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St. Jude Donor '08-'09-'10-'11-'12-'13-'14-'15-'16
Wheels decision
My 14 AW vert came with the OEM black Z51 wheels.
Not a fan.
Have looked for almost 4 months for the OEM black machine face
Z51 wheels with no luck.
I have them off the car now and am debating whether to have them machine faced
at a wheel shop or continue looking.
Was quoted about $700 to have them done.
Not interested in reproductions.
Decision is to wait for a set to show up or have them machined?
Opinions??
Agree with you on the black wheels. A bit of brightness in the wheel wells adds interest, we think.
We would like a set of the Z51 machine faced on our own (blade silver) ride, but that is in the "get around to it" category. Don't see anything wrong with simply having your set machined.
As an aside, why are you not interested in repros?
St. Jude Donor '08-'09-'10-'11-'12-'13-'14-'15-'16
A set of reproductions won’t have the CORVETTE cast into the wheels.
I am somewhat **** in the OEM parts department.
That said, I did look into them. Most places listed them out of stock.
Coupled with the fact that the reproductions cost the same or more
than good used OEM, I didn’t think it was necessary.
There were over 4,000 C7 cars ordered with this wheel option.
Surprised they aren’t more available.
From: In a parallel universe. Currently own 2014 Stingray Coupe.
C7 of the Year - Modified Finalist 2021
MO Events Coordinator
St. Jude Co-Organizer
St. Jude Donor '03 thru '25
NCM Sinkhole Donor
CI 5, 8 & 11 Veteran
If you are having no luck finding what you want, your only choice may be to have the wheels machined by a good shop. Only aggravation is if you don’t have a spare set of wheels you car is down for a while.
St. Jude Donor '08-'09-'10-'11-'12-'13-'14-'15-'16
I actually bought a set of the silver painted OEM Z51 wheels.
The car came with the original RF tires dated 2214.
Couldn’t come out above 1k rpm w/o the rear dancing around.
Bought new tires. Knew I was not going to keep the black wheels.
I saw a white Z51 yesterday with the machine faced wheels. They were the first thing to catch my eye. They looked great. I would have them machined. My son-in-law had a set powder coated and machine faced for his Honda at the local wheel repair shop. They came out great.
Check on this , but pretty sure our OEM Z51’s are forged. That’s pretty cool. They are very light, so probably worth the $700 if you like the size and design. I happen to love the black but my car is all black. I am eyeballing other wheels for all season tires , but forged are too pricey for me for this car. Rotary forged is how I would go if I change. Keep us posted!