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Ive never been a fan of black wheels. Now that I have a car with black wheels , I know exactly why. Black wheels can be beautiful in their detail.. Since I am a ver detail oriented person I challenged myself to the why of black wheel disrespect... After a few weeks, I now know why... The detail of black wheels disappears after about 10 feet. They look great up close, but take a photo from a distance and most black wheel detail disappears into the blend of tire and black wheel wells, leaving them less than the wow factor found in brighter wheels that can be seen at a much great distance and much more photogenic.
I can sit 30 yards away from a polished aluminum wheel or a chrome wheel and see the detail and recognize the style and typr.. however with a Black wheel you lose its detail at a much shorter distance...even with big 6 piston red calipers and detailed rots, back wheels still leave me wanting more. My delemha now is all the accents on my car are carbon black or carbon flash, No bright work anywhere. Black wheels work with my car's scheme, but do not give the sensory feedback of brighter wheels and am not sure that bright wheels on my carbon car would be a negative. My C5 worked very well with highly polished aluminum CCW's but put those wheels on my present car and I think they would be out of place. Ive seen some black chrome wheels that amp up the detail but not sure how much .
Just some contributions here in my Home forum C5 general, even though I'm no longer equipped.
Bill
Interesting observations ET. I will need to pay attention to the vettes with black wheels at the next car show. I am one of those people that enjoys both the high polished aluminum wheel and the black wheels. It all depends on the cars color and accents. I’ve kept the polished aluminum stock wheels on my C5 since I love the 5 spoke look on her. However, I would agree with you, I’m not sure the high polished wheels would look good on that new ride of yours. I really like the black wheels on that red and with the carbon fiber accents it looks good even in pics.
Just an opinion or guess why some like black wheels........I think they do give a performance or race car look, and I like that about black wheels, but still wouldn't be my choice. My favorite is black spokes with a polished rim. You get a little of both performance and bling that way. I had that look on my C4 and loved it. The C5 offsets, especially in the front don't have that deep offset look with the polished rim that I like......so I haven't gone there yet. That might be a consideration for ET on the C7????
Bill your observations are well stated and understood. I for one will never understand the black wheel as a finished look. As for the generation I’m from the black wheels are a sign of something is missing. Am I’m sure some of you older folks will have a clue what I’m talking about.
Hello Bill! I have to agree with your observations on the black wheel issue. As pointed out above, in my mind, black wheels give C5's a track look. Sort of like those big white letter tires. I find both those fashions lacking on a nice street car. Just my opinion of course! I also agree that the C5 forum seems to be fading. Noticeable just in the few years I have been involved. Sad to see! Well, best wishes to you and take good care!
I grew up in 70s maybe a bit later than a fair number on this forum. Chrome was still king. Had many cars in the 80s 90s with chrome wheels or polished wheels even into the early 2000s.
Chrome wheels on a Black car was like the epitome of cats *** amongst car enthusiasts.
Me though, my first set of wheels in black was like a cheapo set of black steel race car wheels, yeah like Nascar wheels on a lowrider Mazda pickup around 1992. Yeah long story, but those were the early days of my automotive existence even though my other ride was a sweet 1978 Toyota FJ40. My FJ had polished Alcoas on it. Our Black Cobra Mustang had Chrome Cobra Rs on it.
I got to where I really was burnt out on Chrome and I couldn't stand keeping polished wheels polished. Especially on a daily driver here in the Northwet. We had countless numbers of car and trucks with chrome and polished wheels on them over those years and what it all boiled down to on a often driven vehicle was that the upkeep on the wheels sucked especially on daily driver you didn't even really care quite as much about.
I don't really know where I am going with this but I will say that we've had about 10 sets of black wheels since those days all the way back to the little Mazda. I will continue to own low maintenance wheels even on performance cars from now and into the future. I never really seeked it out to be trendy but boy did it ever become a trend.
I can even relate to the distance thing. It's all very true, but I just don't care. My mind knows what the wheel looks like. So if I look back at one of my cars from 100 feet away my brain still knows what the wheels look like. We have 5 cars in our stable right now, and 4 of them have black wheels on them. The remaining one has silver with machined faces factory. It should have black wheels on it too someday!
I see certain people in my area trying to bring back the chrome wheels in todays world and generally I just don't like the look. To me it's often just as tacky as friggen tire stickers.
Last edited by Mr. Black; Aug 25, 2019 at 09:30 PM.
While certainly lost at distance; I think their greatest folly is being hard to capture in a basic photograph. So unless viewed in person they are usually washed out in shadow for the majority of pictures.
I have a black set and a full polished set I switch between. The polished tends to be the crowd favorite but I love the racier look of the black.
I guess I am kind of old school, I am not a great fan of any monochromatic wheel of any color. I like a polished lip and a contrasting center even if it's just brushed silver. I understand what you are saying about losing the definition from a distance. I hedged my bets with my wheels and went with a brushed black, which is more of a dark tint than true black. A couple of options that I think would look good on your car are dark bronze or brushed/satin silver with polished lip. Here is a picture of mine, even from a distance in low like you can still see the wheels.
I guess I am kind of old school, I am not a great fan of any monochromatic wheel of any color. I like a polished lip and a contrasting center even if it's just brushed silver. I understand what you are saying about losing the definition from a distance. I hedged my bets with my wheels and went with a brushed black, which is more of a dark tint than true black. A couple of options that I think would look good on your car are dark bronze or brushed/satin silver with polished lip. Here is a picture of mine, even from a distance in low like you can still see the wheels.
Aaaahhhh these don't qualify as black wheels in my opinion!
Triple Black in Corvette collecting has historically meant black paint, black interior, and black convertible top. It’s new to me hearing it referenced for wheels.
Would a triple black ‘vert with black wheels make it a quadruple black?
Triple Black in Corvette collecting has historically meant black paint, black interior, and black convertible top. It’s new to me hearing it referenced for wheels.
Would a triple black ‘vert with black wheels make it a quadruple black?
Point taken, and you are traditionally correct sir.
I'm 34 and have never liked a bright (chrome or high polished aluminum) wheel on a light colored car (white, silver, pewter, yellow etc).
I do agree that black wheels tend to loose their style as you step away, but I don't see the need to have the wheels look good from that far away. IMO it's to look good at a 10-15ft max as that is where you will be when looking over a car.
Plus a darker wheel hides brake dust better My car is no show car, however I like to keep it clean as best I can. My wheel detailing is wiping off brake dust with a soapy microfiber towel.
Dark wheels bring a different overall scheme to a car. I have a silver 03Z with a red/black/silver scheme going. Chrome IMO wouldn't fit well, and I wasn't a fan of even a grey wheel. Bright wheels give me a sense of clean/sleek/elegant. Where a dark wheel looks more subtle/rowdy/ready to get down to business. It also depends on gloss or matte, a gloss wheel can be lost easier in the sun IMO than a matte wheel.
In the end, I think it depends on the overall look/scheme/mood you want your car to portray. In my case it's a DD with a clean but subtle sense of rowdy without being TOO over the top. Granted I do have the back fascia wrapped in red/black/grey digital camo lol Makes people do a double take.
ET, an option may be to have your stock wheels powder coated assuming you like the style of them.
Last edited by smitty2919; Aug 26, 2019 at 08:10 AM.
As Ive said before... My car represents my style. My C5 was never dirty. Never. Things like brake dust is something to deal with. My cars never see any brake dust because its removed daily. Ive often said, " Black wheels are a lost opportunity " People buy Corvettes for different reasons. Some for transportation, Some for Performance, some for Style and personal fulfilment. Or a combination. I am no longer a go fast guy. Iv always had a head turner. Ive always had an exceptionally clean car. Ive always tried to make my car unique to me., Wheels contribute to the car's personality coupled with the owners vision of his own car. Looking at my car from a distance draws my eye to the void between the wheels wells. The number of colors found on the car contribute to the overall look. The balance of color is also important. If you car's color is mostly singular then adding almost any wheels works. The problem is My car the C7 has a lot of black area next to the torch red. A balance of 70 % Torch and 30 % carbon flash. ( Grill, front splitter, cross flags, Corvette logo, Hood intake, side mirrors, rear spoiler, side skirts, stingray fender emblems,) Adding a silver wheel to my C7 introduced a third significant color. This tri color look, is not complimentary to my eye..
where silver works very well with my typically singular Torch red C5 . My C7 is Black and red, not just red. To my eye its very obvious, My C7 with black wheels seems like its missing something in the wheel well area.
My C5 seems well balance with the silver wheels
Mostly Torch red with a second color of silver to define the wheels which work well together
My C7 seems to lack that balance because the wheel well area is not as defined
I hope people can see what I mean. The black wheels go with all the black on the car. but fail to be well defined. Adding silver wheels would define the wheels but would not compliment to total look of this car.
Last edited by Evil-Twin; Aug 26, 2019 at 08:12 AM.
I personally love black wheels...…..on any color car other than black. The same can be said about the detail loss you mentioned to the car itself - want a car that 'pops', don't buy a black car - not to mention the on-going maintenance - not for me anymore
Black Wheels Observation
My car is no show car, however I like to keep it clean as best I can. My wheel detailing is wiping off brake dust with a soapy microfiber towel.
