When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
Help! Looking to spruce up my ride with some snazzy new wheels, and just about driving myself nuts trying to decide. Chrome? Black? Matte or Gloss? Machined face? Split spoke? ZR1 style? Spyder? Would like to know what folks think looks best on Machine Silver Mettalic vert. Pics appreciated if you have them. I've got the Z51 package with the rather unattractive calipers and rotors and changing that probably isn't an option for some time so I'm thinking a wheel finish and style that would help hide that might be a good route to take. Advice? Suggestions?
Use the paint kit at your local Autozone or O'Reilly's. It costs about $30 and takes an hour or two to paint all four calipers with 2-3 coats. Here's mine to help give you an idea of how it looks after I installed my new wheels:
Oh, and go with chrome or polished. That looks amazing against silver.
Last edited by Corvette_Ed; Nov 11, 2016 at 12:48 PM.
Up to you.
Silver exterior paint.
Is your current style chrome and silver or black and sliver.
FWIW Ease of cleaning, weight, air flow could be deciding factors.
Z51 drilled rotors IMO are not unattractive.
One could paint (color change) the rotor hats and vents/ fins.
Caliper painting again is up to you.
Any will look great.
Have fun.
Last edited by Kenny94945; Nov 11, 2016 at 12:50 PM.
There are a LOT of wheels to consider in the aftermarket. Best bet is to look around the forums, get a feel for things and eventually you will come to find a wheel that you like.
Since you say you're interested in a wheel that hides the brakes a bit better, I would probably recommend going with a multi-spoke 3-piece wheel. Those usually do best to hide brake rotors/calipers, but take a look for yourself and see what we can do!
Use the paint kit at your local Autozone or O'Reilly's. It costs about $30 and takes an hour or two to paint all four calipers with 2-3 coats. Here's mine to help give you an idea of how it looks after I installed my new wheels:
Oh, and go with chrome or polished. That looks amazing against silver.
Looks great. Wheels too. Did you remove the calipers when you painted them? I saw a video where a guy painted them while still assembled, just the wheel removed. How did you do the lettering?
It's not that the rotors are ugly per se, but that the hubs are rusty. Thinking about hub covers to hide a lot of that. But in regard to wheels, I was first leaning toward black, then I changed my mind and thought chrome would be nicer. Now I've found a seller nearby with a set of what he claims to be new 2016 OEM gloss black split spokes that would fit. He's asking $800 obo which sounds like a really good deal if they are OEM. The wheels have CORVETTE stamped on the lip but I'm not certain that they're OEM. I think they might look pretty good but not sure that I'd like them as much as chrome. Decisions, decisions....
If you're cheap like me, I recommend TSW Nurburgring, they're either good cheap wheels or cheap good wheels, depending on who you ask. Or Crays, basically the same thing but more Corvette-centric.
Presently, cost is an issue. I planned my next significant investment/expense to be AR headers, CAI and a tune. But I don't really want to wait too long to spruce up the wheel area. In another thread I asked folks about the reproduction wheels on the market and had quite a few responses, all positive. So now looking at a set of C7 Z06 repros in gunmetal grey from FSS. Found a picture of them on a silver coupe today and have to say I really liked what I saw. Looks like they'd camouflage my plain-Jane calipers while still having that pop and contrast from a distance that another poster alluded to.
Looks great. Wheels too. Did you remove the calipers when you painted them? I saw a video where a guy painted them while still assembled, just the wheel removed. How did you do the lettering?
Thank you.
I painted the calipers and brackets both while they were still on the car. For the lettering, I used a razor scraper to gently remove the paint on the top of the lettering.
i dont know if you plan on changing wheel size at all but i can tell you running zr1 (19/20) wheels drastically reduces tire options. in fact so much so that i will be buying another set of wheels for track use to be able to get better tires. food for thought. but i do have a wide body so that narrows it even more im sure.
Wheels.
