Standard or polished?

[Papalazarou]

Thinking about getting my wheels refurbished. They're not bad really, but I'm a little retentive and want the car to look perfect.
My question is;

Do you think it will hurt the resale value of my car if I get the wheels polished rather than painted the original colour?

Cheers,

James.

I'd also be interested to hear your comments on which you think looks the best.

[DTA-Motorsport]

Hi James,

First of all, WOW! Your car looks fantastic - well done!

With regard to getting your wheels refurbished, I would personally go for the powdercoating option in the same colour as they are now. Having said that on a recent trip to Las Vegas I saw an NSX with similar wheels to yours finished in what appeared to be "black chrome" - looked very good. Chromed wheels are far more common place in the US and there it is actually a "desired" look. Here in Blighty you will find that most people think polished or chromed wheels are for the "pimp-my-ride" and "chavs" brigade. I'm not saying they're right because I personally happen to like certain chromed wheels but if you're worried about the resale value you may want to stay away from chroming/polishing. Now, if you could get your hands on a second set of wheels then you can have one set polished and one set powder coated! Also, if you do end up going down the polished route make sure you get the wheels coated to protect them from oxidising and tarnishing. The bare metal will look good but not for very long!

All the best,

Dan

[jaytip]

Now, if you could get your hands on a second set of wheels then you can have one set polished and one set powder coated!
Wouln't it be cheaper just to get his wheels polished?.Then if he doesn't like them,he can just spray or powdercoat them.

[ctrlaltdelboy]

I would not go down the polished/bling route mate - I don't think it suits the NSX at all

don't get me wrong - everything has it's place, chrome wheels look wicked on a custom hotrod (e.g. this beauty) (http://www.barrywhitesrrc.com/gallery/galleryconcept36.html) but I don't think they have a place on a car like the NSX

[DamianW]

Bear in mind James I'm pretty sure your wheels are not the original colour anyway - they should be that gunmetal colour I think. Quite like the bright silver though.

[simonprelude]

Original finish gets my vote.

NSX will be sat in the garage on a set of S2000 alloys whilst the wheels are done, obviously not driven anywhere though as that may be a little silly.

[Senninha]

Why not combine both looks?

I used to run a Sierra Cosworth many years ago. This had similar spoke style alloys and I had the faces polished but left the returns powder coated. This also is how Honda 'facelifted' the S2 alloys in 03.

This provides a wheel that looks good (IMO) but remains easy to clean. I think the US style of totalling polishing the wheel is not for the UK.

As DTA says, if you do polish you must coat them to retain the finish (or spend hours with the autosol re-polishing :x )

[simonprelude]

Similar, the S2000 alloys are diamond cut from MY02 onwards. I have a set sat in the garage with nearly new SO2's on them. Just waiting for summer weather before use as the salt if it gets under the lacquer will make a mess.


This also is how Honda 'facelifted' the S2 alloys in 03.

[Papalazarou]

Thanks guys I really appreciate the feedback.

"Bear in mind James I'm pretty sure your wheels are not the original colour anyway - they should be that gunmetal colour I think. Quite like the bright silver though."

Damian: I had wondered about that, but thought maybe the gunmetal was a later addition on the 3.2's? would be interested to know.

Cheers,

James.

[DamianW]

Damian: I had wondered about that, but thought maybe the gunmetal was a later addition on the 3.2's? would be interested to know.



I'm no expert on but I'm pretty sure the UK only got the gunmetal colour alloys (Solaris Silver), from 94 onwards. In the US later cars then got a silver wheel (Blades Silver), but we never got this in the UK and kept the gunmetal right through to the 2002 car.

[ctrlaltdelboy]

^^ what Damian said

all UK models from 94-01 incl came with Solaris wheels

I have been guilty of selling 2 sets though in the UK which were not - one set which I had refurbed in Sebring and another set of Blades

sorry for contaminating the gene pool ;)

[Mr_Spanners]

For reference the paintcode for refurb is NH 536M (Solaris Silver)

Oh, I'd have to concur with the comments above that the 'stock' colour is best (IMHO) although I would like to see a set with the spokes polished along the sides (ala S2000) purely out of curiosity!!!

~Phil.

[Papalazarou]

here's a set of polished OEM wheels I found on Prime.
Can anyone change the colour of the car to red?

Cheers,

James.

[Lankstarr]

Is it me or do they look small!?

Much prefer the standard look - if it aint broke....

[Senninha]

No good with photo shop but I do have this if it helps...

[Papalazarou]

Cool, thanks Senninha,

I actually quite like it in red. Not as bling as I thought!

Cheers,

James.

[Martin]

hmmm...polished looks quite nice!

I have the standard solaris silver wheels (also a 96 reg car), but I would be interested to see an NSX with polished wheels in the flesh.

If you fancy being a guinea pig?.....

Cheers
Martin

[Papalazarou]

OK, but only if everyone chip in! :D
No seriously, it's definately an option but may just go the OEM route, as boring as that is.

Cheers,

James.

p.s, I'd really like a set of Volks GTP's (I think that's what they're called?)they look fantastic, but then I'm back to wheel size and ride quality, because to get them to look right I'd probably have to go at least 17/18.

[AR]

Go on go with polished, I went a step further and got aftermarket.

Is not like the NSX is a collectable that every aftermarket part is going to devalue. We use them and they like to be use.

The market for the NSX in 5 years time will be the teenagers/young men that currently play Gran Turismo, Juice and all other games.
They like mods and whenever I park the NSX anywhere where ther are young people ( not chavs ) they comment about it and the aftermarket parts. Thru some mods make it ricey, but the NSX is from Japan after all.

Life is too short not to enjoy the NSX to the fullest.

Cheers

AR

[Rob_Fenn]

The OEM wheel colour is really dull. Why not just get the refurbed to a Mercedes finish? It's much brighter.

-Rob

[Papalazarou]

O.k, still not sure what to do about the wheel thing but was looking through Prime the other day and found these........

What do you think?


Cheers,

James

p.s, has anyone got these?

[Papalazarou]

or these.....

[Senninha]

James,

The muli-spokes on the Red look like a nightmare to clean and I'm not sure about that 'extra' ring behind the spokes :?

On the black are the Volks (I think) which are a good looking wheel and a huge hit in the States. However, they are usually 'over-sized' and combined with dropped suspension for cruising. They are a good choice if you're planning to put your NSX on a New Year diet :wink:

Honda R&D spent lots of $$ testing the best size/offset/tyre combo to exploit the NSX's chassis. Trust their judgement, spend your money on a high quality polish & powder coat finish and the right tyre choice and you'll probably have money over to take her indoor's out for a nice meal whilst showing the world how good the refurbished wheels look :)

Regards

[Papalazarou]

You're probably right. But it seems it's human nature to want to change everything.
Interestingly, the 'Enkei' wheels in the first pic. actually aren't that big, they're 17's all round.
I agree with you about wheel size/tyre choice etc....I'm very conscious of screwing up the ride and handling by going to a larger size.

Cheers,

James.

[Rob_Fenn]

The good thing about the OEM wheels is that they are light (and hideously expensive if you ever have to replace them). Most aftermarket wheels will be heavier which is a shame, especially as it is unsprung weight.

Since fitting bigger wheels the NSX looks completely different now though, OEM wheels look really weedy compared. Fitting aftermarket wheels doesn't mean it will affect anything negatively, just make sure you do the research and get proffesional advice if needs be.

-Rob

[ctrlaltdelboy]

The good thing about the OEM wheels is that they are light
34kg on the 94-01 16/17" set, 31kg for the 91-93 15/16" set


(and hideously expensive if you ever have to replace them)
I got a quote for a new set from my Honda Dealer at £3,300, although used sets tend to change hands at under a grand (this is the 16/17" versions)


Most aftermarket wheels will be heavier which is a shame, especially as it is unsprung weight.

my Volk TE37s in OEM diameters (16/17") are less than 28kg despite having an extra 1" width each


Since fitting bigger wheels the NSX looks completely different now though, OEM wheels look really weedy compared.

I don't think my oem sized wheels look too weedy, but the bigger sizes sure fill the arches more
it's a trade-off between looks and weight/handling for each individual to choose their position.

http://darrenferneyhough.com/images/meets/HR021005/37558286-L.jpg

http://darrenferneyhough.com/images/nsx/tom/800/003.jpg


Fitting aftermarket wheels doesn't mean it will affect anything negatively, just make sure you do the research and get proffesional advice if needs be.

I agree 100% click here to check out my research (http://nsxcb.co.uk/forum2/viewtopic.php?t=216)

[Papalazarou]

A very interesting debate. Thanks guys for giving me your opinions.

Cheers,

James. :)