amgmark

I will be receiving my SLK55 wheels soon. The wheels are polished aluminum on the face/lip and they are painted silver between the spokes. Right now I am considering two options and any feedback would be great..

Option #1: Polish the entire wheel

Option #2: Keep the lip and face (spokes) polished, but paint between the spokes to color match my car.. Obsidian Black.

I thought option two would be very unique. I tried to see what the painted rims looked like on my computer but I dont have photoshop so it looked shiitty.. Anyone with photo shop want to add black between the spokes for me??

Any thoughts on option 2? It would probably cost about the same, but if it looks stupid I would be pissed. I already know polishing the entire wheel will look great..

white_w203

i say go with polish because the polished lip with a black face wouldn't look right since the lip would be too small.

sdsilverm3

Not a very good job but here it is........

genechien

how about getting the rims painted a gunmetal finish like this

i think that finish looks awesome and i'm considering doing it to my rims.

btw, do any of you folks know of a good place to get rims touched up in san diego?

sdsilverm3

US Wheel Polishing & Repair
1000 W Bradley Ave # P, El Cajon, CA
(619) 596-8033

Friend was quoted $94 a wheel for 16 inch powder coating. We've received more than one referral to US Wheels so it must be a decent place.

amgmark

Hey Sdsilver.. Hmm.. the color in the photoshoped pic looks pretty good! I don't know if that made my decision any easier though..

Yeah.. I called US Wheel polishing earlier today.. They quoted 60-120 bucks per wheel depending on how small the area was between the spokes..

genechien.. silver's photoshop color looks similar to gun metal.. it looks pretty sweet between the spokes.. but since the lip is so small, trying to keep the lip polished and painting the rest gun metal wouldn't really give me the look I am after..

Anybody else have thoughts?

jcanabal

Coukd you PLEASE weight them before putting rubber on them??

There is a threat on the SLK forum about OEM SLK wheels weight and 030 wheels....all so far are with rubber and makes them kid-of innacurate!

PLEASE!!!

JMC

TopGun32

polish never goes out of style...

AMG_55

why dont u polish the inside of the spokes and the lip and paint the face of the spokes and obviously the center of the wheel black

thats what i would do

amgmark

I really like the polished look so that probably won't work for me.. Interesting perspective which I didn't think of though..

SolidGranite

If I were buying an SLK55, I would get some different wheels. I think the OEMs are just way too plain looking. Get some double-spokes or the AMG 5-spoke.

amgmark

I already have AMG twin spokes.. I just bought them and haven't even received them yet so I am not going to get different wheels now.. I really wanted to stay with factory AMG wheels. The only other choice for me was Brabus VI and I didnt want to shell out 5k for rims alone. I thought these were the best look of the AMG wheels out there that will fit on my car without spacers. They have that F1 look... I think these will look amazing IMO.. To me the only negative is the lack of a rear lip.. which isn't that big of a deal to me..

sdsilverm3

Be brave and powder coat them GOLD!

amgmark

Well I got my wheels yesterday.. Man they are beautiful in person.. I am having second thoughts about polishing these.. The clear coated machine finish they have now is pretty sweet..

Anyone running 235/40/18 on their 7.5" wheels in front? or is that too big? I can get a great deal on some Toyo's in 235/40/18 and 255/35/18.. If I can fit the 235 will it decrease performance?

Thanks for all the earlier responses! I really appreciate the feedback..

amgmark

Well call it a little impatience, or me being hypnotized by the machined finish.. I put the new wheels on today without polishing or painting.. I really liked the machined finish look..

In case anyone was interested, the wheels weigh 24.4 lbs front and 25.6 lbs rear. Someone from the R171/SLK55 forum asked me to weigh the wheels without tires .

Went with Michelin PS2's 225/40/18 255/35/18

I drove down to where I used to live in Ocean Beach / Point Loma in San Diego. Thought the ocean in the background would warm up the folks in colder climate areas.. It was about 65 at the beach and 72 by my house..

jcanabal

Looks very nice!! I got nostalgic when I saw the car....I use to have the same color and year...

PS: That was me that PM you with the weight....thanks!

JMC