This may be a dumb question,, but I wanted to ask anyone who knows anything about wheel finishes.

I really like the SS 2.4L wheels in their polished aluminum look. The SS/SC 18s look good with certain colors with their gunmetal finish. Problem is they scratch easy and it will show really bad. I would consider just running the 17" wheels off the 2.4L SS, but our suspension has been tuned with the 18" wheel diameter (and P215/45/R18 tires), so I don't want to compromise performance by taking an inch off the wheels diameter.

Is it possible to get the SS/SC gunmetal 18" wheels re-finished (striped, polished, and clearcoated) to look just like the 17" SS 2.4L? If so, any idea how much this would cost?


Thanks,

Dustin.

 

If anything you would be greatly improving the performance by going down an inch. Example? Grand-Am Cup SS/SCs run 17" wheels...

If you really want to stick with 18s though, with enough money you can do anything you want, I'm sure you can find a shop who will polish them for you.

 

If I were you I'd go down to the 17s. Polished already and you don't have to worry about hurting a rim if you ever curb check your car.

You won't hurt performance. The 17s should be lighter so you'd get better acceleration and handling due to a loss of both rotating mass and unsprung weight.

 

To notice that much difference you have to go aftermarket, the 17" SS N/A weigh about the same if not more than the 18" SS/SC wheels. I have Pontiac G6 wheels on right now for winter, they're 16" and weigh 22.5lbs each, so it's a 1.5lb weight savings in each wheel and there is NO noticable difference in acceleration. Handling is slightly better but not so much from the wheels, it's from the bigger sidewall tires.

You'll notice better handling just from the smaller rotating mass, but to get improvement in acceleration you're going to have to get something under 20lbs and the N/A wheels are no where close.

 

There's a guy (well, a few) selling their rims of of the RL's which are 17's, and lighter than your 18's (afaik). Without the center cap, they just look like nice 6 spoke rims. It's a very viable option for you guys that want to go down an inch in size, but don't want to spend the money on aftermarket 17's. Just a suggestion.