Volk GT-C - changing the center color

Has anyone done this and can post photos? How comfortable were you with the whole reattaching the face and torquing procedure?

Did you paint, dip or powder coat?

I am on the fence about redoing the centers black or a very dark gray.

Pretty certain the Volk GT series are two-piece wheels so you can separate the center from the barrel without dismounting the tires or having to deal with resealing barrel halves (I've done this on a BBS LM which is also 2-piece). If you have a little technical know-how, I don't see why you couldn't do this yourself instead of sending it to a shop. You'll just need to research the ball-park torque used for the bolts (shouldn't be too much, maybe 10-15 ft-lbs). Always re-torque in a star pattern. If you're toying with the idea of black or dark gray color, why not just Plasti-dip it so it's easily reversible.

Yes, that's a 2 piece with a separate center "panel". I thought of the plasti-dip. I did my old Anteras and was pretty pleased with the result and how easy to remove (if you put 4 or 5 solid coats on......).

I'm not sure that will work so well with the GTC though. It's going to get into all the bolt heads and if you look closely at the edge of the rim where it joins the lip, the center doesn't cleanly cover the main wheel lip - there is overlap. And lastly the bolt holes/barrels are really tight and I would bet the Dip will get mangled at least once.

Having said that, maybe I should just try it as you suggest and see how it goes. TB/WP coming up so at least one wheel is coming off for a couple of days..... ;o)

Thanks for chiming in!

I've done it. Deflate the tires first or you'll hear a pop near the end of the procedure! Lol nothing dangerous but startling. You'll want to line up all the tools like an extension so that you're not rotating the wrench arm inside the wheel risking scratching it. I used locktite blue on the bolts when reassembling and have seen torque specs on the web reportedly ranging from 10ftlbs to 50ftlbs, which seems ridiculous considering how many of the bolts are on the face of the wheel. From standard published data, I believe 10ftlbs should be enough/appropriate and that's what I used (successfully for years now).



If you have a torque wrench you can try starting at ten to tighten them before you disassemble and see if it clicks immediately, and progress up to 12, 14, 16, etc to see when the wrench stops clicking and starts to apply force. That will give you a good reliable number of what they were actually assembled with assuming they have never been apart before. Please report here if you do that!



Do not over tighten them! Some high strength bolts like head studs are made to stretch once and then you have to replace them. I also have a set of leftover high tensile strength m7 replacement bolts for these if you want to refurbish bolts with new ones or you break any. I ordered them from Europe so didnt bother returning them due to shipping cost. Can sell for less than eBay here, also half the price of ECS tuning.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/182247603339

Thx Nero, that is really helpful. PM me a price for the bolts - are they black, polished or what?

I have these wheels. They will be powder coated just because I know I'll have difficult trying to sell them, and I'd probably just want some "winter" wheels as I'm also looking into SoS's TE37 ad. I wanted to ask, how do your GT-C's look so clean? I've used some aluminum cleaner on them but they dont come out like that, and a week later theyre back to looking bad again (daily driver).

Lamini said:

I have these wheels. They will be powder coated just because I know I'll have difficult trying to sell them, and I'd probably just want some "winter" wheels as I'm also looking into SoS's TE37 ad. I wanted to ask, how do your GT-C's look so clean? I've used some aluminum cleaner on them but they dont come out like that, and a week later theyre back to looking bad again (daily driver).

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Lamini, dunno. They seem to repel dirt, I have never had a set so easy to keep clean as these. My ride is more or a less DD, just that I don't commute, but on occasion I am driving through puddles and they still don't seem to get that dirty.

I stopped by the powder coater today, will go with a dark metallic anthracite, getting them done next week. Nero says he used the original bolts I think. I will use a torque wrench to see what they are set at now.

Lamini said:

I have these wheels. They will be powder coated just because I know I'll have difficult trying to sell them, and I'd probably just want some "winter" wheels as I'm also looking into SoS's TE37 ad. I wanted to ask, how do your GT-C's look so clean? I've used some aluminum cleaner on them but they dont come out like that, and a week later theyre back to looking bad again (daily driver).

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They come with an anodized clear lip for protection. If you are able to polish them that means your layer of anodizing is probably removed or otherwise gone and they are now raw aluminum. Since they have no protection, they get dirty and stained quickly. I plan to repolish mine to a brilliant shine and then add some sort of sealant or barrier. Perhaps jet-seal or wipe new, or you can have them clear coated or powder coated clear if you're willing to lose some of the luster for easy maintenance.

boca rat said:

Lamini, dunno. They seem to repel dirt, I have never had a set so easy to keep clean as these. My ride is more or a less DD, just that I don't commute, but on occasion I am driving through puddles and they still don't seem to get that dirty.


I stopped by the powder coater today, will go with a dark metallic anthracite, getting them done next week. Nero says he used the original bolts I think. I will use a torque wrench to see what they are set at now.

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Please provide some images when the powder coating is done!

Nero Tenebre said:

They come with an anodized clear lip for protection. If you are able to polish them that means your layer of anodizing is probably removed or otherwise gone and they are now raw aluminum. Since they have no protection, they get dirty and stained quickly. I plan to repolish mine to a brilliant shine and then add some sort of sealant or barrier. Perhaps jet-seal or wipe new, or you can have them clear coated or powder coated clear if you're willing to lose some of the luster for easy maintenance.

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I've read in the past something along the sounds of this. Thanks for the information. Also looking forward to some pics if you can.

OK, dropped my centers at the powder coater today, should be back Thursday, $180 for the 4.

I put a torque wrench on the bolts when I took them off and basically there was 5lbs or so torque to loosen them. I never thought to try and tighten them, sorry. I will go with 10 or 12lbs when I do them up.

First wheel took me a while until I realized that the bolts were ever so slightly stuck in the hole so only needed to hit them from behind with the wrench to loosen them, then hit them with a drill and extension/socket to unwind them. No need for the hex-head to hold the bolt tight from the front.

I had the rims face down on a towel, with another towel folded over a few times wedged under the face to prevent it dropping when I hit the last nut.

Nero, did you paint the lip that the face bolts to? Not sure what that will look like when bolted up, i.e. anthracite face mounted to the polished lip?

Does anyone know what part of the wheel is forged, and what is cast? That face is pretty heavy....

I bolted on my 18/19 LE37s (nice spares to have around, right?) and the car feels quite a bit faster....the LEs ARE pretty light though.

18/19 LE37s 38.1/47.5
17/18 GTCs 43.0/50.1
16/17 stock 36/1/42.7

Nero, I don;t think I will need your spare bolts at this point - forgot to reply to your offer, sorry about that,

boca rat said:

OK, dropped my centers at the powder coater today, should be back Thursday, $180 for the 4.

I put a torque wrench on the bolts when I took them off and basically there was 5lbs or so torque to loosen them. I never thought to try and tighten them, sorry. I will go with 10 or 12lbs when I do them up.

First wheel took me a while until I realized that the bolts were ever so slightly stuck in the hole so only needed to hit them from behind with the wrench to loosen them, then hit them with a drill and extension/socket to unwind them. No need for the hex-head to hold the bolt tight from the front.

I had the rims face down on a towel, with another towel folded over a few times wedged under the face to prevent it dropping when I hit the last nut.

Nero, did you paint the lip that the face bolts to? Not sure what that will look like when bolted up, i.e. anthracite face mounted to the polished lip?

Does anyone know what part of the wheel is forged, and what is cast? That face is pretty heavy....

I bolted on my 18/19 LE37s (nice spares to have around, right?) and the car feels quite a bit faster....the LEs ARE pretty light though.

18/19 LE37s 38.1/47.5
17/18 GTCs 43.0/50.1
16/17 stock 36/1/42.7

Nero, I don;t think I will need your spare bolts at this point - forgot to reply to your offer, sorry about that,

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No problem on the spare bolts, they already sold awhile back. The center is cast, the barrel is forged. Two reasons- the stronger forged element is on the outside where you need the strength and weight reduction has a greater effect on MOI, and two, the cast centers can achieve more design freedom. This is why this GT series is my all time favorite wheel series, it's the best of all worlds. I didn't paint mine- just left everything factory finish. I don't think there's any need to paint it either, it's a separate piece.

Fresh back from the powder coater, loosely bolted up. Not looking forward to bolting them up properly. Definitely need a friend to speed that up....

Looks like they did a good job but they didn't mask off the center? I think from the factory they are all machined finish in the bolt area circle

You mean the center area around where the lug nuts bolt in? Why would you want to leave that polished? No idea how that would look...

Did you have fun putting the center caps back on? Yikes....I had to drift them out, not even sure if they will go back in!

Update: put one cap in the freezer for 20 minutes, and managed to hammer it in with a block of wood and rubber mallet. I wonder if the rubber seal is old although seems tightly seated on the cap, not loose.

I have the dark gray GTC and the center is machined finish. I know they are old style wheels, but I do like them a lot.

Nero Tenebre said:

Looks like they did a good job but they didn't mask off the center? I think from the factory they are all machined finish in the bolt area circle

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OK, pics of mounted up. Debuted at NSXPO. Nero, pity we met right at the end...! I see what you mean about the machined centers, there was another member there with them like that.

Despite the fact that these look fantastic (pics don't do them justice IMHO) I should add that I am on the fence about keeping these. So if interested, shoot me a PM, might be tempted to part with them

I know! Right on the way out too so I didn't have a moment to even check them out in person!