- Machined finish with clear coat
- High gloss clear coat finish
- Five split spoke design
- One-piece painted aluminum with center cap
- One year finish and a lifetime structural warranty
A little background first. These were installed on a 1997 Toyota Corolla.
When I first got them, it was obvious that I had much more bite on the road. There is no way that a Corolla can generate enough power to make the tires on these wheels break traction. I whipped around corners to test the traction, and never once had an issue.
Going from 13" wheels to 17" wheels makes a Corolla look pretty nice, but the suspension it not plush enough to give a comfortable ride with such a short sidewall. You feel every bump on the road and the road noise level goes up substantially due to all that vibration being transmitted into the vehicle.
The next thing you realize after driving these wheels for a while is that the small slot on each spoke is incredibly difficult to clean. You have to find the brush with bristles all the way around and a very narrow wire in the middle.
When you go to take the wheels off, you find out that you need a special too for that as well. Your regular lug wrench will not fit into the well around the nuts. I ended up buying a thin wall 19mm socket with a breaker bar to keep in the trunk. Without that, the wheels don't come off. I guess it might be considered an extra security feature. If a thief doesn't have the right tool, they can't steal your wheels.
Another issue that had to be overcome is that the offset on these wheels is such that the sidewall of the tire lines up with the end of the fender metal that is bent into the wheel well. The result is that if you put someone in the back seat, or even a large suitcase, you hear the tires rub the wheel wells on every bump. I don't remember ever cutting all the way through, but that is mostly because the low profile tires are made with really soft rubber for traction which wears out before they could puncture. I ended up taking an angle grinder to the wheel wells to take a 1/4 inch off the metal that is folded in. It gave me the opportunity to spray some undercoating and clean up the paint around there. For this vehicle, one should get a wheel with a larger positive offset which will put the wheel slightly deeper into the wheel well.
This last part may not have been the fault of the wheels, but it is relevant. My ex wife was the primary driver on this vehicle, so I don't know exactly how it was driven. The issue is that when I got the vehicle out of the divorce, I took it to my mechanic due to excessive road noise thinking it was wheel bearings, he told me that all four wheels were out of round. This is a master mechanic that was with Toyota for a decade or two. He has repeatedly saved me a lot of money on repairs, so I trust his diagnosis. He's not making any money on me buying another set of wheels online. I don't know if my ex just drove over a lot of holes and bumps with reckless abandon, or if the wheels just warp fairly easily. Either way, the vehicle is not very heavy and should not be capable of bending a wheel without blowing a tire.
On the plus side, the center caps stay in place quite well. all four are the originals. They never needed to be replaced.
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