Polished or chrome lips?

[ulllose]

Was wondering what people thought about the option of a polished lip or a chrome lip on aftermarket rims.............

I was thinking polished in case of damage but then again is there a alot of up keep with polished?
Also do most of you with aftermarket wheels get the inside of the wheel polished? Or do you not see much of it. I'm sure it will depend on the type of wheel but basically it will be a 5 or 6 star rim.

thanks, I never would have thought this would be so hard to order a set of wheels.....

 

[banton]

I have had both polished and chromed aftermarket wheels and while some think the chrome is too "bling" they are a heck of a lot easier to clean and maintain the finsh (eg. less fine scratches) than polished...especially with cars like the Viper that have very dusty brakes.

My current wheels are polished and they will be sent off to be chromed as soon as my current tires need to be replaced.

 

[Shandon]

I would personaly go chrome on the lips and leave the inner barrel alone. Mine are Chrome and I love the look! I too almost went with high polish because I thought chrome might be to much bling but it's not at all.

 

[MikeR]

I had the same thoughts. I ended up going with a polished lip. Honestlly when they are clean and your a few feet away its hard to tell if there chrome or polished. But if you curb a polished wheel, you can usually fix yourself or take to a wheel place and have repaired in a day. If your lip is chromed and you damage it, you will be out for about a month while it gets fixed and re-chromed.

Also , to me, the inner barrel is fine as it is. No need to polish. If its a show car, then maybe it will add some bling. My buddy had his inners done, but if you didnt know to look for it, you wouldnt even notice. I actually wish my inners were black. I want all the attention on my wheel centers and lip, I dont want people focusing on the inner barrel.

 

[Viper Specialty]

concur... chrome. Its tough to have too much bling on wheels that turn themselves Gunmetal in NO TIME!

 

[SSSSE YA]

Go Chrome, I did not I hate braking out the mothers and windex after every drive..

 

[ulllose]

Thanks for the input to all. I would also agree that I would not think it would be to much bling with just chroming the lips..........the centers will be gunmetal. again thanks I will take the advice and go with chrome. No offense mike......lol

 

[Chuck 98 RT/10]

Polished.

Chrome belongs on 57 Chevys.

 

[ILLSMOQ]

I have charcoal centers with polished lips and inner barrels. It is such a pain to clean and keep them clean...but once I curbed one of the wheels pretty good. I was able to sand out the curb rash and polish it out. Also I have some knicks here and there, probably from debris on the road that had been kicked up....sand and polish and they are gone. I do think chrome looks a little better and it is much easier to clean but the fact that you can't fix chipped chrome so easy makes it a no brainer for me.

As for the inside of the wheel....if you maintain them, having the inside of the wheels polished looks way better than the dull/raw/porous aluminum finish.

It comes down to preference. You can see the bright red calipers in the lip and with my wheels you can also see the calipers inside the wheel along with all the other hardware back there.

If you like the look and don't mind spending the extra money (or have the tools as I do) do the polished barrels. I've had tons of compliments on them.

 

[ulllose]

Nice, Looks like the lip has a great shine to it, but the inner barrel looks dull, compared to the lip? Or is it just a bad pic? I love the way the inner looks but if i went with a chrome lip would the inner wheel not look as good (in other words it wouldn't match the lip) I have a feeling that the inner barrel and lip match on your wheels but it does not look like it in the pic. Thanks for the pics

 

[ILLSMOQ]

Nice, Looks like the lip has a great shine to it, but the inner barrel looks dull, compared to the lip? Or is it just a bad pic? I love the way the inner looks but if i went with a chrome lip would the inner wheel not look as good (in other words it wouldn't match the lip) I have a feeling that the inner barrel and lip match on your wheels but it does not look like it in the pic. Thanks for the pics

night time shot with flash from an inexpensive camera in my garage...also brake dust on the wheels...take your pick When they are freshly polished finish is the same inside and out....keeping these clean is a chore.

Polished insides would not match the chrome lips at all though and I don't think chroming the inside would be a good idea either because small rocks, sand and other stuff does end up getting inside the hoops

 

[Nader]

night time shot with flash from an inexpensive camera in my garage...also brake dust on the wheels...take your pick When they are freshly polished finish is the same inside and out....keeping these clean is a chore.

Polished insides would not match the chrome lips at all though and I don't think chroming the inside would be a good idea either because small rocks, sand and other stuff does end up getting inside the hoops

These pics may help. HRE's with fully polished lip and barrells..

 

[Shandon]

This is chrome for comparison if it helps.

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[jimmy6383]

could be a stupid question.... is having a chrome wheel (not lip so much because it's only the lip) significantly heavier than a polish finish?

 

[ulllose]

Nadar I love the polished inside barrel......... Can you stick your hand in there enough to wipe them down good or do you remove them often?

shandon- Love the look of the chrome lip more so the polished look. I think it would look to blinging if the whole wheel was chrome, but just the lips looks outstanding with the dark centers. Also thats the stock ride height correct? And is that a 19/20 combo or 19/19 (I can't see and #'s on the tires)

 

[Chuck 98 RT/10]

could be a stupid question.... is having a chrome wheel (not lip so much because it's only the lip) significantly heavier than a polish finish?

No, chrome is not significantly heavier.

 

[TexasSnake]

No, chrome is not significantly heavier.

I did a Google on this after reading this question and most of what I came up with did indeed state that chrome wheels are heavier when comparing to the same type of wheel. It would be interesting to know the facts. I'm going to dig a little deeper, knowing not to take everything on the internet at face value...

 

[Chuck 98 RT/10]

I did a Google on this after reading this question and most of what I came up with did indeed state that chrome wheels are heavier when comparing to the same type of wheel. It would be interesting to know the facts. I'm going to dig a little deeper, knowing not to take everything on the internet at face value...

Naturally they would be heavier, there is a layer of chrome on them. But significantly? I doubt it very much.

 

[TexasSnake]

Naturally they would be heavier, there is a layer of chrome on them. But significantly? I doubt it very much.

I'm not talking about the insignificant layer of chrome plating. I'm talking about the metal composition used in the wheels themselves being heavier, considering not all metals weigh the same per volume.

 

[Chuck 98 RT/10]

I'm not talking about the insignificant layer of chrome plating. I'm talking about the metal composition used in the wheels themselves being heavier, considering not all metals weigh the same per volume.

Ok, I see where you're going with that. But I think the original question had to do with the chrome plating itself. And since I have never heard of a real property requirements for the piece to be chromed I believe there wouldn't be significant difference in weight.

However since chrome wheels are typically street driven then the wheel itself would typically be heavier than a race wheel. So in that sense one could say chrome wheels "might" be heavier than polished.

Jeeze, now I can see this thread going into the functional merits and pitfalls of chrome. LOL

 

[jimmy6383]

Ok, I see where you're going with that. But I think the original question had to do with the chrome plating itself. And since I have never heard of a real property requirements for the piece to be chromed I believe there wouldn't be significant difference in weight.

However since chrome wheels are typically street driven then the wheel itself would typically be heavier than a race wheel. So in that sense one could say chrome wheels "might" be heavier than polished.

Jeeze, now I can see this thread going into the functional merits and pitfalls of chrome. LOL

.....haha didn't mean to go there... but was curious if I ordered chrome wheels from the dealer rather than polished would each wheel be like 5 lbs heavier?

 

[Chuck 98 RT/10]

.....haha didn't mean to go there... but was curious if I ordered chrome wheels from the dealer rather than polished would each wheel be like 5 lbs heavier?

Identical wheels except one set chrome and one set polished? No. They will be identical weight.

 

[jimmy6383]

Identical wheels except one set chrome and one set polished? No. They will be identical weight.

Cool, thanks for the info. I have always been curious about this.

 

[ILLSMOQ]

Nadar I love the polished inside barrel......... Can you stick your hand in there enough to wipe them down good or do you remove them often?

it's easier to clean the rears than the fronts but you can polish them while they are on the car....you have to move the car a few times to get all the way around the wheel.

They have to come off if you want them perfect.

 

[Nader]

it's easier to clean the rears than the fronts but you can polish them while they are on the car....you have to move the car a few times to get all the way around the wheel.

They have to come off if you want them perfect.

You can wash the inside of the barrell pretty easy but I usually polish the wheels every year and take them off the car to do so.

 

[kllymartin]

Chromed...I've had both. I just had my polished HRE lips....chromed.

 

[Fast Too]

You can wash the inside of the barrell pretty easy but I usually polish the wheels every year and take them off the car to do so.

Nader my friend, you only polish your wheels once a year? You are referring to the barrels right? I know you drive your car more to warrant polishing the lips more often.

 

[Nader]

Nader my friend, you only polish your wheels once a year? You are referring to the barrels right? I know you drive your car more to warrant polishing the lips more often.

Actually it is only once I year. I tend to wash them often though. When do polish them a give them a heavy does of mothers with the powerball which works pretty well. I am installing the stoptechs shortly so I am going to have to clean polish them up for the new rotors.

 

[Fast Too]

Nader - I'm looking forward to pics of those mods your doing. Don't forget to post them up.

 

[Leslie]

I think a polished wheel can be clearcoated..?

I love the polished look..oh and BLACK wheels on a Viper is sweeeet