What is with black wheels?
 

I don't get it. The new fad is black wheels. Why?


You can't see them. I like to see what I paid for.

what kind of answer would you expect for that kind of question?

Black wheels are easy to clean and make the wheel look larger since the tire is black as well. Great for winter wheels or race cars. On the street they kind of look like cars with missing hubcaps (remember those?) to me though.

I tend to agree here. There are some cases where I like them, but more often than not the design of the wheel tends to be masked.

Black wheels can look pretty good with the right color, red in particular, but you need to keep the tires looking sharp or it looks like crap.

Seals are black. Seal is black.

Black wheels photograph poorly because cameras and monitors tend to crush blacks (i.e., you lose contrast in dark areas). In person though, they look better.

B/c Racecar!

Black is tough!

Not generally a fan of black wheels, there are some that look good though but i think they are overdone.
For example i like the black 527's on SMOKETREE's silver FRS, i definitely do not like them on blue cars at all although Jive Turkey's looks pretty good i think it would have looked better with a different finish.

Don't be racist. Black is beautiful (probably).

Black wheels were a new fad in the mid 2000s. Now it is just an overused color. Pretty much every single truck out there has some form of polished/black wheel. Even the OEMs have gotten in on the fad.

THIS.

I remember running flat black SW388s back in 2001 and they had already been out sinse the mid 90s.

Once the OEMs cling to something you know it's played right out.

BUT like anything asthetic, it's all subjective so if YOU like how it looks then really who cares, just don't think you're at the cutting edge ;)

The darker the wheel, the less brake dust you see.

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.)

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 :lol:

Clean:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...ps8aec1a37.jpg

A week later:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...psff30bdc0.jpg

Don't have to worry anymore (a week later of driving and the only thing that needed cleaning was the tire itself):
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...ps4b49062a.jpg

Black wheels look awful.

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.

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.

.It's.All.Look.

While I don't prefer black wheels on cars, different strokes for different folks. Not everyone will like what you like, OP. :)

_

Wrong.

Everyone has their preference, I don't care for black wheels because you cannot see any contrast or any of the design. But that is my opinion, others may find interest in them. I prefer some shine to the wheels and some dish to show some depth and width. But hey we all like our FRS in different ways, so enjoy what you have.

You honestly can't see black wheels even by standing in front of it?

And to that Porsche says GFY. :D
http://gt3rscape.bryangira.com/wp-co...3rs-3Q_640.jpg

I like flat black and flat gunmetal wheels on white and red cars. I hate shiny wheels like polished aluminum, chrome and hyper black types. I think brushed aluminum looks best on dark colored cars.

Each to his own

It's all personal taste in the end. Red/blue doesn't bother me, but I don't think I'd do it myself. Same reason I have for ruling out ultramarine, it doesn't seem to go so well with the red interior accents.