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It is a generational thing. When I go to ralleys most corvettes owned by older people have chrome wheels. We were raised with them and still like them.
In my opinion, black wheels deaden the looks of the car. Chrome creates contrast which highlights the color of the car
Yeah. The black tires consume them and they get lost in the middle of the tires. But some enjoy that appearance.
This is my first C7 Z06 Corvette I bought. All my other Vettes I had did not have any black wheels. My new 19 had polished wheels on it. I got to see it both ways with the wheels. My dealership sent my wheels out to be powered coat gloss black for me. My opinion since having other finished wheels before I wanted a different look. I think my gloss black wheel really pop on the car. I have had numerous compliments on the black wheels looking good with the black paint. If I get bored with them down the road I will buy new wheels.
Last edited by ZO6 cracker; 02-10-2019 at 07:42 AM.
Well, I qualify as an "old guy", I fell in love with cars when I was about 11 and the local magazine seller would give me the previous month Hot Rod and Car Craft magazines. That would have been about 1960. Flipper full wheel covers were the style at that time. Later I remember the local cool guys painting their rims red to out line their Moon Discs, then black to highlight the chrome Baby Moons and sometimes a set of Beauty Rings around the outside edge of the wheel. One day I saw a set of Rader Mags on a 57 Chevy BelAir 2 dr. HT and thought that was the coolest thing ever. It was Sierra Gold with the FI 283 and 4 speed. Then came chrome reversed Cragers on the late 60's muscle cars. Shortly after that the car culture went pretty much underground for a time with all the emissions stuff killing performance for quite a few years. Somewhere along the line some smart engineer figured out how to make an eco friendly motor perform again and cars started to be styled more to performance looks. The black alloy wheel was becoming popular. My 96 Grand Sport convertible had them with a machined rim edge from the factory. On the C7 there are both silver/chrome and black wheels of several designs. I tend to like the lighter colored wheels on dark cars and darker wheels on lighter paint jobs. I ordered my soon to arrive Arctic White Z06 with black painted wheels but those will likely just survive the trip from the dealer to home as I will be putting on a set of Forgelines with All Weather Michelins on the car. The Forgelines will be in dark smoke transparent. Not black and not silver. The bottom line is styles change through the years and get what you want on your car as long as it suits you it is good!
Yea, resurrecting another old thread about black wheels! Hopefully the OP went and changed theirs for something they liked better. Black looks awesome on some color schemes.
The inspiration for black wheels is probably certain kinds of racing. NASCAR, for example, appears to run a lot of black wheels.
I do not find wheels interesting, unlike many enthusiasts. I do not like attention drawn to them. I thus like simple designs. I appreciate the brake dust grey of the C5 Z06 wheels. I like black wheels on many color cars as the wheels disappear. I dislike chrome, too much bling.
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...
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Due to Racing in general, but I’d say GT racing, more than NASCAR. That and they look sweet...maybe not to the gray beards, but most everyone else.
cost to produce, one supplier to GM had a huge inventory; heck Henry Ford chose black for the Model T simply because it dried faster
than any other colors available on that scale......
Me, personally I hate chrome wheels on modern cars. To me it dates the car, but we are all entitled to our own opinions. The black wheels get lost in the tires and on a dark car, they dont provide a lot of dimension either. I do like the look of brushed aluminum, graphite or if I had a blue vette, I would certainly go for the burnt bronze. I was looking at @VibeMotorsports recently for new wheels; there are tons of options there to fit anyone's taste. I know, I saw a few on there I liked! Perhaps its time for a face lift for the summer!
I remember first starting to see the black wheel trend on performance cars about 10 years ago. At first it was mostly on the exotics where the black finish matched nicely with the brighter neon colors and trim. GM designers, in their wisdom, jumped on this trend with the C7 by offering black wheels as an option.
However, now that I'm seeing black wheels on Hyundais, etc., I wonder if the trend has now jumped the shark. I think they look good matched up with certain colors, however the issue I've always had is that from 15 feet away, black wheels disappear within the wheel well, and you can't really tell the difference between a set of black cheap cast wheels from China and a set of high-end carbon & forged wheels.
Personally, I think black wheels are here to stay and will be an option for most cars in the foreseeable future just like there will be an option for a shinier alternative. I bypassed the chrome vs. black debate and chose polished aluminum CCW wheels for my C5 and an industrial, Transparent Smoke finish for my C7Z Foreglines, however perhaps future Corvette generations will lead me to the dark side.
Not a fan of black or chrome. Thought the Blade wheels offered a nice contrast to the blue. I have a 09 Z06 that is black and I have competition gray spyders on it. Someday I would like to have some gun metal gray Forgelines to reduce the contrast just a little and have better strength.
Last edited by MiamiCowboy; 03-08-2019 at 09:55 AM.
Not to disrespect any choice of wheels, but the solid black wheels with black rims and centers, from just a short distance away, look similar to a car with no hubcaps.
12-03-2018, 12:13 PM
