What is with black wheels?

[Draco-REX]

Black wheels have been around for a while. It looks good on some cars. I think the black wheels on my STI look fantastic. But they would be "too much black" on my BRZ.

However, going the other direction is just as bad in my opinion. The wheels are part of a car, so they should look it. Too many people treat wheels as something separate. So you'll have a car with subdued lines and paint with GLARING CHROME WHEELS. Why pull the eye away from the car? Cars like this just look piecemeal to me.

Wheels should be chosen to compliment the whole car, not chosen separately. Sometimes, that's a black wheel, other times it's not. Rarely do I think a modern car looks good with polished lips. This car is not one of them.

[Draco-REX]

Flat black is just dumb on anything but a track car. They always look like they're covered in brake dust.

[OrbitalEllipses]

Originally Posted by Draco-REX

Flat black is just dumb on anything but a track car. They always look like they're covered in brake dust.

Nah man, black wheels are the German Luxury Car optional upgrade for our econoboxes. Makes us look rich!

[dsgerbc]

I had my winter wheels painted black cause it was the cheapest paint available at the paint shop I used. I wouldn't run black wheels during the rest of the year.

[ftc~brz]

some cars black wheels look sharp, on others it just doesn't look right, but to each his/her own. The right rims can really bring the look of a car together. Not everyone likes my choice but I do and in the end that is really all that matters.

I heard somewhere once you go black you never go back.

[djdnz]

Richard Hammond:
http://www.topgear.com/uk/richard-ha...els-2012-10-15

Personally, I'm not a fan of black but I can see the appeal. I prefer gunmetal at the very least. It helps stand out a bit more.

[tmcmullins]

For me it all relates to fashion and art. There are functional as well as decorative clothes. Take basketball players for instance, some of them wear the same thing off the court as well as on the court. I would imagine that people who rock the black rims either track their cars, admire the look of a track car, seen it on a music video, easy to keep clean, etc. Although people are unique, we tend to group together in certain categories based on our likes and dislikes which is evident in genres of music, clothing choices, hobbies, and of course choice of wheels. Basically it all makes sense when you look at it from the right perspective.

[naikaidriver]

At least gold-plated, 13" wire-spoke wheels are finally out of style!

Taste is highly subjective. Ask 100 different a question like this and you will get 80 different answers.

Personally, on my FR-S, I'm looking for more function over form. Since I am not a big fan of the overall style of most popular lightweight wheels (ahem, RFP1), I will be getting black because they blend well with Asphalt and I don't have to look at them as much.

Maybe down the road I'll get some nice polished wheels for show but only when I feel like blowing $2000 for no good reason.

Scott

[Ericc B]

Black wheels look like crap. You can barely see their design and when you take a picture of a car with black wheels all you see is two dark spots, like the car doesn't have wheels at all.

[bakerr6]

I bought black wheels this tiem because that is the only color they make traklites in.

I personally think black can look nice on many colors to offset the brightness (orange, white, yellow, red, etc.)

[Eurasianman]

I had black O.Z. ultraleggeras on my Cobalt SS mainly because I was tired of my OEM rims looking dirty after a week of driving. Could have been my driving though that caused that

Clean:


A week later:


Don't have to worry anymore (a week later of driving and the only thing that needed cleaning was the tire itself):

[Turbowned]

Black wheels look awful.

[SuiSid3l]

Some people just prefer the way they look, regardless of whether it was or is a fad. They look insane nice on whiteout in person...like previously posted a lot of times photo's don't do them justice.

[chadstyle]

I think black wheels look hot when done right. And for those that say they don't show up in photos, get a better camera or take a photography class...mine show up fine. The car dictates what color the wheels should be and other than WRB, black is the only other color on the car. Black wheels make sense.