What goes into making a choice on which wheel to buy? I have narrowed it down to two wheels, both chrome, both 18x9.5.

One stlye rim has a spoke thickness of approxamitly one inch. The spoke comes out to the edge of the rim and the rim has no lip depth to it. The spokes are extremely flat going to the hub. The center of the rim is reccessed and has a flat hub cover. This is the Y2K C5 rim.

The second style has a spoke thickness of approximately one and three-fourths inch. The spoke starts in about a half inch in from the edge of the rim. The rim has approximately a half inch lip to it. The spokes start at the lip and go out past the edge of the rim by about a half inch and go back in to the center of the rim. The center of the rim is reccessed and has a center cap that sticks out to the spoke. This is the MB Motoring Drifter.

Both of these rims are very similar. There is no real price difference. What would go into your making you choice on these rims?

 

Go with the Y2k C5's, they look REALLY good on T/A's

 

How do you make up your mind when choosing?

 

go with the 2nd one, those look like rebels

 

I'm not saying anything bad about the factory replica wheels...but if you are going to pony up the cash, why not get something that looks different than a factory wheel off another car?

 

I'd go with whichever one is lighter. These aren't ricers... if it's heavier than what you have already, you don't need it!

 

MB Motoring Drifter I think the bigger spokes will look better on the TA Even better if it is sitting on the ground.

 

i looked thru just about every one of the long threads showing tires and wheels etc..

Initially the black z06 wheels got me.. but then the 315s won me over.. so i compromised with the black zr1s.

 

when my brain tells me those rims look good on my car and I dont care what peeps are thinking..............

 

It has to come down to personal preference and what you are willing to spend. Aside from the stock snowflakes, I've owned two sets of rims. Here is how I decided to buy them.

Silver ZR1's - When helping a buddy install a set of springs, I got a close look at his wheels. They were in really good shape and I liked how mean the 315/35/17's looked in the back. ZR1's are a classic look. They're clean, simple, and compliment the lines of the Camaro very well. Many people will say they're played out, but I think a lot of people have them because they just look good. I mentioned to my buddy to keep me in mind if he ever decided to sell his rims. A few months later, he did. He sent me a PM and told me he was selling them and gave me a really good deal. In this case it was a rim I liked for a very good price that made me decide to get them.

Fikse FM5's - These are my current rims. I've ALWAYS loved the way these look. So clean and simple. But damned expensive. When I had the ZR1's, I did the BFH mod, rolled the fender lips, centered the rearend, and trimmed my bumpstop mounts slightly. After all that, they still rubbed fairly often. After I got my 12-bolt installed, it was worse. So I started poking around for four 17x9.5" rims. A few guys in the Texas section had Fikse rims for sale. Two sets were FM5's (one set was silver with 17x9.5/17x11, the other set was four black 17x9.5's), one were Fikse Mags, and one were Fikse FM10's. I like the Mags and the FM10's, but like I said, I've ALWAYS liked FM5's. Now the question was: black rims on a NBM Camaro? I'm usually not a fan, but...maybe. I contacted both sellers. The guy with the black FM5's contacted me first. I made him an offer, he countered halfway, and we both decided it was a good deal, so we did it. We met up at Discount Tire, looked each others' rims over, and did the swap. As soon as I saw the black rims on the car, I knew I'd made the right call.

Some people have said they don't like them, and I get that. There needs to be more black on the car to tie them in, which is something I'm working on. But they make a statement.

And if I ever get tired of them, I can sell them. Even a cheap price on Fikses is a lot of money.


-Mike

 

chris --get the Y2k's--you will like how they sparkle!

 

Agreed. Plus, the rebels have a dish which is hot, and the Y2K's do not. I personally feel the Y2k's are nice but too plain.

 

I agree with this guys statement.

 

Agreed.

 

Prince --did you get your rims yet????????

 

This is my words as well. Go for something that you know will be different. I like the TTIIS but would not buy a set due to everyone having them these days. Same with the ZR1s

 

Agree with all above, different is always better.

 

Although I myself have corvette wheels, I would not go with those. I dont like Y2Ks. i think the spokes are TOO skinny and They dont really fit the large contours of a trans am. They look better on camaros IMO. Go with the second choice. They look like rebels and I think the fit transams. They have a... robust look to them, haha. My C6s have a fat, 5 spoke design to them, Thats why I chose mine. I prefer 5 spoke wheels.

 

it's really simple to decide on which wheels you want to buy....

write down a list of what factors you need/want to consider, such as:

1) size (determines the size/cost of the tire you will need to buy to put on them, as well as the maximum rotor/caliper size you can upgrade to)
2) weight (the heavier they are, the more power is needed to make the car go the same speed)
3) price (no explanation needed)
4) looks (a very subjective concept....beauty is in the eye of the beholder)
5) finish (determines how difficult it will be to clean them & keep them looking good)

i'm sure there are other factors, but these are the main ones that most people consider. once you have created a list of all the factors that could sway your decision, place these factors in the order of importance to you.....then create a list of applicable wheels that match those factors.....whichever ones meet the most of those factors in the order that you have placed them in, those are the wheels for you.

 

Here is the way that I made a decision. I found wheels that I liked and would look good on my TA (Y2K and Drifters). I looked at the side view of each and saw that the drifters stick out past the wheel. I didn't like that. The hole by the lip is just big enough not to be able to stick my pinky finger down in there to clean it out. Another draw back. When stopping to get a burger, I saw an Impala with some drifters on it. That got me looking to other vehicles I see the 99 Vettes had a similar wheel and a lot of Imapalas have similar factory wheels. Another dislike. It also looks a lot like the ZR1 that I don't care for. When I started looking for the C5 rims, I called a few companies and found out that they are being phased out for the new C6 rims. I didn't know what I was going to do if that wheel was not offered in the sizing that I wanted. I looked at all of the galleries on Ls1tech and found that I really like the more modern looking wheel with no lip on it.

So I went in to Discount tire and asked the rep how to choose. He asked "Which one do I love?" I couldn't answer.

Part of me wanted the Drifters to be different but that just isn't enough of a reason to go with the drifters. I have always loved the look of the Firehawk wheels but want to buy 18 inch wheels if I was to get any. So the C5 are nice and similar and you don't find many vehicles with plain skinny 5 spoke wheels on them around here. That and coupled with the fact that I felt my stomach drop when I heard that the C5 were being phased out help me make the decision to go with the C5 rims since Discount Tire was still able to get some in the size I wanted.

I want to thank everyone who helped me choose between the two. So thanks chupr0kabra, Bird Man, and 02Z28LS1 for your information for this decision.