GORGEOUS! A set of those costs how much?

This is applicable to all of the OPTIONS. People have different tastes, and disparaging them because they are counter to yours isn't conducive to an enjoyable forum experience.

This is exactly the reason I left the Ice Cream Forum.

The Corvette design team steers clear of chrome wheels. Premium sports cars don't have chrome wheels. In the C4 and C5 years they left chrome wheels to the aftermarket. They introduced the C6 without them. But within a year chrome wheels were added by popular demand. This time the marketing department got their way and chrome was offered from the beginning on the C7. In some parts of the country chrome wheels are still popular and they are a source of extra profit. Why leave it for the aftermarket?


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^^^ Exactly. Absolutely silly but VERY irritating. Again, that SEEMS to be the goal of some--- not necessarily anyone in this thread.

EXACTLY what I said above, the demographic won out...

and by the way, we are allowed to state our opinions here without bashing...and mine is chrome is not the way that the corvette should go if they want to go after the competiton they now have stated is their target. -MY OPINION.

I expect this to sway no one, am not bashing anyone that likes it, but it my right to state it.

Yes, because I believe the chrome wheels largely contribute to the "old man's car" stigma that corvette cannot seam to shake off. You don't see lambo, Ferrari, Porsche, GTRs, Astons, Audi, Mercedes, etc coming out of the factor with chrome rims. Not that I think corvette needs to immolate them, but there is a reason these brands waved bye-bye to chrome long ago. It is my opinion that they should be a thing of the past. Again though, that is just me and every other 25-40 year old person I have met and talked to at various car gatherings. If you like the chrome, buy it. I'll continue to shake my head as I am sure you are shaking your head right now. Don't struggle to try and understand my position, just accept it as an opinion and have a Good night.

But that is no more valid than guys who grew up in the 60's disliking black wheels because only cheap cars had a black wheel. Nice cars had full wheel covers. Every time I see a black wheel, I see no styling of the wheel (unless it is perpendicular to full sunlight) and, to me, black wheels look cheap. I don't like them and would certainly never pay extra for them, but that is no reason to disparage them.

The only position of yours I am trying to understand is your desire to LIMIT CHOICES. You REALLY believe that is OK as a general concept?

My desire is to send chrome factory wheels to heaven forever... never to be seen again. If that limits choices so be it.

OK, my last post on this....

GM has limited our choices - if you don't like black, (I don't really) if you don't like chrome (I don't) then you have one choice in each trim (z51 or not). That's the limit. I'd much rather have another cross spoke pattern like the HRE above, or a straight spoke like below:
http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h3...loads/tsw3.jpg
http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h3...loads/tsw1.jpg

Any by the way - all the 14 convertible pictures are with a wheel not even offered, as far as I can see - What's that about? I'd like that wheel!

and go build a 911 - look at their wheels - no chrome and 5 types:
http://cc.porsche.com/icc_pcna/ccCal...=1378777155177

Alright, and you have the right to feel that way. I don't feel that way about chrome, black, other color, machined, polished, carbon fiber or any other past, current or future wheel finish. We agree to disagree :cheers:

Chrome rim option is a waste of $2000. Get the standard color and buy aftermarket rims for that money. $500 per wheel gives you a lot of options.

Why on earth GM decided that chrome plating is worth $2000 more over silver painted is way beyond me.

I'm really off put that they charged that much for something that realistically costs a negligible amount to them. Total bullcrap.

You look at any aftermarket offering in a chrome vs painted rim and the price is within $50 per wheel retail.

That's a good looking wheel. I don't think the 20x10 C7 fitment will have such a deep outer lip though. C6's didn't unless they were wide bodies.


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I wonder how much difference GM pays to the maker in Italy or if they put the finish on them in house?

I don't know, but if it costs them enough that charging $2000 is an average margin of profit to them for optional equipment, they are definitely doing something wrong.

As an engineer with experience in costing of paints, powder coats and plating, I can tell you right now that an extra $2000 is way over 10 times what it would actually cost to have a set of wheels plated in chrome vs a paint or powder.

This is an option you get violated on for the price.

The Z51 is an excellent value option for the price. The chrome wheel option is a disgraceful ripoff for the price.

:iagree: I'm guessing that the same thing can be said for the pricing of the optional roof panels. I cannot accept the notion that an extra $995 is reasonable to "upgrade" from the painted carbon fiber panel to the translucent Lexan one. What seems even more unreasonable is $1995 to switch from a painted carbon fiber panel to an unpainted one. Yeah, yeah, I know that the clear coating on the unpainted panel costs a gazillion dollars per gallon but still...:willy: I guess it's all just a matter of what the market will bear. Regardless, I love the C7 and hope to own one next year. It'll have silver painted wheels and a painted roof panel, though.

I paid Ecklers $1,000.00 to triple chrome plate my 2007 stock wheels in 2007 and I paid my dealer $900.00 to trade out silver painted for chromed OEMs in 2011 for my 2011.

Cuz dealer prices are always reasonable.

They charged you $1000, but how much would they charge you to paint or powder coat them? Not $25.

Besides that, it was a custom job. Mass production is exponentially cheaper than a one off deal.

You lost me there. Ecklers is a worldwide Corvette accessory place and the $1000.00 price was there for whoever wanted it back in 2007. They sent me a set of chromed and I sent them my standard. They held core charge until I returned my stockers to them. On my 2011 the dealer charged me $900.00 to switch the OEM stock to OEM chrome 3 months after I bought the car from them. $1995 option I got for $900.

Don't bother trying to figure out how these Trolls think! In case you wondered, many of the folks who think chrome wheels should not be offered are some of the same folks who think you should only be able to purchase a Corvette, or a house for that matter, if you pay cash, yada, yada, yada.

I HATE grey and black wheels, but you don't see me saying they shouldn't be offered!!!! Different strokes for different folks... some here missed that block of instruction in school. Note to TROLLS: If you don't like chrome wheels don't buy them!!! The are the #1 selling finish, so keep talking. "GM isn't in the business of making cars; GM is in the business of making money," plain and simple. Go buy an exotic vehicle if you want every choice but chrome. If I wanted a Ferrari I'd buy one, but that isn't me.

When you HATERS pay for my car, you can tell me what to do with it--get the point!

Blue jeans have been offered in many different colors such as brown, black, grey, white etc. Yet, at the end of the day, after all those other colors have climbed the fad ladder only to drop from popularity, BLUE has remained the #1 choice and seller. I'm 49 and remember Cragar chrome wheels that peeled and flaked like crazy. As well, expensive polished wheels that had the most absurd haze you could ever imagine, and never polish out of the finish. The quality of today's wheels is so amazing.

NO black or grey wheels for me, but I can appreciate those who like them. :thumbs:I'd never try to prevent another person from being able to add their personal touch/flare/style to their Corvette.:woohoo:

Correct. The HRE company makes each wheel to fit each application. They have the specs from GM. They will build my set for my car, nothing off the shelf. The offset and lip will be correct for my car.

Price? Do not ask my wife might read this.

The car will have pictures taken as soon as they are mounted. The only problem is getting the car. I am at 3300.

Well stated!

Calm down, I am sure chrome wheels will stick around at least a bit longer.

Gotta add $10K to the overall cost for those, but they are beauts. They have a nice gun metal looking one as well. Very classy look, not something you look like you are on your way to the track in.

Deal breaker right there for me. I have to parallel park next to a concrete curb too much to worry about curb rash on those babies. And to anticipate s/a comments------- learning to park better isn't enough to allay that concern for me.

I am not a track guy. I am a cruiser, I also drive the car a lot. All over the US. The lighter wheels improve the ride. I would rather spend money on a Corvette then a Porsche. The difference buys a lot of goodies..I am a CORVETTE GUY..

HRE wheels





Attachment 47735362

AUTO NEWS
(AP) This morning at the International Automotive gathering in Geneva, General Motors rolled out their new 2017 C8 Corvette. Spokesman for GM stated, "We've really only changed one aspect of the C7 and that is that we are no longer offering any wheels that are not black." "We agree with so many on this board that believe choices should only be given to those that choose black." Choices seem to be a thing of the past as so many people out there were not choosing black. Therefore car company management everywhere have decided to eliminate any of the wrong choices by getting rid of those pesky options. "Things have gone terribly wrong and we won't stand for this nonsense any longer. It is wrecking our country and our company." Black is the new chrome and the new polished, the new machined, green, red, etc. etc. "We've taken it a step further and are also only offering black cars", because as the OP stated, "Black just goes with everything and really brings out the shining example of those with taste and discernment of style and if we could just eliminate all but black, well......, what next, world peace?" Everyone agreed, except for those that we didn't want to listen to.... oh, and the French, they ran and hid. See the stunning new line of C8s from GM below;

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/memb...nks-153383.jpg

These wheels are $350 apiece in Z51 sizes..they are going on my coupe as soon I drive it home:
http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h3...ploads/tsw.jpg

The HRE wheels in the auto show picture with Kirk Bennion are HRE monoblocks (one piece). They are not much if any heavier than stock Z51 wheels. The HRE wheels pictured earlier are 3-piece which tend to be heavy.

Why would you replace high quality forged Z51 wheels with a less expensive not "really" forged wheel that is likely heavier? I believe TSW wheels are "rotary forged" which isn't the same as a forged wheel like HRE, etc. If you have the base cast wheels on the car, it may make sense but not with the Z51 wheels. To me, I would only replace the forged Z51 wheels with forged wheels of equivalent quality.

It's "forged" enuf for me.....

yes I have the base wheels , no Z51's ...and I'm going for looks and not performance -we all have different wants and needs..I don't care at all about weight - it's grocery getter....and they will look great - many camaro's run them...The TSW is a quality 21/23# wheel, not some off brand.

http://www.tsw.com/alloy_wheels_nurburgring.php

Yes, very cool. Do they come in 18" and 19" ? If so what is the source?

What does the RQ1 Machine Faced Wheel look like? There were none at Carlisle and I have not seen a picture of this wheel.

I have scoured all the pics on this and two other sites and come up with nothing.....would love to see them. But they are expensive for what you get.....

Then just park perpendicular to the curb and you can destroy your bumper cover instead of your wheels.

If that's not practical, you are correct. Black wheels with rusty curb rash look a lot better than chrome wheels with rusty curb rash.

And if all else fails, don't drink and drive. If you can remember that, you won't drink and park either.

Not a matter of finish just $$$. $250 wheels with curb rash look better to me that $2500 wheels with curb rash if the cost of repair/replacement is coming out of MY wallet :yesnod:

WOW! Those are some seriously nice looking wheels.

Here's one geezer who doesn't own any jewelry, including gold chains and doesn't like chrome wheels. I'm not even a bit overweight, perfect BMI, that's Body Mass Index, not Bowel Movement Index. :D

I would prefer machined or polished over Chrome or Black, but I think it will depend on how well the chrome holds up (doesn't peel) for me. IF folks find that to be an issue, I would get Silver. But, no matter which wheel you choose, I believe most folks on this forum would agree, on this car there is no ugly.

These are going on my car as soon as I get home - here's a really bad hacked photoshop but you get the idea - I think they are perfect for the car and only $350 a wheel - and yes TSW is a great brand - the Nurburgring. Thanks for letting me use your car, Keith...
http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h3...3at24332PM.png

Back in 1965 my Schwinn Stingray had bling.
My 2015 Chevy Stingray will have bling.
I like it. So be it.
:rock:

I'm old school, I still like the sophisticated look of chrome. I know my choices are definitely not for everyone, but they work for me http://i1364.photobucket.com/albums/...ps7714dbef.png

Joy - your color combination looks great. I like the chrome against silver, especially on the non-Z51; simple and classy. There is a French saying "La Simplicite Fait La Beaute" (Simplicity makes Beauty).

My current C7, on order, has black wheels (should be up for sale in another 6 to 8 months, once we know the status of the Hi-Po version release). My next one should be a keeper, and will probably have some form of carbon fiber wheels, presuming it will have more exposed CF along the spoilers and side skirts.

Thank you :thumbs::D