Is is possible to take the stock 18"ers and convert them to a polished aluminum wheel vs the painted version. At the Detroit auto show this year they had the same wheel as stock 18" but they were polished and looked quite a bit better than the painted silver ones. If this is possible, where or who who would be able to do this?

 

polished aluminum??? I dont think the wheels are aluminum...

however if you want a chrome appearance, i saw a guy yesterday that will trade you your 18" rims for a set of 18" chromed rims, and you pay 750$. thats about what it costs to get a set of rims chromed.

 

Nissan should make that an option for next year, some sort of shinier 18"-

There has to be a place where you can get your wheels refinished.

 

they offer that option for the maximas. the titanium edition

 

If they are indeed aluminum wheels. If not then chrome dipping or plating would be the way to go.

 

Yes, the wheels are aluminum alloy:

"18-inch Aluminum Alloy Wheels (with 6-Speed Manual Transmission only) "

I understand it is not pure aluminum. I just feel they had the exact look I am looking for on the show car, and I think it was just the stock wheel that had been polished rather than painted with silver paint.

 

Im definitly no metalurgist, but I think the key there is ALLOY. aluminum is very soft and weak. Im not sure how the additives would effect the ability to polish it.

Id try asking Wadd. he might know.

 

yup... they can be polished. There's a shop out here in AZ that walnut shell blasts the powdercoat off and then polishes them.

I think they charge about $100 a wheel.

Just make sure whoever strips the powder coat doesn't use glass beads or sand. It's the quickest way to ruin aluminum parts.

 

Does this affect the durability or lifetime of the wheel? What would I look under in the phone book to try to find someone to do this? $100 a wheel sounds ok to me.

 

has no affect on durability whatsoever... abou tthe only concern would be corrosion since the powdercoating is gone and the wheel is exposed to the elements. So long as you keep them clean I suspect you'd have no problems.

Not sure on what you'd look for in the yellow pages... maybe "polishing" ??

 

Do a search on the web for aluminum polishing. It is very easy and done all the time. You can easily do it yourself. Motorcycle guys have been polishing their aluminum frames and wheels for quite some time. After polishing I would get it clear anodized to protect the finish and durability. If you have questions PM me. I have done plenty of aluminum polishing in my time and have pics of some bikes I have polished on the web.

 

I'd be interested to see the results of the Z wheels changed to polished. Please keep us posted if you do it, and the details.

 

call this place AAA rims. its in holland michigan. ive used them a few times for my supra wheels. they do awsome work and are very fast. the # is 1-877-533-7467. there website is www.aaarims.com . they paint, powder coat, chrome, anything they also usually have every stock wheel made.