Question for CCW owners....
Thread Starter
Instructor
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 204
Likes: 2
From: Flagler Beach Florida
Question for CCW owners....
On the fence on getting a set of either the 505a's or SP500's. The ONE item keeping me on the fence right now is the maintenance. How difficult is it to keep a good finish on these wheels? How long does the finish last? My car is basically a weekend driver only. I spend quite a bit of my time keeping my up my car's appearance and I really don't want to spend twice as much time maintaining the appearance on just the wheels. I know chrome wheels are easier to keep up but I really don't want to spend additional funds to get the CCW's chromed.
Thanks for any advice you can throw my way.
Thanks for any advice you can throw my way.
Drifting
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 1,985
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From: Not QUITE the armpit of Southern Maryland, but scary close...
Cruise-In VI Veteran
Cruise-In VII Veteran
St. Jude Donor '04-'05-'06
You can get the 505A's already chromed from West Coast Corvette for a very reasonable price. 
That's what I'm doing next month.
That's what I'm doing next month.
Race Director
Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 19,459
Likes: 48
From: Schaumburg IL
CI 7-8-9-11 Veteran
St. Jude Donor '06-'10, '13
It is more work, but, it's like everything else, if you keep up with it, it's really not that bad. The thing that will really be hard to clean, is if you get the wheels wet, and then get break dust/heat from the breaks, it's a pain to polish off. At first this really bugged me about the polish finish vs chrome, but now I just make sure and keep up with it.
I normally hit my wheels with a detail spray (meguires) and microfiber towel about every 2-3 days to keep the break dust build up minimal..that way when I wash the car, the wheels come cleaner a lot quicker.
Once a year, I remove the wheels and clean them real good, and polish/wax inside the barrels. I also do hit the wheels every couple of months with some wax after I polish them.
I am sure plenty more will post up. Chrome vs Polish is like Coke vs Pepsi
I normally hit my wheels with a detail spray (meguires) and microfiber towel about every 2-3 days to keep the break dust build up minimal..that way when I wash the car, the wheels come cleaner a lot quicker.
Once a year, I remove the wheels and clean them real good, and polish/wax inside the barrels. I also do hit the wheels every couple of months with some wax after I polish them.
I am sure plenty more will post up. Chrome vs Polish is like Coke vs Pepsi
Team Owner
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 23,283
Likes: 906
From: Lake Elsinore, CA
My advice is stay away from polished and go with chrome if you're not looking to increase your detailing time. Bottom line: polished, uncleared wheels are just more work.
Personally, I like the subtlety of polished vs. chrome and, anyway, mine's a fair-weather weekender so I'm not concerned about the extra work since it's not that much more. If it were a dd I'd definitely be looking elsewhere and a well-used weekender might be a tough choice if the extra polishing to keep them 100% is an issue.
One big advantage of polished is that some pretty significant curb rash can be fixed at home or by a wheel shop at not much expense. Curb rash on chrome means re-chroming.
Personally, I like the subtlety of polished vs. chrome and, anyway, mine's a fair-weather weekender so I'm not concerned about the extra work since it's not that much more. If it were a dd I'd definitely be looking elsewhere and a well-used weekender might be a tough choice if the extra polishing to keep them 100% is an issue.
One big advantage of polished is that some pretty significant curb rash can be fixed at home or by a wheel shop at not much expense. Curb rash on chrome means re-chroming.
Burning Brakes
Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 804
Likes: 1
From: Some where in Ontario Canada
I have had both chrome and polished.
If you have a problem with the finish on a wheel, bare aluminum can be sanded and repolished but chrome cannot.
If you use Mr. Clean filtered water car wash you will only have to do a repolish once a year.
If you have a problem with the finish on a wheel, bare aluminum can be sanded and repolished but chrome cannot.
If you use Mr. Clean filtered water car wash you will only have to do a repolish once a year.
Team Owner
Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 47,647
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From: Queens, New York Life begins at 183 mph....
St. Jude Donor '08-'09
Like everyone said, keeping up with the cleaning makes the job alot easier. After almost a year of owning my SP500's I've found its best just to hose the wheels down after every trip with soapy water, rinse and just dry them immediately. If you get a bit of buildup, then, when you try and wash them, you end up leaving little scratches in the wheels which then have to be polished off. Every time I wash the vette, I wax the wheels so that helps alot as well.
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Pro
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 539
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From: Pittsburgh PA
IMO, do yourself a big favor and save yourself a lot of work and get the chrome. As others have said, it's not that much more money. I have chromed ones and keeping them clean and shinny takes about 10 minutes.
Race Director
Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 10,789
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From: Northern Illinois
Oldtimer
I have the chrome West Coast Corvettes 505a's on my car. I have a friend who has polished wheels on his Vette and he told me to stay away from them when I was looking for new wheels. I'm so glad I got the chrome. 
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The chrome CCWs from WCC are awesome - saw a set at a car show and they really turned the heads. If you don't want to spend more time detailing the car, chrome is the way to go.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 2,964
Likes: 310
From: Maryland
As others have said, if you stay on top of them, they aren't really an issue. Since your car is a weekend only car, they won't be an issue at all.
I have to wash my car quite a bit as its my 75% daily driver, which does occasionally get driven in rain. I have to wash the wheels inside and out after that happens. But if it hasn't been driven through rain, I don't ever let water touch the wheel. They do spot up on the polished aluminum - I just wipe them down every morning to keep them looking great and to get rid of the brake dust.
I have to wash my car quite a bit as its my 75% daily driver, which does occasionally get driven in rain. I have to wash the wheels inside and out after that happens. But if it hasn't been driven through rain, I don't ever let water touch the wheel. They do spot up on the polished aluminum - I just wipe them down every morning to keep them looking great and to get rid of the brake dust.
Safety Car
Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 4,353
Likes: 22
From: Bella Vista Ca
I have the polished 505A's. I would have gotten the chrome, WCC does not offer the rims in the size I wanted 18" front and rear.
It isn't too bad keeping the polished looking good. However, if I could do it again I would have sent my rims off to be chromed before I installed them. I'd rather spend my time staring at the car than polishing rims.
It isn't too bad keeping the polished looking good. However, if I could do it again I would have sent my rims off to be chromed before I installed them. I'd rather spend my time staring at the car than polishing rims.
Pro
Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 670
Likes: 0
From: mechanicsville maryland
get the chrome. My car is a weekend/nice day out car. I like to keep my car clean. And to keep the wheels clean for me is a once a month removal and buff with a drill and a buffing wheel. For 900 dollars for the chrome its the only way to go.
Safety Car
Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 4,353
Likes: 22
From: Bella Vista Ca