STOCK NISSAN ALTIMA COUPE 3.5 SE, NEED HELP!!

[Alex_Fenn_10]

I have a Slate Gray Nissan Altima Coupe 3.5 SE, I can't decide on whether to put black rims on it or not?

Does anybody have any pics of this car with black rims?

Thanks for your help!

[Hussain]

I painted my stock rims black (same ones you have)

[Hussain]

the pic of the rim on my back driver side (5th pic) the rim doesnt look good because as I was painting my rims it started to rain lol so I have to redo my back rims one of these days... put the front are perfect and have held up to rain, heat, dirt, etc.

[Firedancer]

Mine is the slate grey as well. I am for sure going black rims once I scrape together the funds this summer.

[Hussain]

ya black rims are pretty good looking with our color... I liked the 2008 3.5se rims a lot so I just painted them black lol they're actually Enkei wheels though. so its not too bad.

[Alex_Fenn_10]

I painted my stock rims black (same ones you have)

Thanks for all the pics! I'm definitely putting black rims on it now!
What kind of body kit do you have? And where did you get the smoked headlights?

[Hussain]

I have a stillen front fascia but i cut out the bars (and patched the holes from cutting) and had mesh installed. Back bumper is stock but i cut it to make room for quad tips (custom exhaust set-up). And the lights are stock but i opened them and painted the inside black and resealed them... You can find smoked lights on ebay now... I did mine a long time ago before their were any aftermarket options.

[Alex_Fenn_10]

I like how your headlights are, so im probably going to do that.
Did you just paint them right over the turn signals?
And what color did you paint them?

[Hussain]

here is a link to the thread I made while I was doing my lights... It should give you all the information you need. just let me know if you have any questions.

baking-my-lights-right-now-t471095.html

I just looked at the dates and its crazy, I've had them like that for over 2 years now. time flys.

[mikethemike]

Its really questionable on dark slate and kind of a win win situation on wether to go black or not. Personally I wouldn't only because I feel black looks good on either silver or black cars. Since our color cars are not black, I feel sticking to the original wheel color will make the wheel stand out a little more. On the other hand, Hussains wheels looks great on his car, especially with the red calipers.

Also keep this in mind, black wheels get very dirty. My last Alty had black 350z wheels and when brake dust would hit it, it gave it this flat black/brownish look. Also be sure to keep the tires shined as much as you can, it looks kinda funky when your wheels are darker than the tires.

[Alex_Fenn_10]

Thanks everybody for the help!
But I'm probably going to do that to my lights.
What color did you use for the lights?
And did you paint your brake calipers?

[Alex_Fenn_10]

And how long did it take you to paint the lights?

[Hussain]

Also keep this in mind, black wheels get very dirty. My last Alty had black 350z wheels and when brake dust would hit it, it gave it this flat black/brownish look. Also be sure to keep the tires shined as much as you can, it looks kinda funky when your wheels are darker than the tires.

the rims look s*** when they're dirty. I thought the paint messed up or something until I washed it and it looked brand new again lol and the tires do look ugly when they're not shinned.

Ya I painted my calipers red the same night I painted my rims (it still looks just as red). I just taped off the rotors and some other stuff really good and sprayed the calipers. but make sure you clean the calipers and do a little bit of sanding. the stock ones are gloss silver so most of the paint will just come off without some sanding.

the lights, I did 2 years ago. so I dont remember exactly how long it took BUT if you start in the morning or pretty early in the day, you'll be done that night (probably really late at night if it's your first time). If I could go back and do my lights again, they'd come out perfect.... my driver side light looks kind of bad because I used gas to clean it (old arab trick that works on everything else). so just dont polish them with gas and you'll be good lol

[funkee]

it looks kinda funky when your wheels are darker than the tires.

Indeed. My continentals are very gray in color, meanwhile the lip on my wheels is gloss black. Some tire shine will fix that right up.

[mikethemike]

Painting calipers is a cinch, it just takes a little while cause you gotta do all 4 and the taping is the longest part because you gotta tape up some parts of the caliper (you dont wanna be spraying your brake pads or inside the caliper especially). Mine are red too. Granted they are different wheels, but you get the basic idea of a stock color wheel and red brake caliper.



Go black! Maybe it will look better with 18's anyways.

08-09 headlights are a pain and never managed to get them open. You need The Rock to open those suckers up for ya. Unlike my 04 Altima headlights, you can do about 5 pairs of those things in a day lol

[mikethemike]

Off Topic: Hussain Whats your nationality? Dont mean to turn this into a UN thread haha. Im Lebanese myself

[Hussain]

I'm Libyan and white. Born in Tripoli, Libya and came to america as a baby.

[mikethemike]

I'm Libyan and white. Born in Tripoli, Libya and came to america as a baby.

Oh right on man. Had to ask

[Hussain]

Lol ya i'm the same way. I always have to ask if I see someone who looks arab or has an arab name

[nissansp]

Hey let me ask you something.. what kind of paint did you use??? and what prep??? i was looking into powder coating but its like 500 and they want me to bring my tires in off the car allready its a PAIN in the @#$... Im curious how easy it is to paint being I never painted anything before my car is red I want black rims.. I plastic dipped them and the car wash messed it up so i had to peel it all off looked awsome while it was black tho!!

[Hussain]

honestly just some really bit of sanding, clean them, and spray (you also need to tape off the tires). I used some "Low Gloss" paint from kragens (or Orealy I think its called now). It was some engine enamel paint.

[nissansp]

not bad...!! how long ago did you do it?? and how is it holding up?? from what I see you did a pretty good job... and the lights look good also I would like to do that as well..

[mikethemike]

$500 is an okay price, but for that price they should at least dismount the wheels, paint and then mount and balance them when putting back on. Otherwise I'm sure you can find shops to paint for a little cheaper price. For instant, my shop is gonna charge me $80 a wheel, but thats if i bring the wheels in already off the tires.

They also may go cheaper if you not only bring just the rims in but if you can find a place that will chemically strip the paint from your wheels. Most paint shops will charge $30 to strip the paint, so it may not hurt to call and ask other shops to see if they can ONLY chemically strip the paint.