?

[drob23]

Thanks for the thread saxon, good to have data.

I do love the styles they offer and some of those custom finishes look great from a distance. But I've seen a lot of photos online of inconsistencies in the finish and that "brushed" finish looks like, well someone wiped a brush on it.

How do the standard finishes hold up compared to the custom?

I have some matte black M310's on the GTI and the finish held up fine in the winter. Although one bent on a pretty minor pothole. Fitment on that car is 18x8 with 225/40R18 Michelin PA 4 for what it's worth.

[AWD4WheelSpin]

Was about to pull the trigger on a set...thanks for the heads up!

[s4sean87]

I have silver 510's with ceramic pads. No chipping issues yet and they are always clean.

[Dash]

When these issues started to come up I immediately sold my set before mounting them. Got some Forgestars which are amazing so far.

I guess you get what you pay for? Forgestars aren't the holy grail either man. Lots of complaints about them as well.

Not to derail the OPs thread, but I have a set of CF10s and have noticed that the clear coating/paint is chipping around the lugs. Otherwise no real problems.

[SteveYem]

I have a set of satin silver M510's and have had them for approx 4-5k miles and so far the finish is holding up well to normal driving conditions, which includes a lot of miles on the PA turnpike, which is gravel city. The only appreciable damage I've had was due to careless driving and/or tire mounting. However the first set I bought (which AG took back and refunded me) had a problem with the casting as well as flaws in the finish. As far as I can tell AG is hit or miss.
I like the idea of powdercoating them to get a better finish, but I would hate to lose the machined face which, in my experience, helps the wheels to look cleaner for longer due to its reflectiveness.

EDIT: I forgot to add this originally, and maybe this is why I've had relatively good experience with the finish on my AG M510's, but I applied two coats of OptiCoat 2.0 to my wheels when they were brand new, before even mounting tires to them. Could be the coating that is keeping mine from getting those small rock chips and pits, although mine still get really, really dirty and require wiping to come clean, even with generous amounts of Sonax applied.

[AKPS4]

OP - what specific products have you used to clean your wheels?

[saxon]

OP - what specific products have you used to clean your wheels?

Sonax

[Usa]

http://www.adamspolishes.ca/p-884-ad...new-price.aspx

I swear by this product.

[Mops@Nemesis]

Not specific to AG at all, but it sucks so bad to swap to aftermarket, and they do not hold up. Oem wheels can look good for 100K miles, while aftermarket can look shit in 5K miles. I'd be more than happy to pay a few hundred more for a better finish.

[LINDW4LL]

Curious, is it a problem with a specific color/finish or is it happening on all variants? In other words, do those of you who are experiencing chipping all have the same/similar finishes?


It seems like they have a big quality control issue as the chipping seems to be hit or miss.


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[Johnnycash]

Not specific to AG at all, but it sucks so bad to swap to aftermarket, and they do not hold up. Oem wheels can look good for 100K miles, while aftermarket can look shit in 5K miles. I'd be more than happy to pay a few hundred more for a better finish.

totally agree, there has to be a happy medium somewhere!

[ENV²]

Not specific to AG at all, but it sucks so bad to swap to aftermarket, and they do not hold up. Oem wheels can look good for 100K miles, while aftermarket can look shit in 5K miles. I'd be more than happy to pay a few hundred more for a better finish.

Wrong.

My stock peelers look like shit after 4 years and I dont mean the one wheel with a tiny curb rash from pothole. My finish is stained white in some areas. Like last winter the salt stained the clearcoat permanently. They look like SHIT now. It took 3.5 years but now they are fully stained. Every wheel

[LINDW4LL]

Wrong.

His point is correct. He said they CAN (eg: have the potential to) look good at 100,000 miles. This is true.

OEM wheel finishes TEND to hold up much better than aftermarket wheels. Even in your case, who knows how aftermarket wheels would look when exposed to the same abuse.

[saxon]

Not specific to AG at all, but it sucks so bad to swap to aftermarket, and they do not hold up. Oem wheels can look good for 100K miles, while aftermarket can look shit in 5K miles. I'd be more than happy to pay a few hundred more for a better finish.

I agree, my best friend owns a powder coating business, and when done properly powder will last a very very long time

FYI my finish is satin silver which I believe is paint?

[zcd2.7t]

...just thought id point this out to other enthusiasts since ive had over 50+ sets of wheels over the years and i have never had a coating chip off so easily...

That's a bummer, for sure.

FWIW, I've never had any issues (finish, durability or anything) over several sets of VMRs.

[achilleas101]

my m550s have been holding up fairly well so far. Have put about 10k miles on them. The only thing is that there are numerous scratches in the finish from debris, but those are pretty much inside the barrel. With this style having most of the barrel as part of the finished look, it gives it more area that's susceptible to damage. My wheels in the past only had a small portion of the barrel, maybe a couple inches, that was part of the "finish", so any scratches on the inside didn't really get noticed.

Would i buy them again? as of now, yes. But time will tell in how well they last and if that will change my mind next time.

[aka5]

Happend to me , wheel
Was chipping everywhere

[AKPS4]

Sonax

I use sonax on my factory titaniums because it works wonders and cleans everything off. When the forgestars come in the instructions clearly say not to use any chemical cleaners and to only use soap and water. I'll only be using Adams car was shampoo while washing the car on these wheels and see if anything bad happens to the finish that way. I did spray Adams quick sealant on the wheels for protection. Seams to be very similar to armor alls wheel protectant.

Anyone else who has issues on their wheel finishes (regardless of manufacturer) use Sonax or other chemical cleaners?

[Mops@Nemesis]

I agree, my best friend owns a powder coating business, and when done properly powder will last a very very long time

FYI my finish is satin silver which I believe is paint?

Yep, I'm no expert, but I've heard there are many grades of powder. Not sure though what the cost difference would be per wheel from bottom to top grade.

Either way, you're not going to get top finishing at this price point.

Wrong.

My stock peelers look like shit after 4 years and I dont mean the one wheel with a tiny curb rash from pothole. My finish is stained white in some areas. Like last winter the salt stained the clearcoat permanently. They look like SHIT now. It took 3.5 years but now they are fully stained. Every wheel

Not wrong. I've gone through close to 30 cars, and many have had multiple sets of aftermarket wheels, and I've detailed hundreds. There are certainly exceptions, and your wheels may have had a bad finish from the start, or been exposed to harsh chemicals. Either way, oem wheels in general hold up much better. I've seen many with high miles that look damn good. The only brand I've ever run that has an oem tough finish is BBS. But BBS does oem apps for Porsche, BMW, Ferrari and many others.

Not 100% relavant, but sticky tires can contribute to chipping. They lift everything, and small stone etc get spit out from the barrel at speed, and beat the wheel faces to death. If that makes sense.

[Bkitch89]

AG claims that they cannot brush finish and then powder coat a "cast" wheel. they say that when doing so the powder coat comes out with some defects. That is why any time you get a cast wheel from AG and it is brushed you are going to get a "painted" wheel to achieve the color you want. On the other had if you get a cast wheel and don't want to brush finish they will powder coat them. If you choose a forged wheel they will do any combo you want. My brother is going through this right now with his wheels. Paint chipped the first day he put tires on. 3 out of 4 wheels.

[LINDW4LL]

I assume you wouldn't be able to see the brushed finish if they were to powder coat them.


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[SteveYem]

I edited my previous post in this thread because I remembered that I had applied two coats of Opti-Coat 2.0 to my AG M510's before installing them. I don't know whether that coating would really help them to be any more durable than usual, but it's a variable worth identifying anyway.