C6 z06 ????

[Sting99]

I own a C5 and was wondering why is there such a price difference from the different manufacture's such as : Factory reproduction's , O.E. Concepts , ACE or OEW and so on...... does anyone recommend a certain company or is there one I should stay away from? I would imagine that they are all made in China , so why such a price difference. any advise would be greatly appreciated , I also posted this in the C5 general section.

[z06clif]

Originally Posted by Sting99

I own a C5 and was wondering why is there such a price difference from the different manufacture's
such as : Factory reproduction's , O.E. Concepts , ACE or OEW and so on...... does anyone recommend a certain company or is there one I should stay away from? I would imagine that they are all made in China , so why such a price difference. any advise would be greatly appreciated , I also posted this in the C5 general section.

I did a swap(wheel exchange) with west coast corvettes for my painted OEM wheels for stockZ06 chrome wheels. They were $749. plus shipping both ways no tax. It came out to about $1100. They wheels I got back were GM wheels that were made in Italy. They are triple plated and a good product. There customer service was a little raw but the final product is fine. One thing to be careful of is the fact that there is a core charge. that means you give them your credit card number and they charge you full price for the new rims which comes to 2400. once they get your rims back they credit your acct. Being from California they arent in any big hurry like say in NY. So if they dont credit your acct propmtly you get charged for the interst for the credit card. In my case .08% thats big money on $2400 and raises the cost of the wheels considerably. also they charged me for repairing an "out of round " wheel. Now those wheels were on my car for 2 years and there was nothing wrong with them. But they have your wheels and they have your money so what are you going to do. I dont think I would do it again. The reason for the price difference is where they are made. If they dont have them in stock or they are made for you , you will pay more because they are made for you. Also Triple plated chrome wheels will last longer than single plated(most from china are Single plated IE: tire rack All in all you have to do your homework and beware od hidden cost. that was my experience hope yours goes smoother

Clif

[Sting99]

Originally Posted by z06clif

I did a swap(wheel exchange) with west coast corvettes for my painted OEM wheels for stockZ06 chrome wheels. They were $749. plus shipping both ways no tax. It came out to about $1100. They wheels I got back were GM wheels that were made in Italy. They are triple plated and a good product. There customer service was a little raw but the final product is fine. One thing to be careful of is the fact that there is a core charge. that means you give them your credit card number and they charge you full price for the new rims which comes to 2400. once they get your rims back they credit your acct. Being from California they arent in any big hurry like say in NY. So if they dont credit your acct propmtly you get charged for the interst for the credit card. In my case .08% thats big money on $2400 and raises the cost of the wheels considerably. also they charged me for repairing an "out of round " wheel. Now those wheels were on my car for 2 years and there was nothing wrong with them. But they have your wheels and they have your money so what are you going to do. I dont think I would do it again. The reason for the price difference is where they are made. If they dont have them in stock or they are made for you , you will pay more because they are made for you. Also Triple plated chrome wheels will last longer than single plated(most from china are Single plated IE: tire rack All in all you have to do your homework and beware od hidden cost. that was my experience hope yours goes smoother

Clif

Clif , thanks for the info , I have to make a decision , on OEM wheels or reproduction's , It's not a daily driver. But I'm trying to see the wheel size 17/18 or 18/19 , but have a tuff time on the tire combo that would look good on the car. I know Michellin's are top notch , thats what I am riding in now PS'2 , but they are expensive in any combination? people here have gone with the General UHP's , so I still have some time before I need to purchase , I'm just doing my research while I have time!! thanks again

[corvette-wheels.com]

• O.E. Concepts are out of Business.

• OE Wheels and Factory Reproductions are both low pressure cast alloy, and both manufactured in Taiwan.

• Speedline wheels are private labeled for GM, and although they are manufactured in Italy, they are also low pressure cast alloys. The quality control is a tad better, but not 400-500% better, as GM will charge you to replace them.
  

The main difference between all of these brands are inventory, cost of production due to quantities ordered, marketing, etc. They are all very close in quality, and all come with lifetime structural warranties.


As far as the "Triple Plating" process.. just so everyone understands this, it's not actually possible to put 3 layers of chrome on a wheel.

1. The first layer of plating is copper which adheres to the wheel and create a smooth foundation.

2. The second layer is nickel, which provides the hardness or durability to the finish.

3. Third layer is the actual Chrome, or the cosmetic finish. That is where "Triple Dipping" comes from, just so it's known. The preparation of the wheel prior to the plating, as well as how long the wheels are physically left in the plating tank are both crucial to a perfect finish. This is the only aspect that will actually differ one manufacture from another.

I will not discuss another vendor's customer service, but I think it's openly apparent what the consensus is on the vendor mentioned earlier in this thread.

With all of this said, feel free to contact us for a quote, as we carry many brands of reproductions, including all of the above, as well as some OEM wheels from time to time. (ie; presently we have C6Z06 OEM Polished wheels)...



~ Jason