[MustangMan64]

I'm thinking about getting some American Muscle wheels, probably the machined GT500 style ones. My car is kept outside, and I drive it year round. For those of you who have American Muscle wheels, what is your experience with the quality of them, especially the finish? I want wheels that will last and look new for 3+ years. Will AM wheels fit the bill or should I look for some OEM wheels?

 

[jdnull68]

I've had my AMR's since early spring. They held up well with about 7,000 miles on them until I took them off for the winter. Be warned, they are heavier than stock by a few pounds. At least the AMR's in 18x9 and 18x10 are, if that is of concern to you. But I love the look and the price was right. They came individually boxed up and were flawless. Hope that helps! Good luck! JD

 

[AMWill]

I'm thinking about getting some American Muscle wheels, probably the machined GT500 style ones. My car is kept outside, and I drive it year round. For those of you who have American Muscle wheels, what is your experience with the quality of them, especially the finish? I want wheels that will last and look new for 3+ years. Will AM wheels fit the bill or should I look for some OEM wheels?

MustangMan64,

You should have no problem getting your wheels to last 3+ years! In order to do that with any wheel, you'll have to constantly keep up on the cleaning maintenance of course. As long as you can do that, you'll be more than fine.

Plus, keep in mind that all of our wheels come with a 1 year finish warranty. If there's any kind of defect in the finish, you'll definitely know by the first year and be able to get some new replacements!

Hope this helps!

Shane

 

[JBert]

I have the AM deep dish bullitt wheels (in the matte black finish).

I have had them on the car since the spring, and so far they are holding up very well; they still look like new. I polished them before I put the on the car (front and back) and I try to clean them once a week but don't always keep up with that. Keeping them clean and waxed is probably a key thing to keep them looking good for a long time.

Appearance is real good -- I had only a few minor blemishes on the back side of the wheels and maybe one very small imperfection on the front side. Considering the price, the quality is great in the appearance department.

I did notice that they have a lot of balancing weights -- this suggests that the balance and/or roundness of the wheels from the factory is not great. Also I have a very minor vibration, like a wheel is slightly out of balance or out of round; this may be more noticeable because I run my tire pressure quite high, and it may relate to other things on the car. In the end I did not bother to do anything about it, not worth the effort because it is very minor.

I will take them off the car for the winter so the finish does not get ruined by the salt they use on the roads around here. (my mustang is my year-round daily driver)

Overall, I am very happy with them -- again, considering the price, they are a great deal.

 

[hammerdown]

I bought a set of AMRs in 18x10 at all 4 corners. I mounted some NT05's on them (275/40) and they've been decent. They don't spend very much time on the car as I use these rims/tires only for autocross basically.

As little time as the rims actually spend on the car I can't comment too much about the finish durability. I bought them because I wanted a cheap set of track day rims and at $140.00 a pop who was I to argue? I can say paint chipped a little around the centre cap on one rim when the tire company put them on but it's small and hardly noticeable.

And I don't know who said they were heavier, but I saved almost 4 lbs per corner over my factory 18" bullits. They're not enkei's or BBS (for triple the price) but they're not stupid heavy either.

-HD:bigthumbsup

 

[jdnull68]

I bought a set of AMRs in 18x10 at all 4 corners. I mounted some NT05's on them (275/40) and they've been decent. They don't spend very much time on the car as I use these rims/tires only for autocross basically.

As little time as the rims actually spend on the car I can't comment too much about the finish durability. I bought them because I wanted a cheap set of track day rims and at $140.00 a pop who was I to argue? I can say paint chipped a little around the centre cap on one rim when the tire company put them on but it's small and hardly noticeable.

And I don't know who said they were heavier, but I saved almost 4 lbs per corner over my factory 18" bullits. They're not enkei's or BBS (for triple the price) but they're not stupid heavy either.

-HD:bigthumbsup

I weighed stock tires and wheels, then weighed the AMR's with Sumitomo setup AM sells. I could've swore the AMR/Sumi was 2 or 3 pounds heavier. But now you got me second-guessing myself! lol Maybe the extra weight came from the tires and not the wheels themselves? Hell, I don't know, sorry OP if I gave you some bad info. I will double check when i get a chance. Either way, it won't make much difference. They are good wheels for the price. JD

 

[MustangMan64]

Thanks for the feedback, guys. I'm still hoping someone that has had a set for a couple years can chime in. The main thing that worries me is that my wheels will be exposed to weather year round and road salt at least a couple times each winter. I will absolutely clean them as often as I can, as I wouldn't expect neglected wheels to last very long. But will that be enough?

 

[TravisTouchdown]

I've had my anthracite DD bullits for about a year and a half now, they look great! they are on my year round daily driver.

 

[hammerdown]

I weighed stock tires and wheels, then weighed the AMR's with Sumitomo setup AM sells. I could've swore the AMR/Sumi was 2 or 3 pounds heavier. But now you got me second-guessing myself! lol Maybe the extra weight came from the tires and not the wheels themselves? Hell, I don't know, sorry OP if I gave you some bad info. I will double check when i get a chance. Either way, it won't make much difference. They are good wheels for the price. JD

Haha, you got me going back and rechecking myself too.
Factory 18x8.5" chrome bullitts weigh 26.5 pounds.
AMR 18x10" charcoal weigh roughly 24 pounds.

I don't remember now what the difference in my tires was when I researched all of this but I distinctly remember figuring it out to be between 3-4 lbs per corner lighter with the AMRs. That doesn't necessarily apply to any of their other rims though or any tires other than NT05 275/40/18s, I can only speak for what I own.

-HD:bigthumbsup

 

[az.dsrt]

How are you guys handling the TPMS?

 

[JBert]

How are you guys handling the TPMS?

You can buy the new wheels/tires with TPMS inside for $200 extra for the set of 4 (including a programming tool to synch them to your car),

or;

you can peel the tires off your old wheels, remove the TPMS from the old wheels, peel the tires off the new wheels, install the TPMS, and reinstall the new tires . . . but I think this only works with the "new" 2010+ stem mounted sensor because the older band sensors cannot be removed from the wheel