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Whatever you think of black wheels, I can assure you that they do not hide brake dust. If that was auto makers' goal, they failed miserably. The OEM wheels are shiny, and they do not hide brake dust any more than a shiny black car hides any dust (that is to say, not at all). They do look awesome, though, when clean. Black on black is hard to beat. Wouldn't have it any other way. Sorry.
Polished aluminum rims have the same/similar look as chrome.....bright and shiny. PVD coated (chrome powder coat) rims are also a close chrome look. I own vehicles with all 3 versions of shiny. All are equal in terms of accomplishing the look I want for me. My street rod has polished Americans, F150 has PVD and chrome on the Corvette.
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Chrome wheels bump up the bottom line. And since it is the dealers ordering the majority of the Corvettes for stock, GM will continue to provide them as long as the dealers keep asking for them.
I can't remember any performance-oriented or sports car, US or foreign, other than Corvette and maybe Camaros and Firebirds, that offered/offers actual chrome-plated wheels as an OEM option. I'm thinking back through the 60's.
Silver-painted, yes, polished or machine-faced or brushed aluminum, yes, plenty of after market options, yes, but I simply have no memories of chrome-plated wheels as original equipment on high-performance cars other than Corvette or perhaps other GM products.
I would be happy to have my memory refreshed, but please don't show me pictures of after-market wheels or OEM wheels that have been sent to the chrome plating shop.
Starting in the early 1970's, decorative chrome was basically "outlawed" in the USA, due to environmental regulations regarding handling base metals.
Many small metal plating businesses were run out of business because of the expense of installing equipment/processes to meet those regulations. A good friend lost his metal plating business in Hot Springs, Arkansas because he couldn't afford the necessary equipment.
Oh, and about performance cars not offering chrome wheels. Better check out the Jaguar XKE's chrome plated wire wheels. My buddy's 1966 XKE(back in 1966) had them and they were factory wheels. MG and Triumph also offered optional chrome wire wheels. I did a quick check and found that Porsche did offer chrome wheels(not wire wheels, as they were illegal in Germany) in the 1960's. http://derwhites356literature.com/LittleKnownFacts.html
In the mid 1960's Buick offered chrome rally wheels on it's performance cars, as did Oldsmobile with it's 4-4-2. Also the Mustang had optional chrome styled steel wheels.
Plenty of examples of performance cars both US and foreign, having chrome wheels "back in the day".
Agreed, and I suspect a lot of people are mistakenly equating polished aluminum w/ chrome-plating.
The car below is NOT chrome, it's polished aluminum. And as an aside, I can't even begin to calculate how many hours it took to do this.
Whether it's aluminum that is highly polished to look like chrome, or actual chrome wheels, makes no difference, as it's the "look" we are talking about.
Same goes with black "painted" wheels or black "powder coated" wheels. It's the "look" we are talking about.
Besides Jags remember Buick Wildcats and the 55,56 & 57 T Birds all had chrome wire wheels. One reason many European cars got away from chrome wheels was the cost and availability in Europe. Black wheels are popular now because they like to mimic race & rally cars who use the cheapest wheels they can simply because of cost. But there's no question they're much harder to maintain and show dirt easily. Like I said before, chrome was used to "protect" the base metal and the fact that it could be shiny was just an advantage to sell wheels. Now black wheels are in vogue so the car mfgrs. push them. It's all about making money.
Starting in the early 1970's, decorative chrome was basically "outlawed" in the USA, due to environmental regulations regarding handling base metals.
Many small metal plating businesses were run out of business because of the expense of installing equipment/processes to meet those regulations. A good friend lost his metal plating business in Hot Springs, Arkansas because he couldn't afford the necessary equipment.
Oh, and about performance cars not offering chrome wheels. Better check out the Jaguar XKE's chrome plated wire wheels. My buddy's 1966 XKE(back in 1966) had them and they were factory wheels. MG and Triumph also offered optional chrome wire wheels. I did a quick check and found that Porsche did offer chrome wheels(not wire wheels, as they were illegal in Germany) in the 1960's. http://derwhites356literature.com/LittleKnownFacts.html
In the mid 1960's Buick offered chrome rally wheels on it's performance cars, as did Oldsmobile with it's 4-4-2. Also the Mustang had optional chrome styled steel wheels.
Plenty of examples of performance cars both US and foreign, having chrome wheels "back in the day".
I'm very familiar with Jaguars and the E-Type in particular. I am 99% sure those chrome-plated wire wheels were not from the factory, but were sent out to be chrome-plated by dealers and customers. Yes, they were OEM wheels, in an altered state.
Last edited by Foosh; May 12, 2017 at 12:23 PM.
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Whether it's aluminum that is highly polished to look like chrome, or actual chrome wheels, makes no difference, as it's the "look" we are talking about.
Same goes with black "painted" wheels or black "powder coated" wheels. It's the "look" we are talking about.
Oh, it does make a difference to some like me and others in this thread. It may be all about just the "look" to you and others, and this is far from a coherent thread.
The ultimate geezer mobile is a Long Beach Red A8 with Kalahari over chrome wheels. Eggplant is a close second. Might as well be driving a coffin with chrome handles.
:rof l:
This post made my day...can't stop laughing...your killing me man!
Let me say from an "Old Guy" (early 60's) that black wheels were very popular back in the late 50's early to mid 60's. You see alot of us could not afford "Chrome Wheels" so we settled for a can of black spray paint. We removed the hubcaps and painted our wheels black. Some of us could afford Chrome Lug Nuts or Lug nut covers along with the chrome dust cap. Then we could buy maybe 2 chrome wheels first, then a couple of paychecks later afford to buy the other 2! They were like $15.00 a piece back then!! SO the black wheels are now just coming back around. Maybe someday when you can afford to do so, you will go to Chrome too!
Originally Posted by LimeRay View Post
Nothing says racist like using the term "ricer". I wonder how the Asian Americans of this forum feel about that?
says the guy that insulted every owner of long beach red cars with chrome wheels. hypocrite much?
Originally Posted by LimeRay View Post
Nothing says racist like using the term "ricer". I wonder how the Asian Americans of this forum feel about that?
says the guy that insulted every owner of long beach red cars with chrome wheels. hypocrite much?
I'm willing to bet that they don't care very much. They just care about all of those American dollars flowing to their shores as Americans buy their products. They're probably laughing and calling us "suckers".
I'm very familiar with Jaguars and the E-Type in particular. I am 99% sure those chrome-plated wire wheels were not from the factory, but were sent out to be chrome-plated by dealers and customers. Yes, they were OEM wheels, in an altered state.
For someone that is "very familiar" with Jaguars, you know very little, but assume that you know a lot.
Who made the original wheels for Jaguar back in the 1960's?
Do you know more than the person who restored this XKE? One John Darnell.
"This XKE was in such good condition prior to its restoration that the chrome wire wheels on the car today are the untouched originals as they came from Coventry."
Dunlop, and I rechecked my sources and found they were originally available in either chrome or stainless steel. Unlike you, I don't ever claim to the correct 100% of the time, and have no problem conceding that.
Virtually all the cars I've seen, including the one I owned were stainless steel, which I prefer.
Dunlop, and I rechecked my sources and found they were originally available in either chrome or stainless steel. Unlike you, I don't ever claim to the correct 100% of the time, and have no problem conceding that.
Virtually all the cars I've seen, including the one I owned were stainless steel, which I prefer.
LMFAO. You only claimed to be "99%" sure they never were chromed from the factory, but by dealer's and owners. LMFAO. You left yourself 1% "wiggle" room...... "just in case you are proven wrong"...again. LMFAO.
You also posted...."Originally Posted by Foosh
I can't remember any performance-oriented or sports car, US or foreign, other than Corvette and maybe Camaros and Firebirds, that offered/offers actual chrome-plated wheels as an OEM option. I'm thinking back through the 60's.
Silver-painted, yes, polished or machine-faced or brushed aluminum, yes, plenty of after market options, yes, but I simply have no memories of chrome-plated wheels as original equipment on high-performance cars other than Corvette or perhaps other GM products."
Well your memory on American and European cars is as bad as your knowledge and truthfulness about Jaguar wheels.
You see my user name and you see red and want to contradict everything I post. You throw out **** even if you don't have a clue, hoping you can "own" me.
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