getting new wheels: photoshops inside, vote on poll

[IROCZman15]

Ok, so this post is about a year overdue, but with buying a house last fall and many house projects.... I had to put the car on hold for a bit. For several years now I have been wanting to get rid of the Eagle alloy wheels on my Camaro in favor of something that is more visually appealing.

Over the past 4 years I have been picking out my favorite wheels/rim choices, and after many sessions of looking at them in magazines, internet, or seeing some in person.. I have narrowed it down to a top four list. There was one wheel I really liked but I was just slightly skeptical about how it would look it on the car. I took some time last year to learn basic photoshop skills from my father and it allowed me to photoshop the wheel choices onto photos of my car. (I had done a few photoshops with the brake rotors and calipers showing, but it got a little confusing, so I just decided to post the ones here of the wheel on the car without the caliper/rotor behind the wheel). I am posting these here to see if people agree with one, any, all, or none of the choices...and looking for a little bit of feedback. Over the years I have saved up enough $ to buy the wheels and tires flat out, so even though the price of each of these wheel packages is expensive..I have it covered.

These wheels are not for drag/autocross.. this car is more of a cruiser, and my next/future other car will be a full blown race car. I'm keeping this one street worthy and stylish and fun. I currently run 16x8" wheels on all 4 corners. I am now looking to go either with 17"s up front and perhaps 18" or maybe just 17"s in the rear. I need something that can fit in a non-tubbed, non widened wheel-well too. The front of the car is lowered 2" on drop-spindles and the rear has a 1" drop. I have also added a big brake upgrade to the whole car, 13" discs up front and 12" discs in the rear -- I bought the "Percy's wheel-rite" tool to measure whatever wheel choice I decide on getting. Since all of these wheels are custom made, I am able to pick the wheel style and then play around with the wheel rite tool to determine my offset, backspacing, tire size, etc etc. I will probably start doing that in a few weeks once i've decided on wheel style.


I am going with either a full high-polished aluminum, or brushed aluminum center with full polished rim lip. or chrome. nothing else is an option. I dislike black wheels so don't suggest those


I've seen a few of these wheel packages on Camaro and firebirds on the internet, so I may include those photos in a separate post here for more visual reference. Please keep in mind these are photoshop documents from a beginner, and size, angle, depth perception may not be 100% accurate... it helps me out if I just squint ever so slightly while looking at the images...


1. BOZE ZE Injected :
-my top choice. somewhat resembles the style of an IROC wheel but more stylish and aggressive

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a375/IROCZman15/WHeel%20Photoshops/bozeinjected.jpg

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a375/IROCZman15/WHeel%20Photoshops/the34viewinjectedUSE-Copy2.jpg

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a375/IROCZman15/WHeel%20Photoshops/injectedsideUSE.jpg

--this wheel scan I took from a magazine where the car was shot in sunset light so the wheel looks gold, but gives a good angle/view on the car
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a375/IROCZman15/WHeel%20Photoshops/injected34viewUSE.jpg

--this photoshop uses a wheel scan from a 3rd gen blue Camaro, he runs the "tach" style wheel, which is very very similar to the "injected" wheel style very similar, but I wanted to include it for consideration. kinda
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a375/IROCZman15/WHeel%20Photoshops/tachgreatviewUSE.jpg[img]





2. KWC 025 wheels
- nice clean 10 spoked wheel, no rivets, but has large windows which means you see lots of brake, and less wheel... not a fan of that really.. but these do have a nice look to them

[img]http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a375/IROCZman15/WHeel%20Photoshops/KWC025USE.jpg

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a375/IROCZman15/WHeel%20Photoshops/kwcwheels34viewUSE.jpg

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a375/IROCZman15/WHeel%20Photoshops/kwcsideviewUSE.jpg




3. BOZE ZE Lateral-G wheels
-similar to the above KWC 025 wheel, but this one has a different rim lip, and has the rivets around the circumference

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a375/IROCZman15/WHeel%20Photoshops/lateralgUSE.jpg

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a375/IROCZman15/WHeel%20Photoshops/lateralgon34USE.jpg

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a375/IROCZman15/WHeel%20Photoshops/lateralgrimsideshotUSE.jpg

--another 3/4 view, but my wheels would be high polished or chrome, not dark grey like these are
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a375/IROCZman15/WHeel%20Photoshops/lateralgsideprofileUSE.jpg



4. BOZE BOOST wheels
-no longer really a main choice of mine, but it used to be on top of the list about 2 years ago.. its now become to flat and plain for me, but I included it anyways.. I have seen it looking good on other fbodys, so maybe i'll throw on a few photos of those later on in another post

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a375/IROCZman15/WHeel%20Photoshops/bozeboostUSE.jpg

--again, in chrome, not in white like they look here
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a375/IROCZman15/WHeel%20Photoshops/bozeboost3-4viewUSE.jpg

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a375/IROCZman15/WHeel%20Photoshops/bozeboostsideviewUSE.jpg



those are my top four choices basically. Wanted to see what you guys had to say about the choices either positive or negative feedback is welcome. I plan on purchasing these mid-March I also hve to sit down wit that Percy's wheel tool and determine wheel size, offset, backspacing, brake clearance, etc.. Thanks guys

[IROCZman15]

For a easier comparison, I threw together all 4 choices on single documents with the same view. here they are:

Wheels on their own:

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a375/IROCZman15/WHeel%20Photoshops/Wheelchoices-Copy.jpg


Three-Quarter View:

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a375/IROCZman15/WHeel%20Photoshops/3QUARTERviewofallfourchoices.jpg



Side view:
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a375/IROCZman15/WHeel%20Photoshops/sideviews.jpg


hopefully that makes it easier to view

[WildBillyT]

Lat G all day long IMO

[ar0ck]

I'm a fan of the Boze ZE Injected I think they would fit your car well. All the wheel choices are pretty good though! I don't think you could go wrong with either one.

[maroman88]

anything without rivets, that leaves kwc

[redsoxsstink]

anything without rivets, that leaves kwc

not a fan of the rivets either, i do like all of them though the KWC looks the best imo.

i would would go with a 18x9 all around. i love the way the 18s handle on my thirdgen

[IROCZman15]

Quickly including a few internet photos of cars with these style wheels on them(or a very close looking similar wheel), just to show how they look in real life...

Injected:

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a375/IROCZman15/WHeel%20Photoshops/injecedbluerivetsside.jpg



these are the "tach" style but super close/similar to injected
[img]http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a375/IROCZman15/WHeel%20Photoshops/camp-0906-03-camaro-wheels-rims-third-gen-camaro-wheels2.jpg

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a375/IROCZman15/WHeel%20Photoshops/fullsideinjected.jpg


http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a375/IROCZman15/WHeel%20Photoshops/injectedchromeside.jpg




KWC 025:

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a375/IROCZman15/WHeel%20Photoshops/kwctruck.jpg


could not find many of the kwc wheel online....hmm

Lateral-G:

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a375/IROCZman15/WHeel%20Photoshops/kwcchrome.jpg

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a375/IROCZman15/WHeel%20Photoshops/kwcgreysideshot.jpg

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a375/IROCZman15/WHeel%20Photoshops/kwcgrey.jpg

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a375/IROCZman15/WHeel%20Photoshops/84_bg.jpg


Boost:

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a375/IROCZman15/WHeel%20Photoshops/DSCF0444.jpg

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a375/IROCZman15/WHeel%20Photoshops/sideCamaroYan.jpg

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a375/IROCZman15/WHeel%20Photoshops/fav4.jpg

[The Fixer]

I dig the KWC also, I'm not a huge fan of rivets.

[RiggsLW81]

my vote goes to boze injected. i dont have issue with the rivets like other people, but i do greatly dislike 5 star wheels with "the middle missing look". that looks feel too new school for the 3rd gen body style, and overall, a bit on the ricey side, IMO. the 4th choice the star feels too flat for my taste.

a solid 5 star wheel like injected feels era appropriate while still giving it some new flair/style. good luck keep us posted !

[Teds89IROC]

I like the Boze ZE Injected

[Jersey Mike]

I voted for the LAT-G, but the KWC are a close runner-up.




BTW, great idea to lay out the options this way. That little bit of organization went a long way in making it easier to compare the 4.

[NastyEllEssWon]

if the Lat G's didnt have the rivets I'd pick them...but they do, so i voted KWC

[1320B4U]

I vote lat g's and agree w/redsockstink, 18" all around but staggered. I run an 18x8 and 18x9.5 and love the fitment in the wheel well. I for one like the rivets, gives the look of an expensive 2piece wheel....also love the gunmetal finish on that '69 above.

[IROCZman15]

I am 100% sure that I will NOT be using the BOZE BOOST wheel, too flat and not enough style for me to spend big $ on . so it's between the first three....

.. I am really leaning towards the Boze Injected wheel at this point. I like the two split spokes but I think it wouldn't be enough wheel and there would be too much brake/rotor showing. and since I do have 13" rotors up front and 12" rotors in the back.. that's a lot of visible brake parts and not much wheel being highlighted...

I feel that the injected's are some "newer looking" IROC wheel in its style and pattern. still not sure between the whole wheel fully polished or the rim part polished and the center section brush-finished... I think I'm ruling out fully chromed. unless they make a chrome rim with a full polished center section?

***however I did notice that I can get either the KWC's and the Lateral G wheels with/or/without rivets. so that does change things up a little bit. **** and it looks like I can do the injected with/or/without rivets too... ***

thanks for the replys and poll votes.. i'm going to give this another week or two before I make my final decisions.. then I have to calculate all the dimensions for proper fitment.

[Mark68]

The LAT-G's all the way. I have a set of them on my '68. They have a brushed and polished center with a red line stripe painted around the edge which is powder coated black. When doing my research for new wheels, I found these to be a real favorite among many different car owners. Good luck in your wheel search.
http://lindsmar.lenzus.com/content/41411544/r/s_59639734.jpg

[IROCZman15]

don't know why I didn't do this a bit earlier, but I plugged my top choices into forza 4 and dropped them on a similar looking version of my car. these aren't the exact exact wheels, but they are both quite similar. not sure how much I really like the split spoke style anymore..

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a375/IROCZman15/WHeel%20Photoshops/009.jpg


http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a375/IROCZman15/WHeel%20Photoshops/044.jpg


tomorrow I will begin measuring all of the diameters, offsets, width, etc for whichever wheel I pick. going to be using the Percy's wheel-rite tool. hope I get this right...

[RiggsLW81]

Yeah I agree the split spoke style is not "the look" for the iroc. I stand by my first opinion, Bose injected wheel - it looks relevant to the original style of the car, but still feels fresh and new.

[IROCZman15]

So, just in case anyone is curious about this, I have decided to go with the Boze Injected wheel. I spoke to Zak at Boze wheels super quick today and will be calling him to discuss details and sizes. I think I have come up with a finish for the wheel that will look pretty good. let me know what you guys think:

its going to be a full polished wheel with the exception of the two groves that are in each of the five spokes , those are going to be brush-finished, then the whole wheel clear coated. basically the opposite of the finish on the center section of this:

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a375/IROCZman15/WHeel%20Photoshops/bozeinjected.jpg

I wanted a wheel that had some style but also some flash to it. the wheel pictured above has a brushed center five spokes and the groves are left at a polish. it does look killer, I just wanted a but more polished surface on my wheels.

-----these are the FULLY POLISHED ones

http://www.pro-touring.com/threads/87796-New-Boze-Injected-wheels-on-my-67-Nova


http://www.stevesnovasite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=194106


only one guy has done the full polished look that I can find on the internet so far


and

---- these are the polished outer lip piece paired with the brush-finished center wheel section with the groves left polished in my opinion, the wheel just doesn't have enough POP to it.the brushed finish is nice, but not like WOW like I want

http://blogs.corvettefever.com/6514103/miscellaneous/boze-wheels-wheels-for-big-brake-cars/

http://www.camaro5.com/forums/showthread.php?t=156266

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bozeforged.com%2Fbl og%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2010%2F09%2FInjected-2-Medium.jpg&imgrefurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bozeforged.com%2Fblog%2 F%3Fp%3D290&h=600&w=800&tbnid=vTOzTV9keUMpWM%3A&zoom=1&docid=TPHx-ztKrXkqOM&ei=Q_c5U8GiFufA0QG9koEo&tbm=isch&ved=0CHYQhBwwCw&iact=rc&dur=196&page=1&start=0&ndsp=16

http://www.racerats.com/

http://www.camaro5.com/forums/showthread.php?t=90680


however, I still have not decided about the rivets, I don't really want to be cleaning around each rivet in the future and they do not really belong on certain cars wheels, but they do look killer on the wheels pictured above.. im worried that if I don't go with the rivets, the bare metal (where they sit) will look clunky and unfinished

I plan on placing the order in a week

will be going with an 18x10" rear wheel running a 5.5" backspace and a nitto 555 285/35/18
and a front 18x8.5" with a 4.75" backspace running a a nitto 555 tire 265/35/18

[IROCZman15]

In case anyone was curious I figured I'd update this post. ..


I decided to go with the following combination:

Boze ZE Injected wheels, no rivets, fully polished wheel then clear coated. hidden valvestems 18x8" up front and 18x10" rear wheels.

Going to run a Nitto 555 front tire 245/40/18 and a rear tire 285/40/18


a bunch of the constraints of this process was the fact that the car is lowered 2" up front on drop spindles, the big C4HD brake kit, and desire for maximum front exposed lip (deep dish look as possible) I was always going for a smooth clean 5 spoke look, stylish, but simple, and without showing TOO much rotor/caliper .. so these wheels pretty much covered my goal. rivets look aggressive, but since the car is not a pro-touring killer, i dont think they fit, and they would be a pain to clean around too

I do like the combination that is most often bought from BOZe where its a polished outer rim and a brush-finished wheel center, but I think that in low light enviornments the wheel may look odd, I therefore went with a fully polished wheel

they should look JUST like these wheels... BUT WITHOUT THE RIVETS:
http://www.stevesnovasite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=194106

bought some gorilla acorn lug nuts, ultra low profile valve stems too.

wheels should arrive in about 4 more weeks.

ALso: big thanks to Phil /86 TA\ and Paul Huryk for help with figuring out measurments, offsets, tire sizeing, and explaining wheel concepts in detail to me. thanks guys.

[sweetbmxrider]

Nice choice, can't wait to see them installed.

[Artful Dodger]

Excellent choice!

[RiggsLW81]

badass choice, I knew Injected was the way to go...cant wait to see them installed!

[IROCZman15]

yea. I cant wait either. I know they will be shiny and not pro-touring, but I went for that kinda look. tires have arrived 245/40/18 up front and 285/40/18 for the rear. both nitto 555 tires. bought new gorilla acorn lug nuts and some new low profile valve stems, also got some fender liners...just waiting a few more weeks on the wheels. took some time the past two days to do a 5 stage wash/clay/polish/wetpolish/wax/ on the car thanks to Paul Huryk and awesome detailing supplies.!

[IROCZman15]

mod: you can close this thread out.. instead of cramming more photos on here and crashing the server I have created a new thread:

http://www.njfboa.org/forums/showthread.php?p=905562#post905562

thanks guys for your input. photos and info are in the new link above