wanderstar

iTrader: (1)

Check out the update to my wheels. I will give you a before and an after shot (sort of). They are a work in progress. I am having a pinstripe put around the edge to match my Ultra Yellow paint. I just got these back from the powder coater today, so this is more of a teaser shot. The car is still up on stands while I finish the wheel/brake updates. So what do you think? Keep the center caps the same color or paint to match the rims? Any thoughts on getting the edge pinstriped to match the car?

Before:

<table style="width:auto;"><tr><td><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/hOrp1Z-eL4Ev_DZWto0EqvXa4Ibqr6Srq7UCXRG92Hg?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/_znu-DEp8NyA/TUXiYbnMfyI/AAAAAAAAAJs/ijQcXymhz88/s144/P1250208.JPG" height="108" width="144" /></a></td></tr><tr><td style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:11px; text-align:right">From <a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/Brian.Rittenhouse/CarPictures?authkey=Gv1sRgCNujnfKpovmQOQ&feat=embedwebsite"> Car Pictures</a></td></tr></table>

After:

<table style="width:auto;"><tr><td><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/3pXDZF_LWCnUGjjzdzxsL_Xa4Ibqr6Srq7UCXRG92Hg?feat=embedwebsit e"><img src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/_znu-DEp8NyA/TXrc8iXs8-I/AAAAAAAAAKE/7G39v4bptsY/s144/P3110226.JPG" height="108" width="144" /></a></td></tr><tr><td style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:11px; text-align:right">From <a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/Brian.Rittenhouse/CarPictures?authkey=Gv1sRgCNujnfKpovmQOQ&feat=embedwebsite"> Car Pictures</a></td></tr></table>

Mcutali

iTrader: (10)

Looking good! Did mine 6 months ago, now i powdercoat everything! Got two upper plenums one gloss blk one crinkle blk, doing my camber kit soon blah blah

wanderstar

iTrader: (1)

My next powder job will be those Brembos. They are starting to chip. I think I might do them myself. I considered doing the wheels, but they were too big to fit in a normal oven, so I took it to the pros.

davidv

iTrader: (2)

Not a fan of black BUT the yellow stripe will be unique.

scotts300

iTrader: (46)

They look good - I don't like that powdercoated stockers have cracked. And we're talking about a few sets. Be careful.

Mcutali

iTrader: (10)

350-400 degrees at the most. my buddy powdercoats and laughs at this statement. hes done gramlights,volk stock oem ,forged,aluminum you name it.

terrasmak

iTrader: (8)

Hope they don't crack. I have seen it multiple times firsthand.

Yellow stripe on stock wheels just screems rice to me, please don't do it.

mike_eee

iTrader: (12)

I have my stockers powder coated and added a hand painted custom silver rim-stripe..not thick..but thin one and noticeable only if u wann look at it.

mike

wanderstar

iTrader: (1)

I normally wouldn't do a pinstripe on the wheels, but I think there needs to be something to break up all the black.



Thanks for the heads up on the cracking issue. I will follow up with my powder coater and see what he says about it. He has been doing powder for quite a while I am sure he is well aware of the property changes from the baking process. Do you think this cracking is happening to DIYers vs professionals?

verdict.

Looking good. Not a fan of a pin stripe on stockers, but it may be unique due to the the color of your car.

Mcutali

iTrader: (10)

agreed seeing rice with the stripe, very played out in florida

wanderstar

iTrader: (1)

Well...I got the pinstriping done today. I don't think it looks ricey. I will post some finished pics when I get the wheels mounted and balanced later this week.

scotts300

iTrader: (46)

What kind of engineering degree does your buddy have? Maybe he shouldn't laugh at it, but be curious to learn since it has happened multiple times with stock wheels. Based on the data I acquired below, I think that forged wheels are much less likely to encounter this problem given that they are higher strength than their cast brothers.







Keeping the temperature under 500F is certainly helpful assuming he doesn't do some crazy chemical treatment to remove the previous finish.

I've read statement before stating that forged wheels shouldn't be PC'd, and think it's more manufacturer CYA than anything else. Just like modifying your 350Z, it has warranty implications. Has anyone had a Volk representative tell them this directly? I ask because Volk wheels are powdercoated directly from Rays Engineering, followed by powder coating. I've read that Rays has a proprietary process for the powdercoating application, but unless they have a way of fusing the coating by locally heating the wheel surface only, then I don't see an issue with having them powdercoated from a qualified outside source.

I've also read that any aftermarket PC process anneals the wheels, which would alter the structural integrity of the metal; however, T6061 aluminum is annealed at about 800F - well above conventional PC processing temps. Aging, which Rays does do for long periods (probably 8-12 hours), is done on T6061 aluminum around 350F. It's done on purpose to control the grain characteristics. One hour at 350F for powdercoating should have little, if any, effect on the aluminum's properties - see info below. I should do a pre and post-PC hardness test to give some data to this discussion. . .

Disclaimer: I'm not talking about stripping a wheel's powdercoat first, just adding PC.

Here is some data to back up the argument:

ASM Handbook Volume 2, Properties and Selection: Nonferrous Alloys and Special-Purpose Materials has the following information:
For cast wheels (356 alloy):
356-T6: aging at 305 to 315 °F for 2 to 5 hours
Yield stress = 185 MPa
Ultimate stress = 262 MPa
Fracture strain = 0.05

356-T7: aging at 435 to 445 °F for 7 to 9 hours
Yield stress = 165 MPa
Ultimate stress = 220 MPa
Fracture strain = 0.06

Metals Handbook 9th Edition, Vol 4, Heat treating:
For forged wheels (T6061 alloy):
T6 temper 6061 has an ultimate tensile strength (UTS) of about 310 MPa and yield strength of about 24 MPa after a 10hr cure at 340F. The data suggests that an additional hour at 340F would have little effect on the UTS (it's about linear at that portion) and the yield strength would actually go up slightly. Aging is much more sensitive to the temperature than the time at temperature. The strength data are log functions of time. Grain elongation at 340F does not occur until the hold time is over 24 hours, and it's still a log function of time.

Based on these data, treatment for less than 1 hour shouldn't reduce the fatigue strength significantly enough that Joe Average would notice it or be effected by it. I will say, however, that these data go through an inflection point at the 500F heat-treatment mark. A quality PC shop should know this, and be fusing their coatings in the 350F range.

Again, I think it boils directly down to the manufacturers covering themselves, just like anyone else would if you "modify" their product.

Patsfan83

iTrader: (2)

I would love to see some full car pics with powercoated 18'' stock wheels!!

STL 350Z

iTrader: (3)

Meh....

zerafian

iTrader: (24)

Theres a thread called stock rim modification...theres hundreds of pages you should probably check it out.

wanderstar

iTrader: (1)

I'll be posting up some pics as soon as I get a chance to get the wheels mounted and balanced. Hopefully I'll have some up by Friday this week.

I think the wheels look great! I would have left them alone, but the previous owner of the car must not have taken very good care of them. The clear coat was peeling and cracking so I thought I would try something a little different. I love the style of the wheel (only stock 350z wheels I like), but I was going for a black and yellow scheme anyway. Just slightly cheaper than buying new wheels and tires...

wanderstar

iTrader: (1)

I love them! Please excuse the brake dust. I was more excited to drive it han I was to take pictures when I got the wheels back!

Pics!

<table style="width:auto;"><tr><td><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/KAACj1AdP3eoqkRqiE9iEvXa4Ibqr6Srq7UCXRG92Hg?feat=embedwebsit e"><img src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/_znu-DEp8NyA/TYfrvhOznrI/AAAAAAAAAKw/MZj0GXVo70Q/s144/P3210229.JPG" height="108" width="144" /></a></td></tr><tr><td style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:11px; text-align:right">From <a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/Brian.Rittenhouse/CarPictures?authkey=Gv1sRgCNujnfKpovmQOQ&feat=embedwebsite"> Car Pictures</a></td></tr></table>

<table style="width:auto;"><tr><td><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/8mXLm0Xr08l7DcC8TN92TPXa4Ibqr6Srq7UCXRG92Hg?feat=embedwebsit e"><img src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/_znu-DEp8NyA/TYfsnuvXdwI/AAAAAAAAALA/eyKfBJE45xM/s144/P3210228.JPG" height="108" width="144" /></a></td></tr><tr><td style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:11px; text-align:right">From <a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/Brian.Rittenhouse/CarPictures?authkey=Gv1sRgCNujnfKpovmQOQ&feat=embedwebsite"> Car Pictures</a></td></tr></table>

NoQuestionZ

iTrader: (93)

Check out my garage! I got mine p/cd last year and they still look amazing. I just wish they were 19s with a little lip

wanderstar

iTrader: (1)

Your wheels look nice! Did you do your brake calipers too? Also, what did you use for smoking the tail lights?