Whatever happened to Polycast wheels?

[Spazdog]

Just looking at some of the really ugly wheel covers on some cars today and I started to wonder:

Seriously. Why didn't this catch on?

GM had some really sharp looking Polycast wheels. I especially liked the Olds and Pontiac wheels but the Berlinetta Polycasts were sharp too.

I didn't like the Ford Polycast wheels as much. The '70s Thunderbird wheels weren't bad. Not as good as the Monte Carlo Turbines or the Olds wheels pictured above, but they weren't bad

You get the durability of a steel wheel and style of an alloy wheel. Advances in polymers should make the weight gain from the additional plastic negligible.

 

[901Memphis]

Those are my tires.

 

[NMBurb02]

Well, if you think the pictured wheel look good, the there's your answer: you have a poor sense of modern automotive styling! Those things are hideous! They definitely would not go well with any modern automobiles.

I agree that many modern wheel covers are ugly, but the wheel pictured is not the answer. I do not know if I have seen any good Polycast wheels as I do not know how to distinguish them from painted aluminum, but there are probably some cost/benefit analyses that involve not only weight and style, but load and safety.

 

[yonyon]

Chrome clad wheels are pretty much the modern equivalent. Sure, they're even more fragile than the polycast, but it's got to be a lot cheaper to make. You get what's basically just a steel wheel with a plastic wheel cover designed to break if you try to remove it but it gives the look of a chromed alloy wheel.

 

[Spazdog]

Originally Posted By: NMBurb02
Well, if you think the pictured wheel look good, the there's your answer: you have a poor sense of modern automotive styling! Those things are hideous! They definitely would not go well with any modern automobiles.

I agree that many modern wheel covers are ugly, but the wheel pictured is not the answer. I do not know if I have seen any good Polycast wheels as I do not know how to distinguish them from painted aluminum, but there are probably some cost/benefit analyses that involve not only weight and style, but load and safety.


Nahhh, that wouldn't look good on a modern car. That looked good on a 98 Regency Convertible, but the styling choices are virtually limitless.

Like the Camaro LS wheels:

They are kind of stamped out to look like late '70s through '80s Chevrolet Rallye wheels but they really need something.

Or just about every Ford Focus hubcap ever. (Snowflakes excepted)

Weird Daisy disposable dinner plate.

 

[NHGUY]

Those plastic covered wheels had a tendency to insulate the wheel and cause it to run hot.
Whatever happened to ALL plastic wheels??
The Shelby Shadow CSX had them for 2 years,and then they were gone.I bet mounting tires caused issues with possible breakage.

 

[UncleS2]

I always liked the old "Rally" style wheels- slightly nicer steel wheels with(usually) a silvery paint job, chrome or polished aluminum trim rings, & smallish styled center caps integrated with the lug nuts. Whatever happened to the rally type wheels? Easy to customize(painting the wheel itself to match or contrast with body color, etc), looked good, & surely cheaper to produce than alloys. Modern powder coating should make the wheel finish even more durable, and IMO they'd make a nice change from the ridiculously large diameter wheels so popular with the younger guys today.

Showin' my age, huh?

 

[eljefino]

Rally wheels mostly look good when the car has chrome too, like around the door frames, windscreen, and around the fenders too.

Like an olds cutlass.

 

[NMBurb02]

Originally Posted By: NHGUY
Whatever happened to ALL plastic wheels??
The Shelby Shadow CSX had them for 2 years,and then they were gone.I bet mounting tires caused issues with possible breakage.

Could that also be a problem with Polycasts? What about repairing curb rash?

 

[JHZR2]

I dont get why they dont paint all steelies in a solver color and use chrome trim rings and a center cap. May not be the end-all, be all style, but they can be made in various 5-point star type styling options and should be stronger than alloys.

 

[Rand]

Originally Posted By: JHZR2
I dont get why they dont paint all steelies in a solver color and use chrome trim rings and a center cap. May not be the end-all, be all style, but they can be made in various 5-point star type styling options and should be stronger than alloys.


because then you wouldnt buy the premium package with alloys

 

[Wilhelm_D]

Originally Posted By: UncleS2
I always liked the old "Rally" style wheels- slightly nicer steel wheels with(usually) a silvery paint job, chrome or polished aluminum trim rings, & smallish styled center caps integrated with the lug nuts.

68 - 69 Ford

66 -74 Olds

 

[CapriRacer]

I am really surprised no one gave the correct answer: They disappeared because they weighed a ton!!

My wife's first car was a 1976 Pontiac Trans Am. It was a beauty. But it had 3 problems.

1) It eat gasoline. Around town it could only manage 12 mpg. By contrast my VW Scirocco was getting mid 20's.

2) The paint faded. It was this gorgeous deep ruby red color, but after about 10 years, the paint oxidized, ene though it was garaged its entire life.

3) The wheels were very heavy. It took both hands to take them on and off. By contrast, the wheel on my VW Scirocco could be lifted with one hand.

 

[Mach1Owner]

Originally Posted By: Spazdog

Or just about every Ford Focus hubcap ever. (Snowflakes excepted)

Weird Daisy disposable dinner plate.


Thats not a daily, THESE are Daisy's...

 

[vintagegz]

those polycast wheels went the way of the 73 monte carlo