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In an earlier post I stated that I was having a problem fitting a set of factory stock 2013 Corvette "Starfish" wheels on my 2008 base w/Z51. I was notified that the wheels came back from the machine shop, and were ready to install. So this morning I took my car to the tire shop and had the wheels swapped out. Before dismounting any of my tires, they tried one of the new wheels on to make sure it would fit. It didn't. It was close, but it wouldn't fit on all the way. So one of the workers used a pencil grinder and ground off all the rust that was on the hubs, and, voila, the wheels fit perfectly. I believe that was what the problem was the whole time. Anyway the wheels are on the car and I'm happy.
removing rust
checking fit
from this
to this
and if anyone ever wondered if a set of stock size wheels will fit in the back of a coupe, here's your answer
Except now they are no longer hubcentric and might wobble at speed.
Why are they no longer hub centric? The machine shop only removed a couple thousandths of an inch of material. The tire shop only cleaned off the rust, and did not remove any material. The new wheels are certainly a tighter fit than the replica wheels ever were, and the replicas never wobbled.
I just think your other wheels looked much nicer. I like chrome and black wheels, but I don't see the appeal of the gray painted ones over your previous ones.
I just think your other wheels looked much nicer. I like chrome and black wheels, but I don't see the appeal of the gray painted ones over your previous ones.
I just think your other wheels looked much nicer. I like chrome and black wheels, but I don't see the appeal of the gray painted ones over your previous ones.
I concur. The others were much nicer... If it was just an anti-chrome thing, I would have had them powder coated or plasti-dipped. Those starfish wheels are a HUGE downgrade in my opinion.
I just think your other wheels looked much nicer. I like chrome and black wheels, but I don't see the appeal of the gray painted ones over your previous ones.
I believe I stated the reason for the change in a previous post, but I will explain it again. First of all, the replica wheels were made in China. If you or any of the other nay sayers have owned Chinese made replica wheels, then you know the quality just isn't there. The chrome plating sucks. From a distance it looks fine. Up close you can see that in some places it is kinda foggy. I could live with that. But, one of the front wheels kept losing air pressure. It was very hard to find where the leak was. I finally put it in my swimming pool and forced it under the surface to find the leak (just the wheel, not the whole car) What I found was a porous casting. I had the tire dismounted, ground out the porous area from the inside of the wheel, and filled it with JB Weld. That slowed down the leak considerably. However, I still question the integrity of the wheels. I don't want to be driving down the freeway and have a wheel break apart. I have not heard of any problem with original equipment wheels, hence my decision. The replica wheels were on my car when I bought it. They certainly would not have been my first choice for replacement wheels. They are a pain in the a$$ to clean. Bottom line is, it's my car and my decision.
If you said they were repros in your original post I either forgot or didn't see it. Since quality was a factor, I definitely see why you went the route you did.
Either way, I agree - it is ultimately your decision to make.
I hope you can get the new wheels off when you need to. With such a tight tolerance, I would be concerned that any bit of rust on the rotors would bind the wheels on.
I believe I stated the reason for the change in a previous post, but I will explain it again. First of all, the replica wheels were made in China. If you or any of the other nay sayers have owned Chinese made replica wheels, then you know the quality just isn't there. The chrome plating sucks. From a distance it looks fine. Up close you can see that in some places it is kinda foggy. I could live with that. But, one of the front wheels kept losing air pressure. It was very hard to find where the leak was. I finally put it in my swimming pool and forced it under the surface to find the leak (just the wheel, not the whole car) What I found was a porous casting. I had the tire dismounted, ground out the porous area from the inside of the wheel, and filled it with JB Weld. That slowed down the leak considerably. However, I still question the integrity of the wheels. I don't want to be driving down the freeway and have a wheel break apart. I have not heard of any problem with original equipment wheels, hence my decision. The replica wheels were on my car when I bought it. They certainly would not have been my first choice for replacement wheels. They are a pain in the a$$ to clean. Bottom line is, it's my car and my decision.
Totally makes sense now. I wouldn't have even mentioned anything if this was in the original post. I didn't see your previous one.
I hope you can get the new wheels off when you need to. With such a tight tolerance, I would be concerned that any bit of rust on the rotors would bind the wheels on.
Funny you should mention that. My wife's old BMW (2001 330I) had new tires put on it. The wheels on that car had a real tight fit around the hub, and the tire shop didn't put any anti-seize on the hubs. Some time later I had to pull the wheels off for some reason and a couple of them wouldn't budge. I had to pry them off. The wheels on my Corvette are a little more forgiving, so hopefully there won't be a problem.
04-24-2017, 05:19 PM
Update on Starfish wheel fitment
