MotoJB

If anyone else is running F14's, please post your experience and pictures in this thread!

Starting a thread to help others that might be looking at the Foregstar F14 rims as an option for their C5Z's.

I found limited C5 info/pics to draw from when I was trying to make a decision to go with these.

I heard some folks saying F14's stick way out past the rear fenders and in some pics I saw, they did indeed (unacceptably to me) stick out. I did however see another member here with a EB C5Z where his F14's fit perfectly (but he didn't know his offsets).

This is what Forgestar recommended and said about the C5Z combo's I considered:

- 18x9.5 +50 & 18x11 +53 (THIS IS THE COMBO I WENT WITH - semi-concave front and deep concave rear))
- 18x9.5 +50 & 19x11 +55
- 19x9 +44 & 19x11 +55

"The tire may stick out depending on the tire brand and size and also it is dependent on your camber."

"The new, Super Deep Concave models do not work on the Corvettes because of the offsets and brake clearance."


Well, I ended up taking what felt like a gamble and went the F14's in gloss black. Happy with the results. Apparently strong, pretty light (18x9.5 weighs 20.33lbs), they look great and for the money, they can't be beat. I almost went with TSW's but am glad I went with the gloss black Forgestar's instead.

I went with 18's all the way around. Tire choice was Nitto NT05's - 275/35 and 295/35. I am within spec for my active handling to work fine. No problems it seems. My rears do not stick noticeably out past the fenders; although if I went with 335's, I imagine they would.

Glad to have a set of rims I've never seen on another C5 or C5Z in the bay area. The gamble (so far) has been worth it.

Well, that's my low-tech experience/review thus far. If anyone wants other pictures, let me know.

Regards.

Pics:













Attachment 48144721

Attachment 48144722
Rear Fender Shots - Minimal Stick Out/Poke with 295's:
Attachment 48144723

Attachment 48144724



Nowadays: (pushed out in the rear with 1" adapters - getting new F14 wider rear rims soon)

ktlocklear

Looks great! So what sizes/ offsets did you go with? 18x?

I considered the F14's for my M6 a couple of years ago, but decided to go with Avant Garde M310's instead since the F14's in the sizes/offsets I needed were on endless back order. Similar style.
Seeing the F14's on your Z though, I am now considering them for my Z...looks fantastic.

For kicks I test fitted my rear 19x11 Avant Garde's on my Z, but the offset is WAY off......ET33 and the tire size is 285/35/19
They look HUGE......lol

tlove32

Wow - those look killer.

Question - how do you like the Pfadt J.O suspension?

MotoJB

Thanks man.

I went with 18's all the way around.
18x9.5 +50 & 18x11 +53

LOL, yeah, those Avant Garde's look wrong on that Z! I bet they look good on the M6 though. I have matte black BBS RC's on my 5 series and I have to say, with the F14's I realize I like gloss black a lot better than matte. The matte on my 5 series just looks too dull.

On your Z (if I had black), I'd go with the silver F14's myself! They look sick on black Z's.

MotoJB

Thanks TLove...now we really don't have matching rims.

Impressed overall - considering the money spent. I didn't want to spend too much, nor degrade my street ride too substantially and it seems to have been a good compromise. (Although I did preload/compress the shocks by lowering the car so it' not quite what the JOC/Phadt team likely imagined. I'm guessing that affected the ride a bit).

Overall turn in is very good, very flat and stable (little roll) overall. Feels pretty go-karty. Pleased with the result. Then they came out with the JOC stage 2 kit, and I was like...hmmmm.

BryanV

Looks good, I want to get a set for my Z. I had 18x9.5/18x10 on my 12' GT Loved them.
OP are you lowered on factory bolts?

-For whoever gets Forgestar do not get Matte Black. After awhile the matte turns a grayish dull color and the look horrible.
-Also the coating was thicker on one side so getting a thin lug drive in there was almost impossible.

They held up great on the autobahn and nurburgring though!

ktlocklear

Haha, yeah they looked horrible on the Z Yeah, the AG's do look much better on the M6.

Those silver F14's do look good on that black Z...are those the Hyper Silver? Looks like they have a tinted hue to them

MotoJB

Thanks Bryan.

No, I'm using Zip bolts, I believe...

ktlocklear

With my experience with matte wheels, they do require more work to keep them looking good. mine started getting that grayish look, and come to find out it was just rode grime that would not come off with just soap and water. I wiped them down with paint cleaner wax, and it came right off, and brought them back to their "like new" finish. I just wipe them down with the cleaner wax every few months and the funk has stayed off. I hear this is an issue with anything matte. Matte wheels, matte vinyl wrap, etc

BryanV

Thanks I was just about to order the Zip Bolts. Still tossing around the idea of ordering some F14s, just thinking of what color to get.

No Vette but here is my old mustang with them.

MotoJB

Nice - pretty much look great on any car.

MotoJB

Noted...will keep that in mind. Thanks.

MotoJB

Forgestar's site calls the color "silver" from what I can tell...but it looks like the hyper silver I've seen from other mfg's.

02blackLS6

The vendor posting the Black Z pics called them the "Gloss Gunmetal" finish, even though those rims have more of Forgestar's "Titanium" finish/look (multiple tone/shades). If I recall correctly, it was one of Forgestar's earlier sets for a C5, and I think they were still tweaking their finish/powdercoating colors.

Back on topic, though... MotoJB, the gloss black look great on a silver car.
Do you happen to have another rear corner shot, looking down the side of the car so I could see the stance/fitment of the rear wheels (how far they stick-out, or sit-in the rear fender).

MotoJB

Hmmm, ok. I'd want the silver on a black Z myself. Thanks...yeah, my Z is the opposite of what I'm suggesting for your black Z. I like the contrasted look.

Not sure what you're asking for - isn't it what I already posted above?? Posted again below;

Rear Fender Shots - Minimal Stick Out/Poke with 295's:

02blackLS6

I like the contrasted look also. One last question... did you have to grind the rear axel stubs to fit the centercaps?

As for the pic, I was just curious to see if you had a shot similar to this, for reference:

momo20

thank you for posting this..been looking at a wheel that i like that i can afford..and finally found one...thanks !

MotoJB

Good point -- missed that one. No, I didn't grind the axle's...BUT the center caps on the rear didn't quite fit completely flush like the front caps (but they still work and are tight enough so they won't fall out). The caps stick out in the rear a few mm more than the front. They seat good enough not to look crooked or weird.

Got it...here you go. With 295's they don't poke out at all like the pic you posted. I would imagine they'd poke considerably more with 335's.

kerryt1

I was an early adopter of this wheel, and was told that iForged / Forgestar didn't release offsets. I certainly didn't spec them.

My set up:

Stock:
F 17x9.5" = 19.2 lbs | R 18x10.5" = 21.0 lbs
F 265/40ZR17 = 29 lbs | R 295/35ZR18 = 33 lbs

The weight should be 48.2 / 54 lbs, but I weighed the mounted setups on a bathroom scale at 44 / 48.5 lbs. This difference could be the tires being worn down, or the inherent inaccuracies of a strain gauge bathroom scale at such [relatively] low weights, I'm not sure.

Forgestar / Bridgestone Potenza RE-11:
F 18x9" = 20.5 lbs | R 19x11" = 25.5 lbs (both via bathroom scale)
F 265/35R18 = 28 lbs | R 305/30R19 = 32 lbs (via Tirerack.com)

The mounted combos should be 48.5/57.5 lbs and I weighed them at 49.5/58 lbs.

Additionally, grinding the axle stubs down is required to get the rear centercaps to fit. I measured the interference at 0.060" and ground it down about .125" for good measure.

Car is lowered all the way on stock suspension, no bushings modified. Will get coilovers eventually.


Best pics I have of the rear wheels:

MotoJB

Cool, they look good on your Z.

Two things:

1) why do you mention iForged and Forgestar in the same sentence here? Different brands, aren't they?

2) Your rear rims seem to poke out further on your Z than mine. I am guessing our offsets are different?