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Thinking about new wheels. I have a ’99 Mag Red convertible (just got a full repaint) with the Magnesium Sport wheels. I love the color of these wheels with the Mag Red but they are getting beat up looking. The car had a set of the Mag sports when I got it in 2010 that were really beat up. I picked up a set in much better shape and have used those for several years, but they are starting to get beat up – the paint chips so easily.
It is time for new tires so I am thinking it may also be time for new wheels (and to save the mag sports for special occasions/shows). I would prefer to stay with the stock 17/18 sizes and have always liked the stock thin spokes and the C5 Z06 wheels (which are a little wider than the thin spokes and the mag sports but that is not a problem), so one thought is to find a set of either of those and have them refinished (paint or powder coating) in the bronzish color of the Mag Sports. If the Z06 wheels are in good enough shape, I could run those for a while before having them refinished. I have the stock brake calipers, powder-coated in Mag Red with silver brackets, and no plans to put on any sort of big brakes, so the 17/18 sizes would clear the brakes.
The issue is that decent sets of these are not cheap and the refinishing would add more cost (and they are 15+ year old wheels). For example, found a decent set of the Z06 wheels but they are being sold with tires (that I am not interested in) for $950, about ¾ of what new Crays would cost. I also see that getting the OEM stock sizes for the Z06 wheels is no longer possible but that there are other sizes that work. OEM was 265/40/17 front and 295/35/18 rear. Optional sizes include 275/40/17 and 255/40/17 front and 285/35/18 or 295/35/18 rear. I see that Michelin PS 3+ (my preferred tire) come in the 255 and 285 sizes. Will this continue to be a problem in the future, that any tires to fit these wheels will eventually be discontinued? Mine’s a driver and I do put 3,000 – 6,000 miles on it per year and will replace the tires at 7 years even if there is tread left.
I do like to upgrade my C5 to Z06 parts – I have put Z06 shocks, anti-sway bars and exhaust on, so the wheels would be a logical addition.
Also looking at aftermarket wheels, I really like the look of the Cray Scorpions in Hyper Silver but am a little concerned about the weight, especially compared to the Mag Sports.
CCW 505s are great looking but . . . would have to go to 18 or 18/19 and $$$. I just put new wheels/tires on my BMW so spending that kind of money now would stretch my wife’s car parts tolerance over the red line.
The TSW Interlagos are a possibility – the weight of the wheels is better than the Crays, but I don’t like the look of them as much as the Cray Scorpions (or the Z06s) and it appears that the 18 rears are out-of-stock everywhere. The best price I’ve found on the 17s, though, is really good.
At this point, I’m leaning toward the Z06 wheels and hoping to talk the seller down a bit from the $950 since the tires are useless to me (and I will probably have to put in new TPMS).
Anyway, I’m looking for ideas – anyone who has any of the options I noted above or has other options they could recommend.
Picture from December when I picked it up after the repaint.
I would call a wheel repair company like this one http://www.rimdoc.com/services and ask if they have a coating for your magnesium wheels that will hold up to everyday driving and look stock.
Save up money and get the set you want. Otherwise, you will be changing the wheels again in a couple of years and spending more money than you would have if you just saved in the first place.
Have you considered powdercoating the magnesium wheels? That's a very durable finish for wheels.
Have you looked at Forgestar wheels? A new set of those will cost between $1500-$1800, or less.
IMO, people worry way too much about wheel weights.
Thin spokes in bronze chrome, darker than you may want but a good reference. It was $400 to powdercoat them.
I had some C5Z speedlines powder coated about 18 months ago and have been extremely pleased with the finish. I have a '02 quicksilver that I went with the matte black. I love them but now want a set in bronze chrome.
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Forgestar F14s look great IMO. Or if you really like the look of the stock Y2K style wheels, find a set of the base silver painted ones and get them powdercoated the color you want. I happen to think they are a very good looking wheel.
Save up money and get the set you want. Otherwise, you will be changing the wheels again in a couple of years and spending more money than you would have if you just saved in the first place.
Always good advice. In the case of wheels, though, I don't know if I want to spend massive bucks for something that is so easily/often damaged. A friend has a beautiful set of Fikse wheels on his C5 but I just can't justify to myself (much less my wife) to spend that much on wheels. I'm looking for a combination of quality, form, function, and reasonable price.
I would call a wheel repair company like this one http://www.rimdoc.com/services and ask if they have a coating for your magnesium wheels that will hold up to everyday driving and look stock.
Yes, I have looked into having the mag sports refinished, although it was a number of years ago with my original set. It was far less expensive to just find a set in better condition and swap them out. I did keep my original front wheels and was going to keep the rears as well but a friend who wanted the rears for drag racing made me an offer I couldn't refuse. I would like to take the mags off the road and keep them for the future for a periodic "return to stock" look. I might even consider putting summer rubber on the new wheels and keeping the mag sports on all season tires for late fall, winter, early spring duty.
Thin spokes in bronze chrome, darker than you may want but a good reference. It was $400 to powdercoat them.
Those do look good! You're right, they are darker than I am thinking of, but look great on your lighter colored car. To do something like this I would be looking for some of the painted thin spokes, which appear to come up far less often than the polished.
I bought a set of Cray Manta wheels for my '98 and plan to sell the wagon wheels. They are C6 ZR1 and cost around $1600.00 finished.
Not sure you will be able to sell the wagon wheels - there is not much demand for them. They do, for some reason, look much better when chromed. I also understand that they are sometimes used on Volkswagens, and, again oddly, look okay on VWs.
Those do look good! You're right, they are darker than I am thinking of, but look great on your lighter colored car. To do something like this I would be looking for some of the painted thin spokes, which appear to come up far less often than the polished.
Painted or polished, the powdercoater will strip off the finish, before the shooting the powder on them.
Yeah, I've been going back and forth with the seller of the Z06 set with questions and such, we were close to a deal but he went dark on me. I like the look of these wheels but I understand the tires available for these sizes are limited.
In the meantime, I've poked around the Interweb using the Google machine and found a set of refurbished Thin Spokes for a pretty good price. Would then get them powdered in the Light Bronzemist Metallic color of the Mag Sports. Oddly, this color had been used as a body color on some Buicks at the time.
Here are my Mag Sports after a day on the track at NCM in 2016. Look at that dust!
Wheels . . . What to do?
