I'd vote for the charcoal covers...the black/gray look good...but...they will show the dirt. Just my 2 cents worth.

 

Ken, that is one disadvantage of the light grey.

 

Morning NY and visitors... have a good day!

 

Bud, wrong thread!!LOL

 

The factory wheels are pitted from running them during the winter. Mainly around the center cap cover and around the outer lip of the wheel. I have looked at cleaning them up but because the clear coat is destroyed, that is allowing the oxidation of the machined aluminum.

I was told that in order to repair the factory ones, the best thing to do is have them media blasted & powder coated. Add in the cost of having that done, un-mounting the tires and re-mounting, balancing along with the down time of not having the truck it would get pretty $$$ quickly.

So been looking at some options for aftermarket and my timeline to replace the factory ones (if I decide to do so) will be when I need new tires. Here are a few that I like the looks of so far.

All of these are 18" which is the stock size. I do not have any intentions of moving up to 20" wheels. You end up with a smaller selection of tires and they are $$$.




Fuel Trophy D551 wheel, 1 piece



Fuel Trophy D552 wheel, 1 piece




MB Wheels TKO in a matte black

I do not like the red color that they are showing here. To me it looks orange and my truck is the darker red anyways, but it at least gives an idea of what it would look like.

Here is a close up of the TKO wheels. They have an optional large center cap that leaves the lug nuts exposed.




TKO Standard center cap



TKO with Optional center cap

 

Man, I dig those first two!!

 

I like the first two also, and I would be leaning towards the black faced with grey lip. They would help tie in the grey wheel well flare that the FX package has. The Fuel wheels are about $400 more per set than the MB's. A few of the web sites that sell the Fuels include lug nuts and valve stems in the cost, I have not done much research on the MB's.

 

The seating material of our trucks was upgraded to a heavier fabric in 2003. You may want to think about it before spending the money for seat covers instead of mods.

 

I have some rims that were pitted from the clear coming off, just sandblasted them and sprayed with argent color. For son's 04 Crown Vic. Don't look too bad for the price.
Might want to think about that and save some $$
I also have some rims from an 03 Explorer (16") you can have...

 

Yeah the clear has been compromised on these. Blasting them maybe an option to look into. This truck has 18" wheels.

 

A friend got one of those cleaning/buffing wheels for a drill. Cleaned and buffed the wheels for his CV. Then sprayed clear over them.

 

I have looked at those too and may give it a shot. It is always worth a try and the worst I would be out is about $50 for the power ball, cleaner and some clear.

 

Figured that it was time to add some more pictures to this. I knew that when I bought this truck that there were some issues with the clear coat failing and the wheels oxidizing/pitting.
Here are some close ups to show what they look like. I did post these in the '09-'14 forum to get some opinions and along with some that I have had talking with people locally.
I have been told that in order to clean these up that my best bet would be to have them media blasted and then powder coated or even paint them. They will be on the truck all year long so any clear coat would end up failing again due to the road salt.
Structurally they appear to be fine, it is just the cosmetic look that is nagging me. I have done some research and I did find a company about 60 miles away that refurbishes wheels and looking at there website, I would be in the starting price range of about $150 a piece to refinish these. The problem is, I would need to take the wheels off, dismount the tires, take them to them, wait or pick them up another day and remount the tires. Sounds like a PIA to me.
I think that my best option if I do decide to replace them will be to do so with some new after market wheels. For about the same amount of money for refurbishing the OEM ones, I can get one of the 3 previously posted wheels. The other 2 are about $75 more per wheel.
My plans would be to replace them at the time that I need new tires, which may not be until sometime next summer or fall. If anyone has any opinions on what possibly could be done to maybe "clean" these up some that do not require a lot of effort or cost, post it up.

Now to the pictures and I know that they are filthy. It has been over a month since I washed the truck due to the weather.

Left Front


Left Rear


Right Front


Right Rear

 

That last one looks to be in really bad shape. Is that surface pitted, or is that just the clear coming off? I'm thinking go with new wheels. Maybe keep this set mounted on tires for the winter!

 

Neil, does the truck have TPMS? Tire pressure monitoring system. If so, that will add to the cost. Many sensors get broken upon tire removal. You could try one of those "scoth-brite" type pads on a drill to clean the rims. Then a coat of clear. Little bit of work but might/maybe save some $$$