Stevo92z28

In person it's very noticeable.

Speedline on top Alcoa on bottom.

Hard to get an equal comparison i don't have the car or wheels anymore.

skeet

The spokes seem to be sharper on the Aloca's but one thing is for sure and that is on a silver Corvette there is nothing nicer than the silver Argent wheels. I am putting them on my 2001 convertible.

onspeed

This thread reminds me that I need to pick up a set of OEM rims to get rid of the chrome aftermarket ones the PO put on it.

Stevo92z28

My car had chromed speedlines on it when i got it. Got rid of them fast and picked up a mint set of 01s+cash for the deal. I am anti-chrome on a sports car...sure looked good back in the 60s...that's it. lol

ranger9812

Haven't found any complete sets advertised; so I started scrounging to put a set together one at a time. I see complete sets of Speedlines selling for $600 or less, but I'm probably going to have ~$1K tied up in these Alcoas when I'm done. (I could have bought a good set for $500+shipping on Sunday morning, but I had already started buying the Alcoa's...kinda kicking myself now! )

ZedO6

Not true...the change was due to Alcoa not being able to keep up with demand, consequently GM found another supplier (Speedline) that offered up a spun cast wheel with vastly improved supply. GM at the time said that 01 Z06 production was limited due to wheel supply issues. These facts are fairly well documented on the web.

Spun cast wheels are every bit as strong as the forged Alcoa's, just slightly less dense in the rim portions of the casting. There is a great video somewhere showing how the spun cast wheels are formed....they start out as a forging.

I posted some comparison pics from my photo archives of buying and selling wheels to come up with a few sets for the track....I decided that Alcoa's, which to me are slightly better looking due to the more graceful spokes, were better off on someone else's car and not worth the value premium for track wheels. I put no value on the forged vs spun cast argument. I've personally cracked forged racing wheels at the spokes from racing with slicks for 10 years.

ZEE-OH-6

Thanks for posting these photos, they really show the difference

skeet

I just noticed that my Speedline GM wheels say "Made in Italy". I guess that makes sense because my Corvette engine is made in Canada.
At least nothing is made in China. Every item I own that was made in China from my answering machine, to Eddie Bauer shoes/down jacket have fallen apart.

mqqn

The Alcoa's are forged, a little heavier, and it has yet to be proven if they are significantly stronger.

The Alcoa's do have "sharper" edges to the spokes, and they have pin-stamped alcoa logos on the backside.

The Speedlines are spun-cast, and were touted as being as strong yet lighter than the Alcoa's. The Speedlines have slightly softer edges, and a trained eye can see the difference.

The Alcoa wheels were darker grey, noticeably so.

The Speedline wheels have a speedline logo cast in relief in the back side of one of the spokes on each pair of spokes on each wheel.

This logo can be seen in the picture below of a Z16 oem speedline wheel which is identical to the 2002-2004 Z06 wheel save for the finish.



Of note, and interesting to this conversation, some 2002 Z06 cars came OEM equipped with 2001 Alcoa wheels. This was due to the fact that the 911 terror attack had stopped shipments from abroad, and there were supply issues.

My 2002 Z06 was built in October 2001 and was delivered to me originally equipped with Alcoa 2001 forged Z06 wheels.

best

mqqn

thechosenone

Nice pics Zed06!

Stevo92z28

Interesting, did not know that.

Teddy98Z28M6

Interesting... My 2002 Z06 was built Sept 2001 and came with Speedlines. I bought the car new in Oct 2001.

WannaC5Z

I just completed putting together a set of Speedlines from three sellers for my '01. They are crazy light when I pick them up...especially the rears in 18x10.5. Only 22.5lbs! These will be my track wheels.

ZeeOSix

The spokes look a little thinner and slightly tapered on the Alcoa wheel compared to the Speedline.

Bossdog

I am looking to add (2) 18x10.5 rims for the front of my 01' Z06. Given the slight weight difference, is it OK to inter-mix the Alcoa with Speedline on the sa,e car for track purposes?

ZedO6

I've done it for years without any issues.

danh52

I have 2 sets of wheels, one Alcoa and the other speedline, and plan on using just the rears from each set. Any opinions on keeping the speedlines on one side and the alcoas on the other side so I don't notice the difference in the looks? I will be painting them a dark gray metallic so color will match but not the spokes. Eventually they will be track use only so looks won't matter as much but not until I save up the cash for a set of Forgestars for the street.

ZedO6

I'd keep them paired by the axle, rather than front/back on the same side. I doubt it makes any difference...Just seems like any weight difference between the sets is minimized paired by the axle. Probably irrelevant. You could probably get someone to trade out the Alcoa's for more S/L's if you were so inclined. The Alcoa's are harder to find as you probably know.

racebum

i've bent an 01 hitting a pothole hard. honestly an impact that is going to bend a wheel is going to bend a wheel. the 01s are probably easier to repair but i really really would focus more on condition than year. the difference is so small in actual use as to not even be a consideration