ESBESQ

This may be a dumb question, but why doesn't anyone sell the 19" C5 Z06 Speedline replicas anymore? Were there fitment issues?

You can still get the 19" C6 wheels, but the Speedlines look so much better, so I was just curious if there's a reason why they're not being offered.

Velocity_Vette

Probably because exactly as you have said; people are going for a more modern look and looking to things like C6 and C7 replicas in a 19". They want something "custom" but still Corvette. It's reducing the market heavily for any C5 type wheels in larger sizes.

The many threads and topics of C5 owners switching over to C6 and C7 wheels paint a pretty good picture.

ESBESQ

I've seen the C6 rim on the C5 Z06 and they just make the car look like it's tiptoeing. I guess I just don't like the way the C6 rims look by comparison to the Speedlines.

chasboy

Which c6 rims are you referring to? I had C7Z06 chrome replicas on mine until about a month ago. They looked great but I was done with maintenance on inexpensive chrome wheels.

zeevette

The only 19" made in the stock Z06 style were repros. I really like the C6 Grandsport wheels on C5s, especially with an FRC roof line.

ESBESQ

The C6 Z06 rims. I've seen the C7 Z06 rims on a yellow C5 Z like mine and they looked way too busy for my taste.

The C5 is a fickle beast. It looks really good out of the box and doing too much to it makes it look weird. That's why I've only lowered mine and upgraded the lights with the Nightflyer package.

I always wanted to go with the 18/19" C5 Z06 wheels for better performance and looks, but kept putting it off. And now they don't make them anymore.

chasboy

I agree, and when deciding on my current wheels, I was very torn, but I can’t get away completely from multispokes, so I went from 20 to 14, and now I can get my hand in to wipe the barrel!!

chasboy

What about the Z51 split spoke, Spiders or Cup wheels?

Tusc

What's wrong with the 18s? They're still available as new production if you look in the for sale forums.

Less expensive tires, more sidewall, more traction.

19s DO look good though... I run SP500s in that diameter on all four corners. 20s look too big for C5. 18 are also right in the ballpark.

JHrinsin

When it comes to wheel styles and Corvette owners, you can ask ten of us what their favorite style is and you will get at least a dozen different answers. We probably change wheels almost as often as Honda Civic owners did back in the mid '90's.

Anyway I am not personally very kine on 19" rears on a C5 - just my $0.02. The factory Z06 style has aged fairly graceful, but I think they are sort of "chunky" looking.

Now I need 18" fronts (to fit over larger than stock front brakes) so that complicates things a bit for my. I am also going to state up front that I can't afford a set of $5000 custom forged rims, If I could I would be driving a C6 Z06 or a C7, not a C5.

For the C5 my personal favorites are the replica C7 Z06 rims - I have always been partial to pseudo web style rims, but yes they are a PITA to keep clean. The only way for me to get the desired set of 18 x 9.5 front and 18 x 10.5 rear with the correct C5 offsets, would be to buy the fronts and rears from two different replica manufactures (one in gloss black and the other in satin black) and then get them painted to match.

My second favorite style replica is the C6 Z06 rims - those are easy to get in the desired 18 x 9.5 front and 18 x 10.5 rear sizes with the correct C5 offsets for around $600. Plus they are about the lightest weight replica rims out there, with the 18 x 10.5 size coming in at only about 1.5 lbs heavier than the factory Speedline 18x 10.5 rims.

My personal replica wheel gripe would have to be; "Why don't they offer the C5 Z06 replica in the 18 x 9.5 size any more?" - but the reasons have already been stated above. For now I may be stuck with running the factory Speedline 18 x 10.5 on all four corners with 275/35 front and 295/35 rear tires. Things could be worst.

chasboy

Quality wise, you cant get much better than real factory Speedlines....

Vetteman Jack

Just a suggestion - check with Bob at House of Wheels and see if he has any 19" C5 Z06 wheels. On his website it looks like he may have them in chrome.

duke nukem

Attachment 48131305Attachment 48131306

these are 19/20 I dont know if it is possible to get those anymore

Time for a C-5

I feel the same way about my polished thin spokes. I wish someone made 19" repos for the back and I could move the 18" rears to the front..

IMXCITD

Thank you Duke....those look good!

ZEEZERO-6

Years ago I was also liking those 19” C5 Z06 replica rims ( made in China by the way ) with their 18” up front then some CF members started posting how HEAVY they were and regretted putting them on their cars because of how much performance they lost with acceleration / braking – rotating MASS, but they do look sweet !