Polished rims are alittle more up keep than chrome, I know cause ive had both. But the polished rims have that dull shine that stands out better than chrome does imo. But I believe the best way to go would be a polished rim with a clear coat sprayed on them, imo. Chrome is just to much Bling/ghetto looking in most cases,imo.

 

i but about 30 hours of sanding and polishing on 4 03 cobra rims... 30 hours.... they looked great... pretty close to how chromed looked... not quite but close... in 5days of driving they wre bak to ****.... and im not joking... it took more days for the to look good than it did for them to look like ****... its not worth it to me... id rahter but 2hours into chrome rims once a month and have some badass rims than **** the extra 100 bucks u save.... lol if u cant tell i have aluminim rims.... now aluminim under the hood is all good... its not exposed to the harsh road.... i suppose if u could get a good aluminum wheel it would be a different story... but the alumnim wheels i have are crappy... and every other aluminim wheel ive seen in person does similar ****... to me the time u put in to hte aluminum rims is better spend else where... if u wanna throw 20hrs a month into rims the get he aluminum rims... if will give u something to do

 

Chrome wheels are WAY more durable than polished/clear coated rims. If your caliper ever leaks and brake fluid goes on your rim with polished rims your clear coat is toast. But with chrome rims you simply wipe it away and it does absolutely 0 damage to the rim.
Ive had both kinds, and living in the salt belt it really doesnt matter what finish you have eventually theyll both get screwed. But chrome seems to be more resilient to the elements. And as for cleaning them, simply washa and wax just like you would the rest of the car. NEVER under ANY circumstances use any sort of wheel cleaner. This WILL destroy the finish of most wheels. Only use soap that youd use on the rest of the car, nothing else.
-P.

 

I personally prefer the polished aluminum. The biggest thing is you don't have to worry about rust! They shine really nice (not over-bearing), and the upkeep isn't that bad. I use a polish on my everyfew of weeks, I spend about 20-30 mins per rim and they look brand new again.

 

Well under the conditions of me not driving in the winter or rain or anything other than sun shine, would alum. wheels get as dirty/messed up as ppl are saying? B/c i do want to keep my car light.

 

I guess it just all depends on how much driving you do and conditions you drive in depending on where you live.Mine is not daily driven, it's mostly a weekend ride and I avoid rain and snow as well. Somine don't get very dirty and I don't have to spend that much time polishing them.

 

lol, I guess my 21 year old polished aluminum rims are the exception to all the negative comments about it

 

I prefer polished. Chrome is to much. My uncle has polished american racing torque thrust wheels on his car. I love them.

[IMG]local://upfiles/43853/326F64459C3645139CDB6CF7F1311B8F.jpg[/IMG]

 

Hey, your uncle has a nice 66? Goat!

 

Chrome wheels all the way. You can clean them with some glass cleaner and a towel, whereas polsiehd aluminum you must always polish and they never bling quite like chrome.