Hey there,

I beefed a curb the other day and have been shopping for new rims anyway. I have a question about something I've seen on eBay.

What does the history say about these wheels:

 

Versus these wheels...

(attached below)

I think the ones above are not proper replacements. Seems like I've seen ones above on Jeeps, not thirdgens.

I certainly like the ones that are atached to this post.

 

More questions. Sorry.

Lots of sets of GTA wheels mention offsets for both front and rear wheels pairs. What does this mean exactly? On a stock Firebird would I have to get spacers for the rears or does this simply imply a longer width for the rears?

 

The first set of wheels are aftermarket, not factory GTA's. The ones in the second pic are factory GTA wheels. And yes they have different off sets for the front and rear. They will fit your car with no problems and no spacers. Just make sure you are getting 2 fronts and 2 rears,, they are marked right on the rims.

 

What would be the issue if I got 4 fronts or 4 rears?

Just thinking about tire rotation...

 

Fronts on the rear will work no problem. Rears on the front will hit the tie-rod's.

So look for 4 fronts, or a matched set.

Kevin D.

 

Last question. Can these be painted easily? I can score a really good deal on some gray rims but really like gold.

 

arg. Double post.

 

Well I guess that would work too, I never thought about that way hmmm

 

i painted a set for a freinds turbo buick in gunmetal. i painted mine silver. walmart sells the paint, it is made by duplicolor. i suggest buying the clear coat also, it makes them much easier to clean. it will take about 2 cans to do 4 wheels. the key is to spray most of it from the back and make sure it is at least 70 degrees . you will have to spray multiple angles to get them covered completely.

 

For sake of letting you know... There were 2 styles of GTA Wheel. Most people would not notice the difference; however on the outside lip on the pic there are little extra notches on the outermost part of the rim. (See Circle)

Some of them did not have the notch, I am not sure if 87 only had it or 88-92 had it, and 87 did not... But there are 2 styles.

John

 

I totally agree with the above. I'd gotten a minor bashing for having weights on my outer rims too! Also note the caps are tough to find I think.

I have the spokes notched on the outer rim too. Mine are gray to match the black/white motif, in essence.

Far as I know, gray and gold were the two factory colors? How do you get black soot off the chrome rims, by chance? I was going to use Muratic acid (help with the spelling here) Someone threw it out after it was left outside...while waiting for the weather to be right, it was near my car, but I could see the concern...that stuff is 'toxic!'
BILL

 

Set on the top are Enkei, circa 80's. Similar, but different. Mostly I saw those on BMW's but other cars as well including thirdgens.
Riken also made a crosslace style rim, its almost identical to the factory rims.

You should be able to find a factory rim to replace yours and keep the factory look rather than grabbing some old aftermarket nasty stuff with missing centercaps.

 

BTW, in my literature, Pontiac does refer to these as Diamond Spoke, if you're doing a search and need a good keyword for the official ones.

Any tips on polishing and cleaning the chrome portion?, I did buy some polishing bits for my Craftsman drill!

Bill

 

Yep!
The first pic are Enkie 92s.
There was also Riken and a few others as well. Just as Madmax states.
These came out first, before Pontiac even started making these wheels, as they are copies of racing BBS wheels. As are the Diamond Spoke GTA/Trans Am wheels.
Just like the Turbo wheels of the second gen Turbo Trans Am wheels. A copy of another earlier BBS racing wheel, only by Pontiac.

George

 

John is correct, the early 1987 wheels did not have the recessed "dimples" cast into the outer spokes of the rim. The later 1987-1992 wheels did have them.

Depending on the year and model of the car, the PW7 wheels were available in gold, silver, charcoal, black, white, and red.

Hope this helps.

 

I think I'll be doing this. Anything but gold on my car will not feel right.

FrankieRider2, John, and all: Very helpful as usual.

Thanks!

 

What gives that away? Is it the centercap screw holes?

 

Just to chim in about the gold GTA rims...

I just bought an extra set of these rims for my 89 TTA. My car has them (with the original Goodyear rubber) and I want to preserve both the original wheels and tires.

The ones I bought were in ok shape - the gold had faded and someone tried to repaint the outter lip around the wheel - pretty cheap job. They came off of a car that had over 150K miles I believe.

I took them to a place in Dallas, TX that was able to refurbish the wheels for $125 a pop. Pricey? Yes, but they came out looking BRAND NEW. Best of all, it took them just 1 day to do all four. Gold paint matches perfectly to the originals, and the rims could easily pass as brand new.

Now I have 8 gold GTA/TTA rims - all in mint shape!

Just my .02

Chris
-------------------------------------
1989 Pontiac Turbo Trans Am #760 (1503 miles)
1983 Delorean
1985 Kawasaki Eliminator ZL900

 

Welcome to thirdgen!

I've heard of rim refurbish places, but I never had any rims worth doing! lol

 

I was quoted $75 each a few years back for some Formula Rims I have... I might just do that...

John

 

Where's the place in Dallas that you used?

 

Hey Vern!

Wheels Technologies over in Farmer's Branch. I highly recommend them.

Chris
-------------------------------------
1989 Pontiac Turbo Trans Am #760 (1503 miles)
1983 Delorean
1985 Kawasaki Eliminator ZL900

 

THANKS!!!

 

From what I remember, the 87(no dimples) were made by Enkei. That's why they are different.

89-92 were made by another company that I can't remember.

 

the middle part around the cap is flat thats how you can tell they are Enkei's.

i wouldnt bother with them though, the caps are impossible to find. (i know i have black ones on my car).

 

wheels america also does refubishing, and they also fix bent wheels. i had one done by then a few years ago for $85. it came out great.

 

SOO.. theses would be considered 1987 GTA rims manufactured by Enkei, CORRECT ???

Is there any benifit to these or are they just different ? THANKS ~DaVe

 

Just different as far as I can tell. Maybe easier to clean.

 

I settled for these:



Wasn/t really a "settle for" kinda thing. Great wheels, great price at the right time.