gram lights 57s-pro titanium lip thinking of changing the color What do you think?

Joined
11 December 2008
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564
Location
New Hartford, NY
I have this set that i have had for sale for a while and have no serious buyer. So instead of loosing my money on them from when i bought them new. I was thinking of sand blasting them and getting the power coated and keeping them. I will be buying a White nsx but not sure how long i will have the black one before its gone.

I am looking for a great shop to do these for me and wanted some opinions on the color. I was thinking White. or gun metal, or black with titanium lip. Not sure what to do with the lip since its forged inside the wheel. I dont know if you can pop it out or not.
Throw me some ideas and if anyone can photo shop my car with different ideas.
 
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Flat black spokes with the ti lip would look amazing and totally unique. Go for it!


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I think it's the size and the Ti lip does not really do it for me.

If you want to refinish them, are you going to strip the finish on the lip too?
 
I would keep them as is. It's hard to say though, because the supposed value of this wheel is in the finish (chrome with Titanium lips). I had the silver version and the price was like 1/2 of the price of these, so it really hurts for me to hear you want to "refinish" them. . . But I guess the true value is whatever someone will pay for it.

Anyway, if the lip is the same as the silver version, it's just a stainless steel ring/piece that's added afterward. The wheel itself is a 2 piece cast wheel with a center welded to the barrel. The lip is a 3rd piece or ring that's added later and is purely cosmetic (kind of like a sleeve that slides in).
 
I did not realize they were the RMC finish (chrome paint) I would sooner strip the ti finish than the RMC, it's super rare and expensive.
 
I think it's the size and the Ti lip does not really do it for me.

If you want to refinish them, are you going to strip the finish on the lip too?


Thats a great question. I am not sure how that will work. Its like a cover over the wheels. So if i strip it i am not sure how it will work. I think it will destroy it while its getting sand blasted. I need to do more research on it once i get time.
 
I would keep them as is. It's hard to say though, because the supposed value of this wheel is in the finish (chrome with Titanium lips). I had the silver version and the price was like 1/2 of the price of these, so it really hurts for me to hear you want to "refinish" them. . . But I guess the true value is whatever someone will pay for it.

Anyway, if the lip is the same as the silver version, it's just a stainless steel ring/piece that's added afterward. The wheel itself is a 2 piece cast wheel with a center welded to the barrel. The lip is a 3rd piece or ring that's added later and is purely cosmetic (kind of like a sleeve that slides in).




Yeah i know. I think im nuts my self. After the wife finds out she will flip considering she wasn't too crazy to find out they didn't come with center caps, or tires for the price when i bought them. lol. Her remark was when i first got the wheels. "Where are the tires?" They dont come with tire i said. Next thing was. "What?" lol.

I seen these on a white nissan 240. They dont look that good. SO selling them will be a huge loss. I didnt know the lip was put on last. So it should come off easy then. I have 5 rims and tires so i will try my spare that i can practice on.
 
Yeah i know. I think im nuts my self. After the wife finds out she will flip considering she wasn't too crazy to find out they didn't come with center caps, or tires for the price when i bought them. lol. Her remark was when i first got the wheels. "Where are the tires?" They dont come with tire i said. Next thing was. "What?" lol.

I seen these on a white nissan 240. They dont look that good. SO selling them will be a huge loss. I didnt know the lip was put on last. So it should come off easy then. I have 5 rims and tires so i will try my spare that i can practice on.

I honestly don't know how easy the lip will be to take off. . . But if you look at it closely, you should see that it's not apart of the rim (at least on the silver wheel, it's not).
 
Found a small pix of the construction here:
pix1.jpg


"VAIO-X Casting Rim & Steinress jacket"
Free offset gives customers greater freedom for fitting wheels. It is an essential development to meet diversifying user needs. In the past, however, free offset has required welding, and thus has made it impossible to achieve weight reduction.
By finishing the entire rim circumference with ribbing, we have succeeding in reducing the mass of RAYS reinforced VAIO-X rim. While each machining operation may seem to be removing just a thin surface layer, when it is repeated several times, a significant mass is removed. Meanwhile, the ultrathin stainless steel jacket provides a luster that aluminum alloy can never match. In this way, we have created a completely new shiny wheel product. This reinforced finish is not restricted to two-piece wheels. We have also started applying it to one-piece wheels. We are determined to further improve the basic performance of RAYS Casting Wheels.
http://www.rays-msc.com/html/jwl.html
 
DON'T EVEN TRY to remove it - it'll be destroyed in the process - the stainless "jacket" is swedged on there at the factory, the wheel repair shop I deal with repairs seriously damaged stainless lips by removing them and polishing the aluminum (it's the closest thing possible if a replacement wheel cannot be had)

Every time he removes a lip, it is basically pulling and twisting to get it off.

You should be able to polish the stainless right on there to get rid of the ti look.
 
I think thats my best thing to do then. I appreciate all the feedback on this and i have made my decision. I am going to power coat them, didnt decide on the color yet. and then i will polish the stainless jacket lip. That sounds like the only best thing to do. The wheels are straight and no damage on them. I just need to decide on a color for them. need something that will work with black and white. I already made my decision on the color but want few more ideas and maybe will change my mind.
 
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