Powdercoated GSL-SE rims
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Rotary Freak
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 2,267
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Powdercoated GSL-SE rims
I had an extra set of GSL-SE rims lying around so I decided to have them powdercoated black and a set of Falken Azenis RT-615s mounted up. Got them back from powdercoating yesterday evening and had the tires installed this morning. I don't know if it was worth the expense but I do like the look on my red car. What do you think?
from this guy ... sorry but I think it looks better with the silverish color.
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Too old to act my age
Joined: Feb 2005
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From: Tulsa, Ok.
Perhaps with the lip left polished it would look a little less bland. Kinda like these:
The black rim and black tire tend to blend together without something to break up the darkness.
The black rim and black tire tend to blend together without something to break up the darkness.
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 3,162
Likes: 1
From: London, Ontario, Canada
I think it gives it that purposeful racecar look, which I just love. Really sets off the red, great contrast. Now go get your lugs anodized red. It'll look hot.
Senior Member
Joined: Oct 2002
Posts: 501
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From: Eugene, Oregon
I have to agree with Rogue Wulff!
Breaking up the look with Polished Lip and maybe some Chrome Lug Nuts would really look sweet on her.
Other than that nice job Blake.
sgieldon
steve
Eugene,OR
Breaking up the look with Polished Lip and maybe some Chrome Lug Nuts would really look sweet on her.
Other than that nice job Blake.
sgieldon
steve
Eugene,OR
Thread Starter
Rotary Freak
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 2,267
Likes: 3
Thanks for all the comments. For the record, I don't think they look "better" than polished aluminum wheels but they definitely give it a different look while maintaining the GSL-SE genes, so to speak. Right now, that appeals to me. This wasn't a stab in the dark...a friend of mine did the same thing about 10 years ago and I thought it looked pretty cool, so I knew what I was in for. But his car wasn't red and I supposed the color combo would be even better.
These rims were off a parts car and the clear coat was all scratched up, so powdercoating seemed a good option. If I wanted silver, I would have restored the stock wheels because that machined and cast combo looks better than any uniform silver powdercoat in my opinion. I also wanted a dark color to help hide the brake dust that made my silver wheels look so bad after only a few days. Black was the only logical choice for me. I picked a 60% black, so it is a sort of semigloss and matches the trim pretty closely. I had thought about leaving the outer rim silver, but it's just not my style. I like things simple and understated and, above all, practical. I know some people are compelled to "highlight" things, and I can respect that, but my taste runs a little different.
Anyway, I still have an extra set of stock wheels that I can now restore to original condition and swap out as the mood strikes me. Haven't decided between mounting some cheap all-season tires on them for year-round use to save the Falkens, or just getting a second set of Falkens, which I have found to be pretty decent even on ice and snow, let alone all the rain we get.
BTW, I ended up getting a nice enough deal on the tires that it almost paid for the powdercoating. I called up a local America's Tires, which is the retail arm of Discount Tire Direct online, and asked them to match the online price. They agreed and it saved me the shipping cost to boot. $73 per tire plus mounting and balancing, for a total of $350 out the door. New valve stems and all. The powdercoating only set me back $125 but that was a friendly deal with a vendor I already give a lot of business to and I did the media blasting myself. Their regular price is $75 per wheel, which works out to be $300 a set. I don't think I would have paid that much, no matter how good it looked. As it is, I got a "new" set of wheels for a fraction of the cost, a great set of performance tires and I still have stock silver wheels to swap-out if I get tired of the black rims. The money I saved will go into my Panasport fund...
These rims were off a parts car and the clear coat was all scratched up, so powdercoating seemed a good option. If I wanted silver, I would have restored the stock wheels because that machined and cast combo looks better than any uniform silver powdercoat in my opinion. I also wanted a dark color to help hide the brake dust that made my silver wheels look so bad after only a few days. Black was the only logical choice for me. I picked a 60% black, so it is a sort of semigloss and matches the trim pretty closely. I had thought about leaving the outer rim silver, but it's just not my style. I like things simple and understated and, above all, practical. I know some people are compelled to "highlight" things, and I can respect that, but my taste runs a little different.
Anyway, I still have an extra set of stock wheels that I can now restore to original condition and swap out as the mood strikes me. Haven't decided between mounting some cheap all-season tires on them for year-round use to save the Falkens, or just getting a second set of Falkens, which I have found to be pretty decent even on ice and snow, let alone all the rain we get.
BTW, I ended up getting a nice enough deal on the tires that it almost paid for the powdercoating. I called up a local America's Tires, which is the retail arm of Discount Tire Direct online, and asked them to match the online price. They agreed and it saved me the shipping cost to boot. $73 per tire plus mounting and balancing, for a total of $350 out the door. New valve stems and all. The powdercoating only set me back $125 but that was a friendly deal with a vendor I already give a lot of business to and I did the media blasting myself. Their regular price is $75 per wheel, which works out to be $300 a set. I don't think I would have paid that much, no matter how good it looked. As it is, I got a "new" set of wheels for a fraction of the cost, a great set of performance tires and I still have stock silver wheels to swap-out if I get tired of the black rims. The money I saved will go into my Panasport fund...
