Unpopular Opinion of the Day: Black Wheels

"Noah - Now with more boost." (antriebverliebt) 08/28/2015 at 10:09 • Filed to: RANTS

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If you think that is what makes your car “badass” or “stealth,” then you’re inhabiting the same mental space your local actuary visits when he straps on spiked leathers and rips around on his straight piped harley. If you really wanted to blend in you’d leave your wheels silver. But now your whip is “murdered out” right bro?

Are your wheels nice? I have no idea until I’m a foot away. Are they even there? Or is your car up on blocks? Again, no clue. Will they show up in photographs or videos? No, not even on Drive. Only the top three spokes. You should have saved $2000 and bought the replicas.

Sorry Musto! But I’m convinced that the people who are interested in making their wheels invisible are a little nuts. Of course, at the end of the day, aesthetics are totally subjective. And we’re all modifying our vehicles in a way that makes US happy, hopefully. Which I can always respect. Or at least try to...

Dwhite - Powered by Caffeine, Daft Punk, and Corgis > Noah - Now with more boost. 08/28/2015 at 10:15

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What I like for wheels is contrast.

Black wheels look great on white cars, chrome wheels look great on black cars etc.

DrScientist > Noah - Now with more boost. 08/28/2015 at 10:16

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“you’re inhabiting the same mental space your local actuary visits when he straps on spiked leather...”

i thought you were going to end this sentence differently.

Noah - Now with more boost. > Dwhite - Powered by Caffeine, Daft Punk, and Corgis 08/28/2015 at 10:17

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Most definitely. I can appreciate black wheels on a very light colored car.

DoYouEvenShift > Noah - Now with more boost. 08/28/2015 at 10:17

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What if theyre factory? I have those same wheels on one of my cars.

Its ok though, Im not a fan of chrome or color anodized wheels.

Noah - Now with more boost. > DrScientist 08/28/2015 at 10:17

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LOL maybe I should have...

CalzoneGolem > Noah - Now with more boost. 08/28/2015 at 10:18

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Most black cars need red wheels.

Black wheels work for me most of the time.

Short-throw Granny Shifter is 2 #blessed 2b stressed > Noah - Now with more boost. 08/28/2015 at 10:19

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I’m not a huge fan of black wheels. Two-tone ones like Porsche Fuchs and old muscle car wheels look alright. Matte black wheels make it look like you bought plastic wheel covers. The whole murdered-out look is horrendous; unless you’re Johnny Cash, all black is not a good look on your car or otherwise.

Jcarr > Noah - Now with more boost. 08/28/2015 at 10:19

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To each his own, but I really like the black wheels we put on our Envoy.

Here’s another shot with the center caps installed and a little better light.

Chris_K_F drives an FR-Slow > Noah - Now with more boost. 08/28/2015 at 10:20

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Agree. I don’t like black wheels on cars. A dark gunmetal is good, but anything darker just blends in too much.

Noah - Now with more boost. > DoYouEvenShift 08/28/2015 at 10:23

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See now black wheels with polished lips... that’s definitely aesthetically pleasing, I can’t deny it. And I really like the shape of those wheels. But factory or not, my photographer’s OCD is still deeply offended by the fact that 1/3 of your spokes are missing in this otherwise-excellent photo! What it comes down to is that unless the entire frame is dark, or you do some post-processing, black wheels usually just disappear into the shadows

JGrabowMSt > Noah - Now with more boost. 08/28/2015 at 10:24

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So I should re-paint my $100 a piece steel wheels?

Noah - Now with more boost. > Jcarr 08/28/2015 at 10:25

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What it really comes down to is my photographer’s OCD. I can only see 2 of your “spokes” on each wheel! That’s what happens with black wheels in most photos, unless you’re a pro, or you post-process.

Jcarr > Noah - Now with more boost. 08/28/2015 at 10:26

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Yeah, I get that, they’re hard to photograph.

luvMeSome142 & some Lincoln! > Noah - Now with more boost. 08/28/2015 at 10:28

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I can appreciate where you are coming from. I’m a guy who’s not really into wheels. Normally, I don’t notice them as entities unto themselves, but as part of the whole car’s aesthetic. With that in mind... ugly, crappy, dumb wheels stand out and beg to be seen as separate from the car. And sometimes, even a great wheel looks dumb when it doesn’t belong on a particular car.

Noah - Now with more boost. > JGrabowMSt 08/28/2015 at 10:28

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Do what makes you happy! Someone will always dislike it. Black wheels get lost in the shadows like in this photo, and contrasting wheels pop. If your car was white, I might say no?

kanadanmajava1 > Noah - Now with more boost. 08/28/2015 at 10:29

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I like black wheels. Black is the perfect color for wheels as it’s also the color of brake dust. (Flat) black is also the best color to radiate excess heat away.

So if your car is sporty (flat) black wheels are the best choice.

That Bastard Kurtis - An Attempt to Standardize My Username Across Platforms > Noah - Now with more boost. 08/28/2015 at 10:32

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I think I’ve got enough chrome here to offset the black of my steelies, though I’m giving some consideration to getting a second set and going body color with the chrome cap and ring...kind of like Chevy rally wheels from the 60s and 70s.

Dasupersprint - base trim is enough > Noah - Now with more boost. 08/28/2015 at 10:33

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I had black wheels before, and the tires always seemed brown and dirty

Sir_Stig: and toxic masculinity ruins the party again. > Noah - Now with more boost. 08/28/2015 at 10:34

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They look better than the majority of chrome wheels at least.

Gunmetal is best metal.

Noah - Now with more boost. > That Bastard Kurtis - An Attempt to Standardize My Username Across Platforms 08/28/2015 at 10:36

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Definitely! The polished lips + centers look with black wheels works well

Textured Soy Protein > Noah - Now with more boost. 08/28/2015 at 10:37

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I like gloss black wheels with polished lips. Flat black doesn’t do much for me.

I can see all the spokes on that photo, especially when you expand it to its original resolution instead of the shittified compressed 640px wide version created by kinja. But you can get them to pop a little more with some PP. Here’s a quick ‘n dirty attempt I did on my phone with Snapseed (again, expand for full effect).

nermal > Noah - Now with more boost. 08/28/2015 at 10:40

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It depends on the wheel and vehicle. Black Soft 8’s on a lifted Jeep? Yes.

Any other scenario? Meh.

Luc - The Acadian Oppo > Noah - Now with more boost. 08/28/2015 at 10:45

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I personally like black wheels. Some do, some don’t. To me black on black is the nicest combo.

Come at me brah!

JGrabowMSt > Noah - Now with more boost. 08/28/2015 at 10:50

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I just poke fun at the wheel color thing. It would cost me more than I paid for the wheels do anything to them, so outside of potentially widening a pair and having re-painted gloss black, I’m not doing anything.

DoYouEvenShift > Noah - Now with more boost. 08/28/2015 at 10:59

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Shoot for the edit!

450X_FTW > DoYouEvenShift 08/28/2015 at 11:03

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Personally it’s chrome or black, don’t mix them together like the pic you showed.

Takuro Spirit > Noah - Now with more boost. 08/28/2015 at 11:08

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Some say I have had a lot of black wheels in my time...

BigBlock440 > Noah - Now with more boost. 08/28/2015 at 11:17

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Is your eyesight really that bad? Or are you looking at a tiny screen with the brightness turned way down?

Brian, The Life of > Noah - Now with more boost. 08/28/2015 at 11:18

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SHOTS FIRED!

911e46z06 > Noah - Now with more boost. 08/28/2015 at 11:21

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I disagree with this. Its one of the few wheel options that doesnt look ridiculous. Youre pretty much limited to chrome, silver, gold/bronze, and black/grey. Sometimes black is the best option.

EmbraceTheRasp > kanadanmajava1 08/28/2015 at 11:25

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black absorbs heat rather than radiates it. that’s why hot-water radiators get painted chrome while heat-collecting water bags (like camping showers) are black.

Noah - Now with more boost. > Brian, The Life of 08/28/2015 at 11:36

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reactions: #butthurt #circlejerk

Noah - Now with more boost. > BigBlock440 08/28/2015 at 11:37

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awwww I pissed you off yesterday and now you don’t like me. so sad.

Noah - Now with more boost. > Takuro Spirit 08/28/2015 at 11:39

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Thanks for the constructive response! For real. Some people take themselves and their wheel paint a little too seriously lol.

BigBlock440 > Noah - Now with more boost. 08/28/2015 at 11:53

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Um, care to elaborate on how you pissed me off yesterday? I’m drawing a blank here.

Noah - Now with more boost. > Textured Soy Protein 08/28/2015 at 11:56

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hell yeah! that’s way better. Also helps that though I may not like black wheels... I NEED a C4. With a 4+3 because that’s weird and I want more excuses to say “doug nash.”

Noah - Now with more boost. > BigBlock440 08/28/2015 at 12:53

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Just trying to explain the hostility, I guess?

TheD0k_2many toys 2little time > Noah - Now with more boost. 08/28/2015 at 12:55

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you sir are wrong. black wheels on everything.

obviously you need better eyes cause all the pictures i see of black wheels look fine

my old plastidipped wheels on the miata

Dunnik > Noah - Now with more boost. 08/28/2015 at 13:05

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Not a fan of them either, unless there is some contrast added to the wheel, like a chrome center cap and a chrome lip around the outside, like this:

They also tend to look best, imo, only on certain colors of cars, like white.

Takuro Spirit > Noah - Now with more boost. 08/28/2015 at 13:07

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Only one of those above were repainted.... the Protege wheels on the 5 were free because they had heavy peeling and corrosion of the factory silver finish. I had black on hand and didn’t do that good of a job painting them nicely anyways.

BigBlock440 > Noah - Now with more boost. 08/28/2015 at 13:28

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Hostility? Those were the only two explanations I could figure for you only being able to see 2 of his spokes, all 6 (or 12) are clearly visible on my screen.

kanadanmajava1 > EmbraceTheRasp 08/28/2015 at 17:06

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I’m pretty sure that the thermal radiance is at the highest with “black body” objects that a flat black surface closely resembles. But now I’m way too tired for trying to prove this. This image is the best that I can do today.

wiffleballtony > Noah - Now with more boost. 08/28/2015 at 18:01

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I replaced my OEM wheels with black ones primarily because I felt like it matched the trim better. Also I wanted to lose some unsung weight and eventually fit better brakes.

Nauraushaun > Noah - Now with more boost. 08/30/2015 at 23:08

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It’s not just wheels. Black paint, black tinted lights. It’s like they want to take every interesting detail of their car and mask it so it looks like an amorphous blob. You’re not Batman, you’re not 10 years old anymore, stop it.

Noah - Now with more boost. > Nauraushaun 08/30/2015 at 23:42

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YES. Exactly.

Nauraushaun > Noah - Now with more boost. 08/31/2015 at 06:08

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Yeah it kills me :P Some cars really rely on black bits contrasting with the rest. A classic example is the Audi R8’s side blades - you want to show those babies off!