Paint or Buy Black Alloys ? and caliper Ideas?, show me yours too.

[Wilkesy]

Currently just got the stock Calipers and Alloys at the moment. Just looking for ideas to fit in with my car?

I have the Seat Leon FR 1.4 in white:

My first idea was to just get the alloys powder coated in dark grey/black and get the calipers painted white, with me car being white. Now debating whether just to buy a set of four black alloys, but stuck with which to get. Looked on ebay and also via google. I have seen some made by the company called Fox which seem quite cheap so not sure if they that good of quality. Then theres putting the tyre on the new ones then fitting back to my car which will add up in price, so should I just get them powder coated for now?

Show me your calipers and alloys please for some inspiration.

 

[motty225]

I wouldn't paint the calipers due to the size of them, with them being so small I wouldn't want to draw attention to them personally

 

[SRGTD]

I wouldn’t get your brake calipers painted white - they’ll very quickly get coated in brake dust and just look dirty, even if you clean them every week / two weeks.

Personally, I’m not a fan of black alloys - IMO maintaining them is a bit like maintaining a black car - they’ll only really look clean just after they’ve been washed. After a few miles motoring, brake dust will start to build up on them and they’ll look a dirty, dull dark brown-ish colour.

If you get your existing alloys powder coated, I’d go for an anthracite / gun metal grey colour, which IMO goes well with most colours of cars. Hides the brake dust pretty well too. You can usually find examples of specific cars with your preferred colour of wheel on the internet (e.g. white mk3 Seat Leon with gunmetal alloys), so worth having a look before getting your wheels re-powder coated.

If you replace your wheels, you’ve not said if your were thinking of buying used or new. If used, I’d do the following;

• Check the bolt pattern of the wheels is correct for the car the wheels will be going on. If the wheel’s centre bore is too large, it can be reduced by fitting spigot rings or reduce the centre bore to the correct size.
• Get the seller to confirm they’ve not been damaged/repaired, and they have no cracks or buckling from pothole (or similar) damage.
• If they’re being sold as genuine OEM wheels, check the rear of the spokes to confirm this - the following info should be on the rear of the spokes; part number, wheel manufacturer name, car manufacturers logo, size/offset details (e.g. 7.5J x 18 ET51) and a quality / safety certification mark (see next point).
• Only consider buying wheels that have TUV, ABE, JWL or equivalent certification, which is a sign of quality as wheels will have been subjected to stringent safety and quality checks.
  
• I’d avoide Chinese replicas - new or used - that are often sold on well known online auction sites, as the quality of casting, finish and structural rigidity may be inferior to wheels manufactured by reputable well known brands such as BBS, Borbet, Ronal, Oz etc.
• Avoid diamond cut alloys (my personal preference), due to poor durability of the finish, unsuitability (IMO) for use during the winter and higher cost to refurbish,
• Ensure the fitment isn’t going to cause any clearance/ rubbing issues. There’s a useful calculator on www.willtheyft.com that’ll calculate the critical numbers (clearance, speedo error etc.) if overall rolling radius of the new wheel/tyre combination is different from the current set up.

If you’re considering new wheels, I’d check out on line retailers such as Rimstyle, Wheelbase Alloys, Performance Alloys.com, Tyre Leader. Inputting the details of your car should mean you’re only shown wheels that are suitable for your car in terms of size, offset, load limit of the wheels etc. As with used wheels, my personal preference would be to avoid diamond cut alloys.

Also, don’t forget to inform your insurer as fitting different wheels is considered to be a modification for insurance purposes.

 

[BigJase88]

Paint calipers silver, hammerite smooth silver and use the paintbrush and steeple it on (dab it) will give an oe finish

and for me i’d go anthracite on the original wheels, black makes the wheels looks smaller and the tyres look brown unless you tyre black the tyres religiously.

aftermarket wheels if you go this option you need to spend decent money, cheap aftermarket alloys are not as strong as oem ones and you are likely to flatspot / crack them if you hit a pothole (been there)

 

[Wilkesy]

Cheers for honest opinions guys. Well our lass just booked a holiday so got priorities now. Still I think I’d get new alloys I reckon but have a good look before jumping the gun. I think the calipers are alright sized they’re just hidden behind the thick alloy spokes I reckon. I know a few people who have had their stock Ibiza/Leon calipers painted red and look decent behind thinner spoke alloys

still think I want white or a light blue to tie in with the cars body paint.

 

[BigJase88]

Trust me go silver,

painted single pot calipers are the stuff of vauxhall corsa’s and 17 year olds

 

[Mr Pig]

I think black alloys are a fad. Wheels have been silver for ages, because that happens to be the best colour for the things, but options like black are appearing just to be different. They pretty much never look good, just different in a worse way,

Not all alloys are equal. Cheaper ones are often not made to the same quality as OEM or other top brands so buckle and crack more easily, They are cheaper for a reason.

Also, if you bend an OEM alloy it will be easy to find a single replacement. That can be quite hard with cheapo Chinese wheels.

 

[Seriously?]

I think black alloys are a fad. Wheels have been silver for ages, because that happens to be the best colour for the things, but options like black are appearing just to be different. They pretty much never look good, just different in a worse way,

Not all alloys are equal. Cheaper ones are often not made to the same quality as OEM or other top brands so buckle and crack more easily, They are cheaper for a reason.

Also, if you bend an OEM alloy it will be easy to find a single replacement. That can be quite hard with cheapo Chinese wheels.

The quality thing is a valid point, but doesn't always hold true: ask any number of BMW E90/91 owners about their wheels, which were semingly precision engineered from the same ingredients used to make Dairylea triangles

 

[BigJase88]

The quality thing is a valid point, but doesn't always hold true: ask any number of BMW E90/91 owners about their wheels, which were semingly precision engineered from the same ingredients used to make Dairylea triangles

That would be the god awful runflat tyres with rock hard sidewalls that put all the shock into the alloy (crack)

 

[SRGTD]

The quality thing is a valid point, but doesn't always hold true: ask any number of BMW E90/91 owners about their wheels, which were semingly precision engineered from the same ingredients used to make Dairylea triangles

Quite a few VW Golf R owners with the expensive optional OEM Pretoria alloys (£1,000 factory option for a set of four, or around £900 each to replace if damaged!) have also had issues with wheels buckling and cracking.

They must be made of the same cheese ingredients, or maybe chocolate.

 

[BigJase88]

I think the main issue is a combination of....



poorly maintained roads
oversized alloys with rubber band sidewall tyres

the impact does have to go somewhere, a 35 profile is just asking for trouble

 

[OJ9693]

My calipers were painted black by the previous owner and at first i thought it was naff but i actually quite like that they're hard to see in the dark wheel arches.

I have the same car and alloys as you and i think dark grey/ anthracite would be better than black, personally..

 

[SRGTD]

My calipers were painted black by the previous owner and at first i thought it was naff but i actually quite like that they're hard to see in the dark wheel arches.

I have the same car and alloys as you and i think dark grey/ anthracite would be better than black, personally..

Yes, agree with this, but then I maybe biased as I’ve had anthracite coloured alloys on both of my last two cars.

IMO, black alloys with wide spokes don’t look great; they look quite ‘heavy’. Also, with black alloys in general, IMO you tend to lose much of the detail in the wheel’s design, unless you’re close up to the wheel. Just my opinion though.

 

[OJ9693]

Yes, agree with this, but then I maybe biased as I’ve had anthracite coloured alloys on both of my last two cars.

IMO, black alloys with wide spokes don’t look great; they look quite ‘heavy’. Also, with black alloys in general, IMO you tend to lose much of the detail in the wheel’s design, unless you’re close up to the wheel. Just my opinion though.

Yes definitely, i hate my chunky alloys and they would look even worse in black, i've always preferred more spokes on alloys!

Wish i had the money spare for some nice anthracite alloys

 

[Wilkesy]

My calipers were painted black by the previous owner and at first i thought it was naff but i actually quite like that they're hard to see in the dark wheel arches.

I have the same car and alloys as you and i think dark grey/ anthracite would be better than black, personally..

Could show me with a picture pal?

 

[Wilkesy]

Think I might just go down the road of getting new alloys, seen someone selling the alloys as mine but powder coated black and they look quite cheap. So reckon I’ll get some dark grey alloys with more spokes on them. An example on what I want: https://speedyswheels.co.uk/shop/ne...62fPKMHoURfqdoz29cNqgL-ubxbSZCKBoCSM4QAvD_BwE


And these: https://www.performancealloys.com/ronal-r48-jet-black-polished?wheel_diameter=17

sure mine are 17 inch. Is there away to check the other details like thickness just make sure fit my car and current tires

 

[Wilkesy]

Thinking that just done a search and they could be 15inch. Iv got a spare in my boot so going to swing it over and ill put a picture up to help identify what iv currently got

 

[OJ9693]

Could show me with a picture pal?

Of my calipers?

I can try after work but might be a bit dark, but will try

Edit: Also don't know if i want to share with everyone how dirty my car currently is..

 

[SRGTD]

Is there away to check the other details like thickness just make sure fit my car and current tires

If you search a certain type of wheel without considering the fitment issues at the same time, you may be disappointed and find that they won’t fit your car.

On pretty much all reputable alloy wheel retailers’ websites, you’ll be able to input details of your car and it’ll then show you only those wheels that’ll fit your car. You can then filter the results to show only wheels that fit the filter criteria you’ve chosen - e.g. width (J size), dimension, colour, spoke design, wheel manufacturer etc. Keep an eye on the offset of any wheels you’re thinking of buying - the lower (more aggressive) the offset (ET) number, the more they’ll protrude outwards, so with a really aggressive offset, you run the risk of tyres rubbing the wheel arches.

Always worth using the calculator on www.willtheyfit.com. By inputting your existing wheel / tyres and any new wheel / tyres you’re thinking of getting, it’ll calculate clearance differences between your current and new set up.

I’d be sticking with wheels / tyres that have a spec that’s pretty close to your OEM set up;

Wheels - 7.5J x 17”, Offset; ET51.
Tyres - 225/45 R17

That way, you shouldn’t have any clearance or rubbing issues.

 

[Wilkesy]

Ffs I’m so thick just remember the boot spare is a temporary Hancock Tyre with the crappy alloy.

Is there a way to tell what size rims, fits ect.... I have so I know what to look for so they fit over my calipers? Also is there a way to see what size tires I have too because I’m eventually going to get some of those too my Dunlop’s and blue earth are too skiddy