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I just acquired a '99 torch red Vert. It has the stock painted wheels and many of my friends think it needs Chome Wheels 'to pop'. I have seen some on the i'net you can do an exchange for. Has anyone done this? And might you have a picture of the wheels on a car? I don't want to change the wheel dimensions so the chroming of a set of stock wheels is of interest to me.... Thx for comments...
I too have a 99 C5 which came with chromed wagon wheels, (stock rims for 97-99). My suggestion to you would be to spend the money on aftermarket repros of Y2k or newer style chrome rims. I suspect the cost difference wont be to great and they come in stock C5 sizes for a direct fit. I chose to go with the 2K9 ZO6 Spyder Chrome rims on my black coupe. However, if you like the look of the wagon wheels, it's your car, chrome and enjoy.
Adog
The concept is called 'wheel exchange' whereby you send yours in and they send you rechromed versions...caviat is yours have to be in decent shape..then you pay the difference..usually between 500-1k, then the co. completes the cycle w/your old ones. I would agree w/adoggy above though, y2k rims are nicer but you most likely won't be able to do the exchange (check w/company first though). I'd personally go aftermarket or z06 variant..stock chrome wheels are just that, stock and not as appealing imo.
my 99 wagon wheels were chromed and peeling when i bought my car a year ago. i found that JW Motoring had the best prices and got a set of Y2K chrome wheels and sold my old ones off of craigslist for $200. net cost-about $500 and i get lots of positive comments on my wheels now.
From: Huntington Beach / Fountain Valley California
Originally Posted by nca4731630
I just acquired a '99 torch red Vert. It has the stock painted wheels and many of my friends think it needs Chome Wheels 'to pop'. I have seen some on the i'net you can do an exchange for. Has anyone done this? And might you have a picture of the wheels on a car? I don't want to change the wheel dimensions so the chroming of a set of stock wheels is of interest to me.... Thx for comments...
I have a Torch Red 99 Coupe . When I purchased mine, it had the painted Wagon Wheels also.
I have had the car for about 2 1/2 years. It had 24,000 miles on it when I bought it.
I immediately changed the Wagon Wheels to 2000 Chrome Thin Spokes.
See my profile pictures for the difference.
I paid $200 for all 4 thin spoke wheels from a guy on craigslist. They even had the old Tire Pressure Sensors suitable for a 1999 installed but shredded tires on them. These extra sensors came in handy when I was ready for new tires. I sent them to a guy on the forum to rebuild them for $100 total for all 4 sensors before I got new tires.
Put a WANTED ad in craigslist. Someone wants to get rid of their thin spokes cheap.
My '99 had the aluminum wheels and I swapped out for Chrome wagon wheels. The OEMS that I got rid of had tiny cracks around the rim edge but the replaced chrome rims, the chrome is slowly coming off. I've already had to replace one that leaked. Got another that's very, very slowly leaking now too.
Y2K's are a name brand of a Wheel? Thanks for the comments I am persuaded to go with the more modern thin spoke wheels....
"Y2K" is the OEM style wheel for C5's from 2000-2004 which are the thin spokes. A lot of people like them better then the "wagon wheels" which are the 1997-1999 OEM wheels.
You can find deals on these forums or craigslist of OEM wheels or OEM reproductions. I'd suggest checking what JW Motoring has in stock. He's a forum member here and sells great products. He has many reproduction wheels in a whole bunch of styles (stock, deep dish, chrome, etc) and at really good deals. It's almost worth getting a set of brand new wheels rather then 10 year old wheels that who knows what's been done with them.
For the price of the exchange, you could probably come close to a decent set of Z06 reproductions in chrome.
The first thing replaced on my white C5 was getting a set of chrome rims. I stayed with the same size so I could reuse the tires and save a good chunk of change.
I just acquired a '99 torch red Vert. It has the stock painted wheels and many of my friends think it needs Chome Wheels 'to pop'. I have seen some on the i'net you can do an exchange for. Has anyone done this? And might you have a picture of the wheels on a car? I don't want to change the wheel dimensions so the chroming of a set of stock wheels is of interest to me.... Thx for comments...
I'm getting ready to sell my polished aluminum, thin spoke rims, 2000 corvette (excellent condition) complete with Hankook ventus V12 evo tires with only 2,400 miles on them. Also in excellent condition. Please let me know if you are interested. Will ship with 5 days or so of being sold ( getting larger wheels and tires)
From: In a parallel universe. Currently own 2014 Stingray Coupe.
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I ran a set of chromed wagon wheels on my '99 and they looked good IMO, but I will agree that the newer style wheels look much better. Many vendors offer reproduction wheels in a variety of styles that would look great on your car.
From: Dear Karma, I have a list of people you missed.
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Originally Posted by 5.0_CJ
stock chrome wagon wheels with $20 worth of black vinyl sticker.
If those are "stock" (meaning original equipment installed on the car by GM) then they were chromed after they left GM. No wagon wheels were ever offered by GM in a chrome finish on any C5 wheel.
If that's yours, I do like what you did there though. Those look very nice.
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Originally Posted by jlbsam
my 99 wagon wheels were chromed and peeling when i bought my car a year ago. i found that JW Motoring had the best prices and got a set of Y2K chrome wheels and sold my old ones off of craigslist for $200. net cost-about $500 and i get lots of positive comments on my wheels now.
Originally Posted by PostShawn
"Y2K" is the OEM style wheel for C5's from 2000-2004 which are the thin spokes. A lot of people like them better then the "wagon wheels" which are the 1997-1999 OEM wheels.
You can find deals on these forums or craigslist of OEM wheels or OEM reproductions. I'd suggest checking what JW Motoring has in stock. He's a forum member here and sells great products. He has many reproduction wheels in a whole bunch of styles (stock, deep dish, chrome, etc) and at really good deals. It's almost worth getting a set of brand new wheels rather then 10 year old wheels that who knows what's been done with them.