Green76

Outstanding, great looking wheels...!!!

rothchilds

Very nice. Think I might pick up a set in black chrome

tractman

Once you have them mounted....please detail for us how you had them balanced...did you use stick on wts. or beads. Are you using nitrogen or air? You have obviously done your homework so I'm not going to try and reinvent the wheel.....if you don't mind I will use your expertise and experience. Any other special tidbits that you have found with regard to these wheels that will help us please post as well. Thanks.

nmvettec7

tractman:

I have ordered my tires from Discount Tire (DT) here locally. They are the Continental Extreme Contact DWS 06 A/S tires. They will arrive next week. I did not want run-flats, so I am buying a complete new set 245/35R19 and 285/30R20's. These tires have a 50,000-mile warranty. I have used Discount Tire before for my 2014 Porsche Cayman 981 and my 2009 Jaguar XKR Portfolio Edition which I still own both in addition to the C7.

I am not a tire expert and will take the advice of this long-standing chain (since 1960) and will request the most seasoned tech to complete the installation.

I will have DT balance the wheels using their state-of-art balancers. They also use touch-free mounting machines. I am not a big fan of nitrogen, although I used it in my formula race cars. I will inflate the tires using regular compressed air. I will also install new OEM GM TPMS Part # 13581560.

I will advise the mounting process and the number of weights and will take images before installing on the C7. I will remove the existing tires and wheels myself, and simply take the new wheels to DT when the tires arrive. DT will not be removing and installing the new tires on the C7. Thus, they will not be touching the C7 or even see it. Just my personal preference. I will torque my own wheels to specs then again after 100 miles driven on the new wheels and tires.

I choose the non-run flats for a smoother and quieter ride. The Continental Extreme Contact DWS 06 tire is also classified as an Ultra High Performance All-Season tire, with excellent ratings in all respective categories.

More to follow.

.....

tractman

Thanks for answering all my questions....looks like both you and I are extremely fussy and precise in what we really want and what we expect. I am ordering the wheels today. I'm doing the same thing you are....I will remove my wheels so the tire goons never touch or see my car. Now I just need to find a tire dealer with the touch less equipment. Please update your thread with photos and comment upon installation. Thanks.

Walt White Coupe

I'd go to tirerack.com and look at their recommended installers in your area. They have reviews from customers so that helps in choosing one.

nmvettec7

I sure will. I take great pride in owning all my premium sports cars.

If you live in a area that has a Discount Tire (DT) or America's Tire (AT), they did beat the price of TireRack for the tires I was looking at and ordered. Cost to mount the tires was only $16.00 each at my local DT store.

....

AdventurePoser

Hot looking wheels...love the design. I think they'd look especially good in black!

rmorin1249

I have been running the Conti DWS06 on my C7 since new. They are great tires. Smooth, good handling, low noise, all around great performance. Enjoy!

TennisFreak

I really like these wheels!

I wish they were not so heavy, looks like they are ~5lbs (each) heavier than the z51 stock wheels.

AlaskaPaul

Being new to Corvettes, and never having the need to purchased after market wheels in my life before , how exactly will the extra weight affect the car?

I'm assuming it will be in the handling, but I'm not sure. Would someone please explain the ramifications of the additional 5 pounds at all corners.

Thanks,

Alaskapaul

nmvettec7

If you're an ordinary driver, not tracking the C7, does anyone really think that 15 to 20 extra pounds will really make a difference?

When you have a passenger in the C7 weight varies all the time, from slim wives to heavier male friends.

The thought that an extra 15 to 20 pounds of total wheel weight (front and back) will make any difference in the way the C7 performs is kind of crazy in my opinion.

After all, you have a huge amount of HP to the rear wheels, much more than anyone can really use.

As far as comparisons of the GM OEM Z51 wheel, I have not found any specifications on weights of the wheels. If anyone has the exact specs of OEM Z51 wheel weights, I would like to see a link for the hard facts of the weight.

The extra 5 pounds per wheel (as noted above in the previous post) is not official from any GM website that I can find.

GM only lists the sizes of the wheels in their Specs of the C7, they do not furnish the real weight of each wheel made for the C7.

...

Walt White Coupe

Actually added weight to the wheels is the most detrimental to handling because it's all unsprung weight and is not at all comparable to sprung (ie passenger) weight. My R86 polished aluminum wheels are on the heavy side also and weighed in at:

25.4 lbs front & 27.8 lbs rear

Yours at 28.4 lbs & 33.2 lb are would be considered pretty heavy.

nmvettec7

I believe you have "OEM GM Speedline" wheels made in Taiwan.

I still have not seen any specs on the OEM GM Z51 stock wheel pertaining to weights.

In my own personal situation, the weight of the aftermarket wheel that I purchased does not bother me as I am a regular driver of my C7. I do not track the car. If I did, I would use a race qualified wheels, not the aftermarket. I have aftermarket wheels on all of my premium sports cars and have not noticed any ramifications in the ride or cornering in any way. That includes a Supercharged Jaguar XKR, and Porsche Cayman 981.

Millions of aftermarket wheels are sold annually and I have not seen any comments or articles on how they would affect the normal everyday driver of vehicles and if they deter the vehicle in any way concerning cornering or performance. I do not drive my C7 on USA roads in a race track fashion. This no concern to me about the exact weight of these wheels vs the OEM GM stock Z51 wheel that I currently have on the C7.

I am not that "****" where it makes a difference.

...

plumalan

Here you go on my Z51

nmvettec7

Very nice....great addition.

Mine get mounted next Friday.......waiting for new set of non-run flat tires to arrive.

Walt White Coupe

I believe you have "OEM GM Speedline" wheels made in Taiwan.

Yes they are made in Taiwan by a company called SAI.

http://superalloyengineering.com/products/wheels/

GM calls them "Motorsports".

AlaskaPaul

Two questions.......

Walt, as you might remember, I bought your wheels from the same vendor but had to return them because of damage. Since you consider yours on the heavy side, have you experienced any adverse handling with them compared to stock?

I have read and follow every aftermarket thread on this and the other main Corvette forum for about 9 months now and have yet to see anyone post the actual weights of the stock split fork Z51 wheels which came with my car.

What I do see all the time is people asking what they weigh without anybody responding with a definitive answer. However, I have seen the weights of the wheels for the C7 Z06 somewhere recently, and if I remember correctly, they are even heavier than these aftermarket wheels being discussed in this thread.

That being the case, why would a Z06 have no handling trouble with an even heavier wheel, while a Z51 might with a lesser weight wheel, which may or may not be heavier than stock?

Thanks,

Alaskapaul

Walt White Coupe

Hi AlaskaPaul,

I'm not tracking my car either so I haven't noticed any change in the performance and not really sure if my R86 wheels are heavier than the stock 18/19 wheels that came on the car. The R86's at 19/20 should have better performance because of the lower profile tires. And I went with Michelin non runflats that are also lighter than the runflats that came on the car.

I would expect ZO6 wheels to be heavier than base wheels since the wheel is dimensionally larger to accommodate the wider tires on it. But I would be very surprised if they are as heavy as these reproductions.

axr6

I am very curious as to the DWS 06 on the Stingray. I put them on my Jaguar XKR to replace the standard Dunlops and am far from being happy. The tires introduced a lot of understeer as they appear to have some "mushy" sidewalls that take the accuracy out of the steering. The traction control is now cutting-in during cornering where it never did before with the Dunlops. Yes, I got seduced by all those high ratings but, it appears that most people who rate them do not drive them hard in corners.

They are, however, quieter and ride better than the Dunlops. Guess, for average cruising they are fine but, for performance they appear to give up quite a bit to the Dunlops. I am not sure if I will keep them on the car once spring season arrives. I might, in which case the XKR will be treated as a GT cruiser while my modified Stingray as my fun handling car.