beachcat

I have an 87 coupe, with 16" aftermarket aluminum wheels that have not had their clear coat on for a very, very long time. So, I am looking to upgrade to 17" and looking for input from those who have either chrome or polished aluminum(with the clear coat) wheels.
I have been looking at AFS Wheels since I will not have to use an adapter kit to put on 17". So any input on their product is welcomed also.



[Modified by thebeachcat, 11:32 PM 12/4/2002]

MIke350

chrome can be heavy which is pretty important on a rotating object like wheels, they pit and peel too but probably look the best and easy to clean. polished is cheaper and if they dont have clear coat you just have to hit them with some compound to get them back to an almost chrome look. Im a fan of polished because the finish is always there you just have to take care of it and can be done yourself but with chrome after time, depending on how you take care of them and live will need to be refinished by sending them to someone else. either way they both look great though

Mr Mojo

First thing you have to ask yourself is why is there only a 1-3 year warranty on chrome. Most cases it's a year. These companies don't have any faith in their products.

If your car is a garage queen then polished or chrome is the way to go, because if you don't drive it, they won't get dirty or exposed to the elements.

If it's a daily driver go with the painted or powdercoated, they will last much longer.

Rob90

I have the polished AFS ZR1s. I drive my car alot and Mr Mojo has a good point. I have to clean my rims about once a week. So if you dont like cleaning your rims often I would go with the painted or powdercoated. The plus to the polished, mine are not clearcoated is that you can polish them and make them look brand new. I also use a good wax on the rims so that when I clean them the brake dust wipes off without much effort

1SLO POK

Get the chrome. I had polish rims on my last 4 vehicles, and they all looked real nice, until I got burnt out on polishing the rims out. At first I had no problem polishing them, then it just got to be no more fun.

Now I have chrome, and lovin it. Even when the car is dirty it looks clean after I wipe the rims down. Trust me, polishing your rims every other week get old real fast. But then again, maybe it is me getting old. :D

beachcat

Thanks for all the inputs to this point. My current aftermarket rims have a lot of detail to them, so cleaning them up is an all day affair. I am looking at the ZR1 rims, so I figure if I do go with polished, it won't take all day and I will save my hands from wear and tear. :smash:

Oh, and it is a daily driver, 140K, no garage, living in South Florida.


[Modified by thebeachcat, 4:24 PM 12/5/2002]

Speedracer176

chrome will eventually peel, but polished wheels will never shine like chrome and polish will never peel like chrome.

I'de go for polished wheels.

blk90rdstr

I would go polished here too. I went to the shop and he talked me out of plating even though he charges more fo it. The polishd rims are close to mirror and cant crack wich lets in moisture which accelerates corrosion the three steps in plating use different metals over the aluminum alloy that can corrode behind the chrome. So one curb scrape and theyre done. Yes polish is alot of work for a driver but a vette is all about work. :cool:

Izover4u

Go with Polish with a clear coat.... You wont have to worry about losing your shine since the clear coat is on.. all you have to do is wipe them down just like chrome... You dont have to worry about chipping ect... :cool:

1SLO POK

Quote:
chrome will eventually peel, but polished wheels will never shine like chrome and polish will never peel like chrome. :Quote

Chrome Peels? I must be one of the fortunate ones then. My factory 93 chrome rims are 9 yrs old, and they look like brand new. When do they start to peel? Maybe in 10 yrs they will start to peel. Gee what a waste of money, I would defiantly go with polish if chrome start to peel after 10 yrs. :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:


[Modified by 1SLO POK, 11:35 PM 12/5/2002]


[Modified by 1SLO POK, 6:13 AM 12/6/2002]

Rex Ruby

2002 - 1993 = 9 years old :confused:

I went with the uncleared polished ZR1 5 spokes for the coupe. I polish them twice a year and they always look great :cheers:

TA

I wasn't aware they offered factory chrome rims or do you mean you had them chromed?

As far as the original post, I believe polished rims are more durable, yet don't have quite the brilliance of chrome. Polished rims w/out a clear coat are a bit of a pain, but the with clear you should have no problems.

robertpel9

I have chrome sawblades and here is my take and i will be unbiased:

1)Mine are peeling here and there and they are ~6 years old
2)They are easy to clean but the peeling can bother me
3)There is no comparison. Chrome looks so much nicer than polished in terms of shine, even my peeling ones look perfect from 3 feet away and i get compliments on them almost every time i take her out.
4)If someone offered me a perfect set of polished for trade on my peeling chrome i would keep what i have.

This is JMHO. They will peel (yes there may be exceptions but mojo is righ they will peel in most all cases). If you take care of them it will take a while though and even with some minor peeling they still look absolutely awesome. I say go with the chrome. Keep a polished set for shows or something but the chrome kicks @ss and i am of course partial to chrome sawblades. One of the nicest designs ever. I thought about getting some ZR-1's but (no flame intended) a simple 5 spoke wheel looks like crap next to a shiny chrome sawblade.

beachcat

Thanks for your input. I think the sawblades are a nice design, but I have gotten used to the open spoke look. Also, the 87 rim design was junk, IMHO. My original 87 rims have been in storage since the first year the vette was bought. I keep them around to sell with the car, if I ever sell it. :rolleyes:

Thanks again for all inputs.

EvanZR1

One more option, although it's not as common would be a billet aluminum wheel (like those from Centerline). Billet aluminum holds a shine much better than regular aluminum and will also be more durable as far as the finish is concerned.

1SLO POK

Actually I have no idea if they came from the factory chrome or not. I bought them used from somebody.