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Wheels and TiresNeed help with wheels or tires? Got fitment issues? Have questions about tire performance and handling? Ask all of those questions here!
My 88-90 style on my 89 were like this too. First, you REALLY have to look for it up close once the lug nuts and caps are in place. Second, after years and years of everyone wanting a 17x9.5, Hawk's finally did it for $250 a wheel. I hate to say it but....for $1000 for FOUR wheels....it kinda is what it is.
You can kinda see it here....not in the bottom, but along the sides of the lug area. Ideal, no not really.....not saying I was thrilled, but I guess I've just been so close to pulling the trigger on wheels well over $1000 a piece, and many others out there are over $2000 a piece.....I wasn't going to NOT run these wheels at this price point.
You can kinda see it here....not in the bottom, but along the sides of the lug area. Ideal, no not really.....not saying I was thrilled, but I guess I've just been so close to pulling the trigger on wheels well over $1000 a piece, and many others out there are over $2000 a piece.....I wasn't going to NOT run these wheels at this price point.
Agreed about the price point, it's just fantastically priced and the perfect size for the 17" performance tire options out there. I was curious if it was maybe just the first batch that they got done that had this issue or if they all are lacking the gold up in where the lug nuts go?
Also @hawksthirdgen are you able to ship wheels with the tires already mounted/balances on the rims?
Really really awesome job on the wheels, I always dreamed of having gold IROCs like mine but in a bigger size to have better tires. Thank you!
Registered a new name because it's been so long since I've been on here. I ordered a set of wheels and tires back on November 30th when Hawks had their Black Friday sale. They just got here today. Three and a half weeks later. Okay, I'm sure they were busy, and had a lot of orders to go out from that sale. Still seems like a long time. But for those asking about the lug nut wells, no, they are not painted well at all. Neither are the inside top of the spokes. Overall, I would call the paint coverage poor.
Now, I'm going to go ahead and put these on my car, because it's a ten footer itself, and the paint quality of these wheels matches that. Not to mention the hassle of trying to return them. But for the price, I expected better, and if you're putting them on a car that's super nice, you're not going to be happy with them. You will have to repaint them if you want show car quality. Listen, I understand these aren't Forgelines, but for $250 a wheel, I would have expected better quality than American Racing. At least American Racing can lay some paint down and make it look respectable.
Uploading a pic so you can judge for yourself and see if they're the kind of quality you want on your car.
hey hawks, are you painting inside of where the lugnuts go? That looked a bit off to me but if that’s fixed i’d like to order a set soon. Thanks
It's not fixed. I just ordered a set with the Nitto's mounted and balanced. It took much longer to get them than I feel like it should have, but they got here. The lug wells, and even the inside of the spokes are less than good, borderline poor. I'm going to run these on my car, since it's a ten footer anyways, but if your car is anything close to show quality, even cars and coffee, you'll likely be disappointed.
I don't mean to dismiss issues as not important, but the I was OK with the lug holes. Problem, yes, but it really was tough to see unless you looked for it. On the inside of the spokes though....ehh...that wouldn't fly with me. I know it's not Hawk's actually shootin' the paint, but it's still on them to get it right.
ouf yea it looks like paint peeled off or didn't stick right. It's a long way for me to go pick it up (and now during COVID I can't drive across the border at the moment to pickup parts at the kinek depot anymore so I'll have to wait until I can do that before ordering anyway cuz shipping to Montreal Canada is hefty for wheels and tires).
@hawks can you let us know if the company will correct these in the future or was this a one-off production batch that won't continue or be fixed? I am personally looking at buying the 85-87 gold IROCs, not the 88 and up as pictured above (not sure if there is a diff in quality between the two but wanted to mention in case).
I can see how the paint might be light down in the lug holes. For $250 a wheel...I understand. Not excusing it per se....but I get it. But the spokes!? That's gotta be right. IMHO.
I can see how the paint might be light down in the lug holes. For $250 a wheel...I understand. Not excusing it per se....but I get it. But the spokes!? That's gotta be right. IMHO.
ouf yea it looks like paint peeled off or didn't stick right.
The paint is fine, it's just thin. Real thin in a few spots, and that's where you see the grey coming through. Overall, I'd give them maybe a 6 on a 10 scale. Certainly not worth 250 per. Listen, I get that these aren't Forgelines, but at this price point I'd expect that the paint actually covers where its supposed to. Hell, I can get some $89 American Racing that have better paint coverage than this. Just disappointing. I'd been excited about these wheels since they came out.
I just got a set for my 87 and the centers look great. Not sure if the quality is better, or if that is an issue with the 88-90 ones only? I am sure I will order a set of those too, but it wont be till later in summer to verify.
My 88-90 Grey wheels are perfect. They were wet when I took the up close pic from washing off the blue tire lube from having the tires mounted (which I had missed some in that pic lol) so they look a little weird in the lug hole area from the water, but in person they look great. It was the first thing I looked at when they arrived after reading this thread. My guess is that it's maybe just on the gold ones??
It's not fixed. I just ordered a set with the Nitto's mounted and balanced. It took much longer to get them than I feel like it should have, but they got here. The lug wells, and even the inside of the spokes are less than good, borderline poor. I'm going to run these on my car, since it's a ten footer anyways, but if your car is anything close to show quality, even cars and coffee, you'll likely be disappointed.
I would definitely call them and tell them that you want different wheels. That is unacceptable.
I would definitely call them and tell them that you want different wheels. That is unacceptable.
Man, it took them 4 weeks to arrive. Via freight. So if I were to do that, I'd have to strap these to a pallet, get a truck out here, and have my car up on jackstands in the middle of the garage for what? Two months? While I wait for another set that are likely no better than the ones I have? Or buy another set of tires for the stockers just to be able to put the car back where it goes? Nah. Honestly I'm so disappointed that I just don't want to deal with it. Sometimes "good enough" is as close as you're gonna get.
I'm not a wealthy man, but I get by. Spending almost $2k for a set of wheels and tires was a big treat for me. Just gotta get used to the fact that I dropped that coin on a set of 10 foot wheels for a 10 foot car, and hope I can keep someone else from making the same mistake I did.
Man, it took them 4 weeks to arrive. Via freight. So if I were to do that, I'd have to strap these to a pallet, get a truck out here, and have my car up on jackstands in the middle of the garage for what? Two months? While I wait for another set that are likely no better than the ones I have? Or buy another set of tires for the stockers just to be able to put the car back where it goes? Nah. Honestly I'm so disappointed that I just don't want to deal with it. Sometimes "good enough" is as close as you're gonna get.
I'm not a wealthy man, but I get by. Spending almost $2k for a set of wheels and tires was a big treat for me. Just gotta get used to the fact that I dropped that coin on a set of 10 foot wheels for a 10 foot car, and hope I can keep someone else from making the same mistake I did.
I totally get where you're coming from, and can personally relate. I would still at least call them and complain. Who knows...they may refund a portion of your money, give you credit, etc. The problem won't be fixed if they don't know about it. I can't believe stuff like that would get by anyone in the manufacturing process. What a bummer...
I totally get where you're coming from, and can personally relate. I would still at least call them and complain. Who knows...they may refund a portion of your money, give you credit, etc. The problem won't be fixed if they don't know about it. I can't believe stuff like that would get by anyone in the manufacturing process. What a bummer...
Even if they didn't eyeball this sample from the paint shop, somebody got up close and personal with them when they mounted the tires. They couldn't have not known about it. If they felt they're good enough to send them out looking like this, then they're not going to agree with me that they're not. A company's feelings about the quality of their products are rarely tempered by public opinion.
Even if they didn't eyeball this sample from the paint shop, somebody got up close and personal with them when they mounted the tires. They couldn't have not known about it. If they felt they're good enough to send them out looking like this, then they're not going to agree with me that they're not. A company's feelings about the quality of their products are rarely tempered by public opinion.
True....but they will surely figure it out when people quit buying them. If you don't want to complain to them, maybe they will at least see your posts in this thread.
So...probably a dumb question...I just ordered the 2-stripe IROC wheels for my ‘88 IROC. I noticed they send spacers for them for the front wheels...are those even needed on a stock IROC? I’m assuming they’re for clearance for brakes...or perhaps tie rods.
Finally replacing the 15” IROC wheels
I bought shortly after purchasing my IROC...the previous owner had Weld DragStars on the car, and I preferred the OEM wheel.
Spacers are usually for the stock wheels, for the front to clear the tie rod ends. At least that was what they were for on my R15 wheels. When I went to a big brake upgrade I was able to ditch the spacer on the front and use it on the rear to even up the wheel spacing in the wells
Yep, the front wheels will scrape the tie rod ends without the spacer on a stock brake setup. It's still tight with them installed but I don't see anywhere that they have rubbed.
Well, they’ve been on the car for a little over a week now...they look great, and the wider wheel and tires have really improved the handling of my IROC.
Even if they didn't eyeball this sample from the paint shop, somebody got up close and personal with them when they mounted the tires. They couldn't have not known about it. If they felt they're good enough to send them out looking like this, then they're not going to agree with me that they're not. A company's feelings about the quality of their products are rarely tempered by public opinion.
Probably mounted by some minimum wage tire jockey, packed up by some minimum wage guy who sticks things in boxes all day as fast as possible. What you got are factory seconds. I would have at least tried to get some money back out of them if nothing else.
Well, they’ve been on the car for a little over a week now...they look great, and the wider wheel and tires have really improved the handling of my IROC.
Galaxy, they look GREAT! ...and I've always loved that color. Great to see an IROC wear it!
So, a quick question. Loving the Hawk’s wheels. Should the wheels be waxed to help preserve the finish? I drive my car regularly, so there’s always a good chance there’s rain in their future.
So, a quick question. Loving the Hawk’s wheels. Should the wheels be waxed to help preserve the finish? I drive my car regularly, so there’s always a good chance there’s rain in their future.
If so, what do you all recommend for wheel wax?
Not sure what everyone else uses, but I bought the below for use on my 6th Gens and used it on my new set of the the Hawks wheels for my 87. I have been really happy with it.
I've owned a lot of wheels through the years, in ever finish I can think of. Bar none, without a doubt, the single biggest thing you can do to make them last is to clean them regularly. Don't let any crap and grime and potential road salt sit on 'em for very long. That being said, waxing certainly does help, although whether it's a measurable difference is certainly debatable. What I do, which is incredibly easy, is to simply use a spray wax/drying agent on them. Many of us already do this to the rest of the car when we wash, so doing so on the wheels too, literally takes an extra 2 minutes, maybe less. I'm currently using P&S Beadmaker, but I'm a fan of Turtle Wax quick and easy Wax & Dry too. Pick your poison here, really. There are so many.
So, a quick question. Loving the Hawk’s wheels. Should the wheels be waxed to help preserve the finish? I drive my car regularly, so there’s always a good chance there’s rain in their future.
If so, what do you all recommend for wheel wax?
Good wash soap and water us all you need . I wouldn't put anything on the wheels . Some GM wheels were clear coated and they peeled when things, chemicals, cleaners, waxes were put on the wheels. Soap and water. Clean them once a week you should be good.
In my opinion. This is one of the most durable over the counter waxes you can buy. A lot of people use this as a "before winter" wax since it lasts so long. I use it on my rims. More for ease of brake dust removal than protection. Anything that's safe on paint is going to be safe on your rims.
Last edited by IROCThe5.7L; 03-08-2021 at 04:28 PM.
I’m thinking of picking up a set of Hawks 17” 88-90s finally... In gray it looks like I can avoid the paint issues some have had.
One guy I know from the Facebook world said he replaced the studs on the front (I believe) because he said he needed an extra 1/4 inch to feel comfortable with the spacers on...
Did any of you that got these wheels have to do that with the stock brakes?
I also second the advice of keeping the wheels clean. I like the Turtle Wax Hybrid Solutions Ceramic Detailer and I have color coded microfiber towels just for wheels. You never want to rub brake dust on your paint! The Detailer leaves behind ceramic protection but can also be used as a waterless wash...
Hey Joe, I didn't have any worries with the stud length when I installed my wheels with the spacers with stock brakes. You will absolutely LOVE the wheels!!
Here's a couple pics of my cars together for a comparison. One with the 17's and one with the factory 16" wheels
11-11-2020, 06:09 PM
Wow - that is not good.........
