when you own flat black aftermarket wheels is there any special steps in maintenance vs. glossy finish painted wheels? im leaning towards these i guess there is only 40 sets nation wide
http://www.wheelsnext.com/prod_imgs/img-666-large.jpg

those are http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/23/23_13_5.gif

they're probably easier to take care of since the only thing you have to polish is the lip :wink:

but would the flat back discolor or anything?

cant help u but they look nice!!!! what color do u have?

I use simple green to clean and car wax spray from Megueris to polish my white TE37's . Depending on your road condition and the acid rain in your area your wheels will discolor Velox makes decent rims but I think that discoloration will occur after the first year and continue then on after the clear coat wears.

i've seen this in a local shop when i was out shopping wheels...
well...they look tight...
i was also concern about the discolor issue...cuz it looks like it will...

why do u think there's only 40 sets in nation wide?

I HAVE THESE WHEELS IN 18" THEY ARE REAL NICE BUT......THE FLAT BLACK IS CHEAP KINDA LIKE THEY ARE SPRAYPAINTED OR SOMETHING NOT VERY DURABLE, VELOX MADE A SIMILIAR SET IN ALL FLAT BLACK NO POLISHED LIP AND MY FREIND HAD A PAIR AND THEY GOT ALL SCRATCHED UP- I HAVE MINE BEING POWDERCOATED RIGHT NOW IN YELLOW AND FLAT BLACK - REAL SICK!BUT A COUPLE HUNDERED MORE TO GET POWDERCOATED!!!

sorry to hear that u have to pay extra money to powdercoat....

so its like unfinished surface????

those are tight, I need rims like a mutha, but no dinero...

I went with the 5zigen FN01R-C matt black rims for a couple of reasons. First, they are cast and the matt black penetrates the aluminum for longer durability. Second, a simple spray cleaner from any reputable company seems to work fine. Right now I'm using a free bottle of Eagle 1 tire and rim cleaner and the results, after washing off with water, is acceptable. With matt black rims I do not want the rims to shine, just absorb the light and look aggressive, and they do.

flat balck may get "chalky" or look gray after time. i dont know of anything to clean them with that wont make them somewhat glossy. some spray Pledge might work if you want a semi flat look. Stay away from wheel cleaners! they are acidic and will ruin an aluminum wheel!

i dunno why theres only 40 sets? Maybee they had a production run that went awry and are now trying to pawn them off as "exclusive"

Kinda like intel and the first batch of celeron processors

regardless they do look cool and its only 40 bucks different.

regardless of any color your rims are, I still say take good care of them. Any wheel that belong to you should be taken care of. They are the ones that take the most beating, next to the engine. I would recomend regular washing, when you ash your car of course. And some of us are putting on our stocks for the winter. Longer lasting wheel finish is always an issue.

Thanks for the heads-up Randode. I did notice that after using the E-1 the gold/bronze plaque in the center of the hub was slightly discolored. Anyone else got an idea on the subject of cleaning cast aluminum rims?

Unfortunately, (and this ties in with the thread about cheap vs. expensive wheels), cheaper wheels are finished with a simple spray paint job using paints that are not of the greatest quality. And in a finicky finish like flat black, the wheel will inevitably end up getting faded and "chalky" looking a lot sooner than expected. The best way to slow this process down is to not even use any chemicals to clean the wheels, but just good 'ole soap and water and a soft cloth. Just keep them clean and don't let the dirt/dust build up so much, and you should be able to slow down the fading process of the finish for a little bit.