Two weeks ago, I went down to Classic Industries to purchase a set of GTA wheels, first time available in gold, but came away VERY disappointed in the quality of the rims. After noticing the grainy, water-spot stained clearcoat finish on the machined lip areas, I decided not to get them. I'm not sure if anyone has seen these wheels in person, but the quality is not up to par like it was several years ago. The clearcoat finish on the machined lip sections is terrible. All of the GTA style wheels were like this. I looked at nearly a dozen, both black and gold. The clearcoat is very grainy, thin and has milky looking water spots in it. One of employess at CI was gracious enough to give me some pre-wax polish, but it didn't work. I'm afraid the only way to fix them would be to remove the clearcoat and recoat it. However, I can't justify spending $200 per rim only to have to refinish them because the quality control is lacking from the manufacturer. The sad thing is, I purchase an identical set back in '01-'02 (black only) and the quality was impeccable. They were just like the OEM originals. The clearcoat seemed to be a lot thicker as well. From what I can tell, it appears the clearcoat was just fogged/misted on which makes it look grainy and then the wheels were exposed to the elements during overseas transit (the wheels are made overseas) causing the milky looking water spots to form in the thin clearcoat. Unfortunately, this is very disappointing and a huge let down for someone who was waiting for the gold painted versions to finally come out. I'm not sure complaining to CI would do any good. After all, it's a manufacturer problem and they're probably hoping that enough suckers buy these wheels so they can deplete their inventory of them. However, I'm hoping that either Classic Industries or the manufacturer will step up to the plate and address the quality issues, but I'm not holding my breath.

I appreciate the heads up. I will be needing a set of crosslace wheels in black sometime soon for my new 92 TA, and this is nice to know that I should avoid or at least examine real carefully the product from CI.

You should check out Lakeshorewheelandtire.com formerly know as AAARims.com they have the wheels also but I am not sure if they have them in gold yet. It is also a plssibility though that they are all made by the same manufacturer and are all of the same quality, unless lakeshore has an older batch of wheels.

Mark

Is it really tough to get a set of used OEM rims in gold cross lace? That aren't beat to hell I mean...

There are still some nice rims out there... Finding them may be a chore, but they should still be available.

You may actually be well off or better of if you look into referbished rims...

John

Know any good places to get refurbished rims or to have your rims refurbished?

http://Lakeshorewheelandtire.com

http://wheelcollision.com/

Stupid question....what's the difference between the gold and black rims?

Is color the only difference?

Yes, however, there are two different style GTA wheels. The later style wheels have dimples at the end of each spoke and the earlier wheels don't. There are other very minor differences but the dimples are the most noticable. However, it is determined by the year not the color.

Isn't there also 2 shades of gold? Mayan Gold and something else?

Actually, I contacted Wheel Collision about a year ago to see if they could refinish the black wheels I have in the correct OEM gold color and they said no problem. However, they indicated that the wheels would be painted not powdercoated in the correct finish. That sort of scared me off right there. I believe the OEM originals and certainly the first run (black) CI rims were powdercoated in color, not painted. I'm not sure how good liquid paint is for wheels like these, but I do know powdercoating is much better and offers the best for long term durablity. Nearly all of the aftermarket wheel shops I've contacted so far use powdercoating to refinish their wheels, not regular paint. So, I'm not sure why Wheel Collision uses only paint.

I tried Wheels America, but they're a franchise and you know how that goes. I looked at a refinished wheel they had in stock and the clearcoat had some contaminants in it with a few minor runs and drips. The biggest issue for me was CNC machining. It was way too coarse. When I questioned why, I was given the "these are aftermarket refinished wheels and nothing's perfect" excuse. I could believe my ears. I left that place in a hurry.lol! Furthermore, there was no option of choosing a different style CNC finish like some places do. They only offer coarse and that wouldn't look correct on a GTA style wheel. GTA rims need a fine CNC machine cut on the outer lip, not coarse.

Yes, the later style GTA rims from '88-'92 were painted in a darker shade (A Mayan Gold) while the early style (no dimples) were lighter. However, I don't know the name of the color. Perhaps someone will chime in with the correct name.

Sorry to read about your troubles. Here's my favorite place for refurbishing rims:

http://www.detroitwheelandtire.com/

I got a set of 15x7 Z28 rims for the 83 Z28 I had, and traded them my originals. The rims I got from them were superb - well-buffed on their face, and the clearcoat was very nice! They looked like new, or even better than new. I'd go back to them without hesitation.

My understanding is that the CI rims are made by the same GM OEM manufacturer in Japan ... anyone know if this is the case?

I'm surprised CI can't talk to the supplier if the product is faulty ....

Actually there are different colors, whether or not it was intentional or not I am unsure, but there is a light gold and a darker gold, if you place them on a car you would see the difference.

You are correct that the 1986 & 1987 Wheel is different without the dimples.
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Color. Actually there were Charcoal rims as well, that almost looked black. Then they had White, Red, gold, and some other colors, those are the most popular. The White, Red, etc (colored) wheels were 1988 only As far as I can tell...
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Try Hawksthirdgenparts.com, Bruce has a connection that he told me would refinish wheels for about $150 EACH (2 years ago), he said they come back looking like new.

John

I am not sure if they powdercoated the wheels from the factory or not. I do know that for some reason Front and rear rims tend to age differently. On Formula's for example I notice that Fronts are better than the rears for holding up, or it could be the other way around, BUT there was a difference. One set ends up Yellowing and cracking before the other. The reason is unclear (pun intended). It may be that they made them in different facilities, but the same company.

I actually thought my Formula rims said Germany... I might be thinking about something else.

I believe the front wheels tend to be in worse shape because they are subjected to more brake dust than the rears. If you check a car with rear drum brakes they will usually be quite a bit nicer than the fronts but there's usually a noticable difference on rear disc cars as well.

I know the GTA wheels do say "Made in Japan" on the backs.

I just checked...

The original set from my 1987 Formula has "Made in Germany"
The set from a 1988 Formula has "Made in U.S.A."

I have a set from an 83 Trans Am I should check... tttooo ccoollldd...


John

Yes, the Formula wheels have two different manufacturers. Western Wheel did the ones made in the U.S. and then there's somebody else from Germany.

I would love to see photos of the wheels that CI is now selling.
You looked at all 4 of the wheels?

Just wondering.

George

I suspect that GM had a certain standard for quality that had to be met. Even though the rims come off the same machine and made by the same people the quality may not be as high for aftermarket.

Did you know that original tires for GM have to meet a certain spec for the largest weight they are allowed to use on a NEW car. If they had to use a weight too large they would not use the tire.... At least they used to have this spec back in the 60's & 70's... NOT dealer tires, They may have sent the "Out of spec" tires to Dealers...

John

Yup, my Formula's wheels aged differently between front and rear also. The front wheels held-up very well throughout the years, but the clear coat on the rear wheels cracked and flaked badly, allowing the aluminum to get hazy from corrosion. Nice to know it wasn't just mine. The car has 4-wheel discs, but it's doubtful that brake dust had anything to do with it since the front wheels stayed in great shape.

Whenever a tire shop started to put a rear wheel on the front, I'd tell the guy to "look at the back, it says REAR." He'd ask, "how can you tell from over there?" I'd say, "because that wheel is a mess."

I can't say I've ever looked to see where they were made, though.

John,
GM still has the tire spec that you mentioned. The name brand tire you buy from the aftermarket shop (Tires Plus, Tire Kingdom, NTB, etc) is not the exact tire you get from the factory on a new car. The tire manufacturer will use a selected brand that the factory requests, then modify the tread, wear rating or other parameters to meet the factory requirements. I will never buy replacement tires from the dealer because I have seen the tread depth is less than from aftermarket shops on the same tire. Dealer provided replacements meet the same spec as the factory spec, not the aftermarket spec.

The"made in japan"original wheels were probably made by
Enkei as gm had some wheels made by that company in
the '80s/'90s.
the replicas are probably made in china-yuck!!!

George,

I looked at several zero offset front rims and several 16mm offset back rims. I don't remember whether the black ones I looked at were zero or 16mm offset, but the clearcoat was the same on all of them. I was expecting the black ones to be nice just like the ones I purchased back in '01-'02, but they looked exactly the same as the shoddy gold versions that just came out..

I didn't take any photos, but they have them listed in their catalog. Of course, the catalog pics won't show you how they look in person.

I guess you can always sand off the clearcoat and polish the lip, but at $200 a pop, you shouldn't really have to do anything except mount them on your tires.

im sorry to hear that especialy righ now i just scored a set of gtas for 130 bucks but man do they need some work. i got two dimples and non dimples. one was gold and painted black and i had to repaint again who knows how long it would hold up. as far as the orginal i was wondering if they were powder coated i have one other set and they do hold up as far as he spokes. i was also noticing a differance in the lips from the dimple non dimple. im not sure if the non dimples are a bit shiner i know mine are but i cant really tell if the clearcoat is completely taken off. these wheels are pricey and hard to find but if you look hard enough you shoule find, one guy on ebay does have a set finished and ready to go i just think its pricey to go that route. you can also ask people thats how i bought mine and my gf gets asked alot if she will sell the ones on her s10. well thanks for the heads up on the rims