Advice on replacement of OEM Wheels

[Lorne34]

I have a 2019 GT350 with the OEM Wheel setup. I just for the life of me cannot understand why Ford had to go and change the wheel design from the 2016-18 MY. I just cannot live with the gloss black wheels finish and design. I look at them all the time and it's the first thing I want to change about the car. I think the satin finish looks so much better and the spoke design would make cleaning easier (less outer surface showing brake dust).
I have been looking for someone who has a set of wheels from their 2017-18 350 that are in like new shape. Ideally someone who swapped them right away and has the original set in mint condition.
My question is that I found a reseller on ebay that apparently has a bunch of OEM wheel sets from the shelby's that they are selling, but they have been refinished/powder coated but still maintain the OEM satin finish.
I am including the link below along with an email reply they sent me regarding these wheels.
Does this look like a good/legit deal and are there any issues with getting wheels that are powder coated vs the Ford Factory Satin finish. I would like to get them Ceramic Coated before putting them on to ensure that are easy to clean.
I read somewhere that Powder Coating can add weight to the tires, but I can't imagine it is that significant....
Here is the link and email:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/184291465883?ul_noapp=true

New message from: thewheelexchange

(1,958

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We purchased over 1000 of these Mustang GT350 and GT500 wheels and wheels and tires from Ford. Some of these where on vehicles for a very short period of time, and some were either taken off a brand new vehicle with zero miles on them, or were mounted onto wheels but never driven on. They spray painted part of the front wheels with red and the rear wheels with yellow, I have no clue why they do this, it seems very strange. None of these wheels have ever been damaged or repaired, all we do is strip these wheels in a cold chemical bath, put them into a wheel abraider, then pre-treat the wheels, then we powder-coat these in our satin black finish which is VERY close to the factory finish. We sell these wheels as singles all the time and no one has complained about these not matching. I do not want to claim they are a 100% perfect match, but they are very close to where we have had zero issues. I have heard of companies putting a ceramic finish over our coating, I honestly do not feel its worth doing, and worth the money. We have the nicest powder-coating line for coating wheels that I have seen being in this business for 27 years. We provide a 3 year "no hassle" warranty on all our powder-coated wheels.

I hope I answered all your questions, if you have any more please let me know? Thanks

*do not let the great price fool you into thinking these must have been repaired or damaged wheels, etc. We happen to buy a large lot of these for such a great price so we can sell these for less than we would normally pay for these wheels. We will be raising the price on these $40-$60 per set very soon, so its a good time to buy a set while we have this awesome deal. Thanks,

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[Byronj]

99.8% positive feedback. I think you’re just over thinking this. If they are OEM and refinished what’s the problem? But I keep asking myself. Why waste your money on boat anchors when there are lots of other and better options out there? In the end it’s your car and do what makes you happy. Enjoy your car.

 

[Caballus]

Also worth checking out Rock Auto. Got a set from them a while back. Very reasonably priced. Listed as "reconditioned," but they assured me they never had any structural damage.

 

[Lurker_350]

I believe I have seen pictures of R's wearing orange spray painted, regular GT350 wheels on their way to the mod shop at FRAP. I think the carbon wheels are installed there, so these wheels might be the ones used by R's to get from assembly to the mod shop.

I'm sure @PP0001 would know......

 

[Lorne34]

99.8% positive feedback. I think you’re just over thinking this. If they are OEM and refinished what’s the problem? But I keep asking myself. Why waste your money on boat anchors when there are lots of other and better options out there? In the end it’s your car and do what makes you happy. Enjoy your car.

.
Thanks.. I guess I have looked at other options (Project 6g, Signature, etc...) but they are a lot more money and I didn't really care for a lot of the styling... the 10 spoke satin finish design on the 16-18 OEM wheels to me is perfection and fits the car.
The Satin black shows the dust much more and is harder to clean because there is more front facing surface to show the contrast between the gloss finish and the sections I missed. I've detailed them outside 3 times now and every single time I've missed spots of brake dust and it shows.
I want to stick with OEM fit and sizing for the MPSS.
I thought about getting the MP4S tires to replace the Cup 2's (another mistake by Ford on the 2019 model...... grrr...) but then I would have had to purchase new wheels to fit those and they do not come in OEM sizing which means 30 vs 35 and a lower vehicle to the ground which I didn't want.
I'm not a track rat with a lift or jack stands (at least not yet) so don't need to have all kinds of extra sets of wheels/tires laying around. Nor do I have the space right now unfortunately...
By the way, I know I could have purchased a 2017-18 MY vehicle used and had what I wanted, but I was bound and determined to get the 2019 model because of the improved Gen2 motor, better interior, stereo, Bliss, improved aero, etc..
For me it was worth it even though I knew I was going to have to change out the Wheels, Tires, and Spoiler (my only 3 gripes).
I was able to sell my Cup2's and am confident I can sell the OEM Wheels and Spoiler, so i'm not flushing 100% of my money down the drain. As you said, whatever makes us each happy :-)

 

[Lorne34]

Also worth checking out Rock Auto. Got a set from them a while back. Very reasonably priced. Listed as "reconditioned," but they assured me they never had any structural damage.

thanks I appreciate it.

 

[Lorne34]

I believe I have seen pictures of R's wearing orange spray painted, regular GT350 wheels on their way to the mod shop at FRAP. I think the carbon wheels are installed there, so these wheels might be the ones used by R's to get from assembly to the mod shop.

I'm sure @PP0001 would know......

Thanks for the insight.. that actually helps ease my mind a lot. I think Byron J is right and I am over thinking it a bit, but these are what you car rides on and I want them to be right....

 

[Byronj]

.
Thanks.. I guess I have looked at other options (Project 6g, Signature, etc...) but they are a lot more money and I didn't really care for a lot of the styling... the 10 spoke satin finish design on the 16-18 OEM wheels to me is perfection and fits the car.
Plus I want to stick with OEM fit and sizing for the MPSS.
I thought about getting the MP4S tires to replace the Cup 2's (another mistake by Ford on the 2019 model...... grrr...) but then I would have had to purchase new wheels to fit those and they do not come in OEM sizing which means 30 vs 35 and a lower vehicle to the ground which I didn't want.
By the way, I know I could have purchased a 2017-18 MY vehicle used and had what I wanted, but I was bound and determined to get the 2019 model because of the improved Gen2 motor, better interior, stereo, Bliss, improved aero, etc..
For me it was worth it even though I knew I was going to have to change out the Wheels, Tires, and Spoiler (my only 3 gripes).
I was able to sell my Cup2's and am confident I can sell the OEM Wheels and Spoiler, so i'm not flushing 100% of my money down the drain. As you said, whatever makes us each happy :-)

I wouldn’t get the Project 6G in a 19”. The brake caliper and rim barrel clearance is very tight and you calipers will get scratched up pretty bad. I have two sets of Signature wheels, I attached a picture of mine with the SV503 set on it. I also have the SV501 for track duty and they look damn nice on the car. I just don’t have any pics of it with that set up on my iPad.

 

[Scoobs]

I believe I have seen pictures of R's wearing orange spray painted, regular GT350 wheels on their way to the mod shop at FRAP. I think the carbon wheels are installed there, so these wheels might be the ones used by R's to get from assembly to the mod shop.

I'm sure @PP0001 would know......

That is correct. That is exactly why the wheels are spray painted. They are reused multiple times and the spray paint distinguishes them from brand new wheels on the line.

 

[Lorne34]

I wouldn’t get the Project 6G in a 19”. The brake caliper and rim barrel clearance is very tight and you calipers will get scratched up pretty bad. I have two sets of Signature wheels, I attached a picture of mine with the SV503 set on it. I also have the SV501 for track duty and they look damn nice on the car. I just don’t have any pics of it with that set up on my iPad.

Thanks for the picture.. love the race red. In terms of weight/rotating mass, are the signature wheels lighter than the stock OEM? I am assuming these are 20" ? and what model tires and size do you have on there?

 

[DrumReaper]

I wouldn’t get the Project 6G in a 19”. The brake caliper and rim barrel clearance is very tight and you calipers will get scratched up pretty bad. I have two sets of Signature wheels, I attached a picture of mine with the SV503 set on it. I also have the SV501 for track duty and they look damn nice on the car. I just don’t have any pics of it with that set up on my iPad.

I second this! The 6G’s I had were mediocre, and second to the Forgestars which were R-spec spun wheels.

My next set will be Signatures!

 

[Byronj]

Thes

Thanks for the picture.. love the race red. In terms of weight/rotating mass, are the signature wheels lighter than the stock OEM? I am assuming these are 20" ? and what model tires and size do you have on there?

Both of my sets are 19” R spec. They are substantially lighter that stock. The tires I have on in this pic are the stock Michelin sport cup 205/35/19 front and 305/19/35 rear.

If you go that route they can make the wheels to your specs.

 

[matthewr87]

Maybe Signature could make GT350 16-18 replica wheels? I'd like to drop the boat anchors too but I want to keep the stock look.

 

[Lorne34]

Maybe Signature could make GT350 16-18 replica wheels? I'd like to drop the boat anchors too but I want to keep the stock look.

This would be ideal.. but if it's a one off custom for just a few of us it would most likely be cost prohibitive for the benefits of lighter weight.
I'm not an expert on performance vehicles,.... I don't know what weight reduction ratio is needed to notice significant difference between a Ford OEM stock wheel and a lighter after market wheel like that from Signature.
Especially for street use and spirited driving.
if it saves me a couple seconds on the track, is that really going to be important for an occasional track visitor who is not driving at 10/10 and just wants to push their car a couple of times a year?.
With the Carbon Fiber wheels on the R.... yes that is a game changer and a significant difference in performance both on street and track (based upon what I have read and heard).

 

[460Fred]

I’m in the wheel repair business.
Once the wheels are stripped then repowdered, they are good as new....I’d trust ‘em.
Maybe you can order a set in the color you want, doesn’t have to be matte black.
In my world, slightly damaged wheels are worth $25-$35 each. Once remanufacturing is done, prices are up or down depending on supply and demand. The remanufacturing process is the same regardless of the original cost of the wheel.

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