Forgeline's New Transparent Smoke Finish

[Forgeline Wheels]

OK, not exactly brand spanking new, as we first released it in June. But here is a closeup of our most recent finish, the Transparent Smoke powder coat combined with a chrome outer on a 6-spoke/6-lug version of our GA3 that was made for a Viper fitment. See more in the Forgeline customer gallery at: http://www.forgeline.com/customer_gallery_view.php?cvk=682

6468164682

[will69camaro]

Wheels look even better in person. That's a friend of mine's car. I happen to know you also sent a set of the same wheel with a smoked lip to the same address :)

[Forgeline Wheels]

Wheels look even better in person. That's a friend of mine's car. I happen to know you also sent a set of the same wheel with a smoked lip to the same address :)

And I think that he is getting an identical pair of 20-inch diameters for the rear to run his street tires.

[will69camaro]

He is :)

[alky]

OMG, that is exactly what I want heh heh. What is the real difference between chrome
And just polished if clear coated, for the outer.
Thanks

[AintQik]

Those are sweet.

[Forgeline Wheels]

OMG, that is exactly what I want heh heh. What is the real difference between chrome
And just polished if clear coated, for the outer.
Thanks

Well, a few things:
1. The chrome is brighter and shinier. But...
2. The chrome is arguably higher maintenance. If not properly cared for, it will pit and need to be replaced. Generally speaking, a polished/cleared finish will probably hold up better over time.
3. Chrome can't really be repaired if the outer gets dented or damaged. The polished finish is much easier to repair.
4. The chrome finish costs more. $120 per outer for chrome versus $60 per outer for polished and cleared. (The polished outer is considered our standard outer finish, so there is no charge for the polish. But the clear coat is an extra $60.)
5. The chrome finish takes longer to do, so this usually increases the lead time on our production and delivery process.

[CamaroAJ]

Wow, I wish you guys were doing this when I got my Forgeline's. It's awesome.

[alky]

Thanks for the info Mark.
Awsome Rims

[Forgeline Wheels]

You are welcome. We are excited about this finish, it adds a dynamic that is industrial and classy at the same time. Please feel free to contact us with any wheel questions you may have. We are always happy to help.

[carbuff]

I like this. Can you give me an idea of how this new finish compares to the Titanium color that you also offer? That was the color I had been planning to use. It's just hard to tell from a picture how this is different?

Too bad Spring,Tx isn't a little closer or I would check these out in person. :)

[Forgeline Wheels]

I like this. Can you give me an idea of how this new finish compares to the Titanium color that you also offer? That was the color I had been planning to use. It's just hard to tell from a picture how this is different?

OK, I will post photos here of both the Transparent Smoke GA3 from above and a Titanium GZ3 (with a brushed reverse lip outer). When you see them side by side like this, you can definitely tell the difference. Other than the fact that they are both gray-ish, they are otherwise not even similar. The Titanium is a very consistent color, whereas the Trans Smoke is dynamic. What I mean by that is that the Trans Smoke takes on a different personality in different lighting, and therefore each angle and shape of the wheel looks slightly different. You don't get that much variation with the Titanium.

Also, the Titanium is sort of a matte gunmetal. It doesn't have as much shiny sheen as the Transparent Smoke.

See for yourself:
6494264943


Too bad Spring,Tx isn't a little closer or I would check these out in person. :)

Don't forget that we attend a lot of events, including almost every Grand-Am Series race. (We were just out at Laguna Seca 2 weeks ago and are at the BMW Oktoberfest this week.) And we work with partners like Petty's Garage to display our wheels at events all over the U.S. We publish an Upcoming Event schedule in our monthly newsletter. Please subscribe and keep an eye on our schedule. If you can attend one of our events, then give us a call and tell us in advance what you want to see. If there is any way to accommodate your request, then we'll try to take those samples with us to the event.

[carbuff]

OK, I will post photos here of both the Transparent Smoke GA3 from above and a Titanium GZ3 (with a brushed reverse lip outer). When you see them side by side like this, you can definitely tell the difference.

That was extremely helpful, thank you! Although I may be more confused with my choice now, as neither feels like an obvious choice. ;) But those pictures showed me a lot...


Don't forget that we attend a lot of events, including almost every Grand-Am Series race. (We were just out at Laguna Seca 2 weeks ago and are at the BMW Oktoberfest this week.) And we work with partners like Petty's Garage to display our wheels at events all over the U.S. We publish an Upcoming Event schedule in our monthly newsletter. Please subscribe and keep an eye on our schedule. If you can attend one of our events, then give us a call and tell us in advance what you want to see. If there is any way to accommodate your request, then we'll try to take those samples with us to the event.

I will join your newsletter (wasn't aware there was one), but before that, is there any chance that you will be attending the Good Guys event in DFW in 2 weeks? I plan to drive up there on Saturday.

Thanx again!

[Forgeline Wheels]

That was extremely helpful, thank you!

You're very welcome!


Although I may be more confused with my choice now, as neither feels like an obvious choice. ;)

LOL! Yeah, all of these finishes look great. We have our own in-house powder coat operation and finishing room, so we are able to maintain very high standards of quality and consistency. But IMO, step one is to determine whether you are in a mood for a matte finish or a gloss finish. If matte, then Titanium would be the gray-ish option. If gloss, then Trans Smoke or Gunmetal would be the gray-ish options. That is one of the big benefits of our show display. If you can look at 20 different wheels at once, then you get a better feel for where your eye naturally gravitates.


is there any chance that you will be attending the Good Guys event in DFW in 2 weeks? I plan to drive up there on Saturday.

I thought maybe the Petty's Garage Performance Tour could be there. But no, it looks like they're at Indy this weekend and in Charlotte Oct 26-28. (http://www.pettys-garage.com/events-calender.php)
There is also a chance that maybe LG Motorsports could be there. I haven't seen anything from them about it, but it might be worth an inquiry: http://www.lgmotorsports.com/

[carbuff]

But IMO, step one is to determine whether you are in a mood for a matte finish or a gloss finish. If matte, then Titanium would be the gray-ish option. If gloss, then Trans Smoke or Gunmetal would be the gray-ish options.

Don't mean to be difficult, but is there any chance you could post a similar shot for the Gunmetal finish to round them all out? :) You're right, I need to decide whether I prefer a matte or gloss, I hadn't realized that the Titanium was such a matte finish. I'm glass I saw this thread and asked!

Thanx again!

[Forgeline Wheels]

Don't mean to be difficult, but is there any chance you could post a similar shot for the Gunmetal finish to round them all out? :)

Yep. Technically, this Gunmetal shot was taken with a different camera, so this is not 100% apples to apples. But it's close. You can tell here that the Gunmetal has a gloss finish. And you hopefully can see that the color throughout the Gunmetal is much more consistent with less natural variance than the Transparent Smoke.

I'll post all 3 again so that you can see them side by side. 1. Transparent Smoke; 2. Gunmetal; 3. Titanium

650506505165052

[shane38]

nice need a set for my 67 elco whats the sponsorship program discount lol ill use them tell the wheels fall off lol...

[Ron.in.SoCal]

^ nice first post lol

[IPT]

Nice looking finish. I am considering it for the centers with either a brushed outer or a polished outer for a silver car. I wish the forgeline site allowed you to search the gallery by wheel finish. Maybe something for the future? Do you have any other images of this finish mounted on cars, like as many as possible? Preferably with this finish as the center and a brushed or polished lip?

I'm sure these are lit very well for the photographs. Can the finish end up looking dark most of the time in indirect light, or is it on the lighter side? If polished (on an overcast day - no direct sunlight) was a brightness of 10 and matte black a 0, where (on average) would you rate the brightness of the Smoked Transparent?

[Forgeline Wheels]

I wish the forgeline site allowed you to search the gallery by wheel finish. Maybe something for the future?
That is a great idea. At the moment, we don't have a database field in the customer gallery for finish color. But we'll seriously look into adding this. Thanks for the idea!!


Do you have any other images of this finish mounted on cars, like as many as possible? Preferably with this finish as the center and a brushed or polished lip?
Did you see the black Viper in the original post above? That is a Transparent Smoke/Chrome combo.
6721567216

Here is the Mach 7 Falcon with a Transparent Smoke Center/Polished Outer combo.
67217672186721967220


Can the finish end up looking dark most of the time in indirect light, or is it on the lighter side? If polished (on an overcast day - no direct sunlight) was a brightness of 10 and matte black a 0, where (on average) would you rate the brightness of the Smoked Transparent?
Well right that is exactly the thing about this Transparent Smoke finish - it is very dynamic and looks different in various lighting conditions. So in bright direct light, yeah it looks more silver. But in indirect light and darker conditions, the finish darkens up too. That is one of the things that is so cool about it!
So seriously, I can't give you one number. Depending on your lighting at any given moment, it could fall anywhere along the scale!

Here is Dave's M3 taken in darker conditions.
672216722267223

[Forgeline Wheels]

Do you have any other images of this finish mounted on cars, like as many as possible? Preferably with this finish as the center and a brushed or polished lip?

Here are a couple more that I just took today with the Transparent Smoke center/Brushed outer combination. Unfortunately, the brushed outer washes out a little bit in the photos. Probably an indication of my amateur photographer skills. In real life, the brushed outer looks a little darker than this.

RB3C with Transparent Smoke center and Brushed outer. This customer also chose the exposed hardware option and a really cool custom "Dart" center cap:
672256722667227

GZ3 with Transparent Smoke center and Brushed outer:
67228672296723067231

[IPT]

hmmm, that looks nice, thanks for posting more pics! Will be tough to decide what way to go for the outer, polished or brushed... I think on a silver car like mine the "pop" of polished might be the way to go. WIsh I lived somehwere that I could see more in real life.

[novajess1972]

I love these wheels. I just got Intros for my 72 Chevelle, but wanting a more aggressive wheel. Kicking around the idea of Forgelines or Formula 43.

Mark - are you or any of your vendors running any holiday specials on your wheels?

I'm open to switching out wheels once I sell the Intros.

Jesse

[Forgeline Wheels]

Mark - are you or any of your vendors running any holiday specials on your wheels?
We normally have an annual "Black Friday" sale. We're not 100% sure what we are doing this year. We are still discussing some possibilities. We want to do something, just not sure yet exactly what that will be. Let's see, today is Nov 9, so we'd better get cranking! : )

[novajess1972]

Let us know for sure! Once I sell me wheels, I am ready to move!

[icemanrd19]

that wheel is the gz3 not a ga3

[Forgeline Wheels]

that wheel is the gz3 not a ga3

LOL!!! That is exactly correct! My apologies. Thanks Iceman! And good eye!!

[IPT]

We normally have an annual "Black Friday" sale. We're not 100% sure what we are doing this year.

Oh man, please make it happen :cheers:. Maybe buy three get one free :worship:.

Do you have any images of the ZX3P with the smoke transparent finish (either center or entire wheel)? That is the wheel I am leaning toward (for a black Friday purchase :)).

Do the GZ3 and GAR3 only come in steplip? Are they are available in 20's?

[Forgeline Wheels]

Maybe buy three get one free

I'm pretty sure that it will NOT be that aggressive.


Do you have any images of the ZX3P with the smoke transparent finish (either center or entire wheel)?

I can't find any shots of a ZX3P in Transparent Smoke. But I'll be on the lookout and try to grab some, if such an order comes through soon.


Do the GZ3 and GAR3 only come in steplip?

We can also build them in a reverse flat lip in 18s and 19s.


Are they are available in 20's?

In a stepped lip, yes, they are available in 17, 18, 19, and 20. But the 20-inch step uses a 19-inch center, and we don't have a 20-inch center to use in a 20-inch reverse. So in a reverse, you can only do 18 or 19.

See: http://www.forgeline.com/products/performance-series-step-lip/gz3-17-18-19-20.html

[Jody SS]

Can I use a layaway plan? :worship: Just kidding

[Jody SS]

Could you please wait to do the sale in the spring? Otherwise I would only be able to afford a "buy one get three free Black Friday Sale". I love sales, but why is it most of the sales are when I am low on funds just before Christmas. I just bought the Level 2 Ride Tech and started a rebuild of my 427 BBC. I have more money in the spring when I get a few thousand back in IRA savings/tax returns.

Thanks,

Jody

[icemanrd19]

you shouldnt buy 4k-5k wheels if you cant afford it

[IPT]

I'm pretty sure that it will NOT be that aggressive.

LOL - can't hurt to ask. Well, nothing ventured, nothing gained. Truth be told I thought your other sales we're pretty good :).




I can't find any shots of a ZX3P in Transparent Smoke. But I'll be on the lookout and try to grab some, if such an order comes through soon.


Thanks for looking. Well, maybe I'll have to be the first :). Wish you guys didn't make so many cool wheels.....it makes it real hard to narrow it down to one!

[mc84_zz4]

Those finishes look fantastic, and low-maintenance to boot!