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My 2017 GS has had all 4 wheels bent and now one has two cracks in it. Time for something else. I see lots of aftermarket wheels advertised on this forum, but they never list a price or even a price range. This makes me assume they are more than I want to spend for wheels. What are some of my options and what's a ballpark price range for them? I probably want to keep it around $2000 or less. $3000 would be an absolute limit if I really loved them. I really like the GS wheel design. Would a reproduction GS wheel hold up better (the price should be good)?
At that price point you don't have a lot of options. I'm sure there is some strength variance between various cast wheels, but I'm not sure you'll do appreciably better with a different cast wheel. Flow forged is a fancy term for what starts out as a cast wheel that the manufacturer applies a process to in an attempt to strengthen them. You might be able to get a set of those towards the top end of your budget but I'm not sure. I haven't done meaningful research on them so I'm not sure how much stronger they are. Forged rims would have the maximum strength but you won't find those for $3k at all unless you get lucky with a used set (and forget $2k). You're looking at an absolute minimum of the high 3,000's for forged wheels, and the well known name brands are going to be way out of your budget.
Part of the problem is the very low profile run flat tires, the super stiff small sidewalls pass a lot of force onto the rim. If you could find a set of 18" rims that could clear the brakes and you ran non-runflats on those that would give you a larger, softer sidewall to absorb some of the impact. But even the cheapest rims + tires would be very close to or over your $3k budget.
Your budget is way too low to totally solve your problem. You need forged and they go for about $4500 for a good set.You get what you pay for. Maybe look for some used forged.
The very first thing you should do, if you haven't already, is get the Mag Ride Calibration Update. It will make you believe that your car actually has suspension. In my opinion, the original calibration is a major contributor to the wheel bending/cracking issue. Before the update, I was beginning to think I was going to have cracked teeth to go with my bent rims. After the mag update, get yourself a set of Vorsteiner Flow Forged. I got a set of FF-103s in Carbon Graphite for $1700 from Vibe Motorsports. Normally $2400.
Replacement wheels or not it’ll happen again. Factory reproductions will be the same problem because of the design of the wheel and the run flat tires. Finally figured out the cause of the rear cracked wheels: very wide wheel (12”) ,very little sidewall and stiff inner design of the factory run flats to help absorb the imperfections in the road. If you cut open a run flat tire you’ll see that there’s a stiff almost solid inner sidewall that is designed to hold up the tire in case of a flat. That’s why all the cracked wheels are always in the same locations and mostly in the rear. GM won’t acknowledge the flaw because it’ll cost them millions if not hundreds of millions of dollars. I spoke with one GS owner who went through four replacement wheels. I’d recommend everyone who’s gone through this to go to the NHTSA web site and fill out a complaint form regarding cracked and bent wheels. Maybe if there’s enough complaints they will investigate and force GM to make a recall or reimburse owners who have had to replace wheels out of pocket. For now it’s better to spend the money on a good forged aftermarket wheel and a set of non run flats. You’ll get a stronger wheel and a quieter ride. Get a flat? Call AAA.
I've bought reproductions over the years from WCC, DocZ and House of Wheels and they've all been excellent and they're all Forum vendors. So I wouldn't hesitate to buy from them and actually I'm looking at the ZR 1 style wheels now. Just saying!
I went with these reproductions. They just looked stronger in all the right places.$1300 @ West Coast Corvette. We'll see how they hold up...
Those ZR1 reproduction wheels look awesome !
Let us know how they’re holding up - and post more pics please ! If I ever crack a wheel , I’d like to see those sweet chromes on my black 2017 GS .
I have to disagree with some folks that say you have to get Forged.
Forged are the best and you pay a premium for that. But a good quality set of Rotary Forged wheels will suit daily driving purposes just fine. I bought a second set of Cray Spiders. Paid about $2000 and they come with a 5 year warranty. Few if any comments on the net about these wheels cracking / bending.
Yep i am looking for wheels also since i have 2 bent on my GS. I think any wheels other than OEM made in china will be better. Im looking at forgestar, Vorsteiner, Cray and MMR.
I've bought reproductions over the years from WCC, DocZ and House of Wheels and they've all been excellent and they're all Forum vendors. So I wouldn't hesitate to buy from them and actually I'm looking at the ZR 1 style wheels now. Just saying!
I bought a set for my previous '16 for DOCZ. After three years, and 12K miles they looked as good as new.
I bought those in November along with the AS3+ZP's. Daily drove all winter (Texas winter). Still straight, uncracked, and sparkle like new. Just seemed to me that it was a question of when not if they were gonna cause an issue. I just figured if they're gonna bend anyhow from poor engineering, might as well bend the "cheapos". I'll hold on to the black stock units until I trade her in in a couple of years and swap em back then.
For anyone not already aware, there is an aftermarket wheel thread where you can check out what wheels others have purchased, and post what you have purchased.
I have to disagree with some folks that say you have to get Forged.
Forged are the best and you pay a premium for that. But a good quality set of Rotary Forged wheels will suit daily driving purposes just fine. I bought a second set of Cray Spiders. Paid about $2000 and they come with a 5 year warranty. Few if any comments on the net about these wheels cracking / bending.
I agree with Maxpowers. Aftermarket cast wheels have been fine on the street for many years. The drawback is weight. They're often 3-5 lbs heavier....per wheel. My personal belief is that the Corvette team over-rotated trying to save weight and when combined with the runflat tires, the wheel barrels are simply too thin.
03-27-2019, 05:42 PM
Grand Sport wheel options
I bought a set for my previous '16 for DOCZ. After three years, and 12K miles they looked as good as new.
