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With arctic white they create a striking contrast along with the black trim. It makes the paint pop. With a black car it creates a somewhat menacing look.
i agree. I think they look great on the Artic White. Some other body colors not so much.
"please explain how the popularity has risen so well for black wheels?"
I don't think anyone answered your question yet. Let me try.
Some of the younger set a few years ago bought their cars and had the wheels powdered coated black. More and more liked the looks and then people picked up on it and manufactures started offering them as and option, and so they some were ordered by the dealers with black. Became a very popular item and as it turned out consumers now got another option to satisfy a preference. A win win situation for all involved. Consumers and manufactures.
Last edited by joemessman; Oct 10, 2018 at 06:56 PM.
Beauty in the eye if the beholder is the obvious answer, and first thing that comes to mind, of course.
I just can't figure how black wheels ever became popular... where the popularity came from, what it originated from.
Some sort of popularity of drag racing, road racing, NASCAR, etc... the "typical" color of wheels found in motorsports racing??
Maybe you're too young to remember the first time black wheels were "in". Back in the mid-sixties black wheels became the cool thing. Basically, guys took stock wheels and if they weren't painted black from the factory, the spray bombed them black. Then you painted the lug nuts and dust protector silver. I did it too my dad's car. He wasn't amused and the hubcaps went back on. The fad back then was short lived and didn't catch on as much as the black wheel thing today. As to why black wheels became popular, who knows. Like anything else, a group decides it's "cool" and that's all it takes. It's pretty well ingrained as factories are marketing black wheels as extra cost option.
The original owner of my z51 replaced the black wheels with chrome. I absolutely despise them. This car has zero chrome on it anywhere and the wheels look so totally out of place on it.
Back in the day cars had lots of chrome trim in the interior, chrome bumpers and grills just lots of chrome. Chrome wheels really set them off.
I am going to go back to factory black z51 wheels as soon as practical. Also these are factory chrome wheels and every one of them is blistering and peeling.
I think this is one of the main reasons chrome doesn't work as well anymore. There just isn't a lot of chrome on most cars anymore. Even the door trim is black on cars now.
When the only chrome accent is giant chrome wheels, it's just too in your face and doesn't relate to anything on the car. That's key to design... Features must relate to eachother to work well.
well I wouldn't say it looks like crap.. cause I'm sure many others with the orange chose a diff color wheel.
OP: I had black wheels on a 350z years ago and said to myself I wanted to try something new also cause I knew many others would go for the traditional red/white/blue color combo with the black wheels (as per GM's promo photos of the GS), so I went with the pearl nickel aluminum but every so often I'd look at her and wish I had black wheels (mainly for contrast and to make myself feel better about the brake dust). I also regret not getting the red seat belt option
Brake dust on black wheels makes them turn brown, so there is no advantage.
I went with Black wheels when I bought my '17 BRM Grand Sport. I was going for the "Blackout" look. All of the wheel detail just got lost, what with the Black Calipers, Wheels and Tires. I recently had the OEM Black wheels machine faced. I really like the way it came out. You can see the wheel detail, and there is much more contrast with the calipers and tires. I know some will not like it, but it works for me!
Before After
IMO, the machined wheels brought this C7 "To Life"
HELL YES...because (to me) shark gray with chrome or machined wheels just isn't meant to be. It's called an opinion, there's no right or wrong.
i think the above pic says it all. This is my shark gray z51. Carbon flash painted spoiler mirrors and badges. There is zero chrome on this car. The chrome wheels simply do not match the car.
For what its worth.... Every day I see chrome wheels on trucks, SUVs, crossovers, cars, sports cars, you name it. Almost all are late model with factory wheels. Its become a game of sorts that I point out "those beautiful chrome wheels" on all kinds of vehicles to my wife every time we drive to town. We laugh about it, its so common. Hasn't anyone been noticing or are the chrome haters just singing the song they want to hear?
If you haven't picked up on it yet, I'm a chrome wheel fan. But I don't care what you have on your car, after all Its your car. In fact I LOVE it that many like black or other kinds of wheels. Makes my chromies just a little bit more special. Thanks guys!
Black wheels have been popular for > 10 years. I am not usually a fan of them as I think the design gets "lost" and under appreciated, but they came on my Shark Gray Z06 and don't mind them at all. I think my car looks much more aggressive with the black wheels. The car would still look good with silver wheels, just not as "mean."
Have the same car. The black wheels complete the stealth fighter look. Having said that, I am a black wheel convert. Had chromes on my silver 2008 and agreed with those who say black wheels get lost in low lighting conditions. This is true but in good lighting they look outstanding.
Racing culture, which I think is good overall for motorsports. Basically saying, "look how similar this is to our race car." Every major manufacturer's doing it. What almost no one does is chrome. Most Europeans will do machined or painted.
Not to ruffle any feathers, but can someone please explain how the popularity has risen so well for black wheels?
Absolutely no disrespect to those who own them and like them, heck I have them on mine but just don't care for them, l just can't figure how they became so popular...
To me, and again absolutely no disrespect, they resemble a car that's missing hubcaps.
Is it that they resemble NASCAR racing, or something like that? How did they become so popular? And what is the attraction?
Thanks
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I agree that everyone should choose the rim that they like!
I think that part of the "mean" black look is because, for a few years now, most upper level HP vehicle models, American and European especially, have featured black rims?
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