Want your opinion - Which wheels look better? Prior custom or black powder coated 21's.

[kizamybute']

EDIT: See follow-up post below (Post #14) after receiving replies to this thread).,...........

Looking for everyone's opinion now, on which wheels they think look better (photos below)?

My truck came with 20" all-terrains. I swapped them out for a set of custom wheels which I got a ton of compliments on when people saw them in person. Personally, I always thought I wanted black wheels. Thinking more on it, almost all black wheels tend to look nearly the same unless you look closely in bright light. The machine finished wheels started growing one me.

Not a fan of the stock 21" wheels with aero covers at all. But, acquired a set and had them powder coated in gloss black. What a difference. Still not sure if I want an all black wheel, but they certainly look better than the stock wheels in my opinion.

I originally wanted the off-road oriented styling. The custom wheels pushed the tires out some and gave it more of an aggressive stance.

Decided to throw on the 21's that had been sitting in the garage. Will leave them on for at least a couple of weeks to see how I feel about them. I can say, surprised at how much quieter they are than the 20" all-terrain tires. Plus, drove some more today and the range has absolutely improved by at least 0.3 wh / mi compared with the 20" wheels. So about 37 miles of total range added.

I bought a set of 5mm wheel spacers for these, to push them out closer to the edge of the fenders. Based on the number threads available on the wheel studs, probably could have gone up to 7 or 8 mm.

Let me know which you personally prefer?

The custom wheels are certainly more aggressive and unique. The black ones blend in. Sacrifice; lose range, but get more aggressive look. Or, gain range with a more subtle look?

Can see prior history of how I came up with the prior custom set here:
www.rivianforums.com/forum/threads/updated-new-custom-wheels-tires-20x9-18mm-offset-with-275-60-20-pirellis-33-no-rubbing.6685/

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[Sattman69]

I’m a fan of the gloss black 21’s. Completely changed their appearance and to the casual observer they look very similar to the 22’s in black.
I didn’t like the custom 20’s as much as the OEM 20’s.
My pre-order included 20’s but I’m leaning towards 22’s because I think the 21” will always be odd. Like when Land Rover introduced 19” in 2006. It literally took 3+ years to get more options in that size that had the load rating and XL sidewalls. The OEM were the Scorpion Verde - similar to your 21’s.
It’s great to have 2 full sets so you have options…
Best of luck!

 

[Prime]

Def prefer the powder coated 21s. I think the design just goes hand in hand and black rims on the R1T and R1S just look awesome.

 

[R1Sky Business]

21s

 

[Riviot]

Those wrenches looked awful the first time I saw them, and still look terrible.

21s powder coated are great looking and our plan for the R1S with El Cap and deleted/blacked out chrome trim.

 

[Yellow Buddy]

Powder coated 21s are my vote

 

[JamesPolk24]

Definitely the 21 powder coated. Is this even a subjective question?

 

[rkalbiar]

Hmm, yeah I just totally disagree with your assessment of those aftermarket wheels. I do not think they look more aggressive or fit the truck at all..

 

[yizzung]

I’m really wanting to powder coat my 21s if that helps.

 

[John G.]

Gloss black 21’s

 

[COdogman]

21s without a doubt!

 

[ironpig]

Sorry but those "custom" wheels are really heinous. The 21s look great.

 

[Cavalryscout18]

21s in black.

 

[kizamybute']

WOW, completely unanimous! At least among the Rivian community. What's very odd, is for those that have seen the truck in person, I kept telling everyone I was going to change the wheels to all black wheels and at least 80% of them were of the opposite opinion, saying that the wheels look good on the truck and I should leave them on. Even when I told them I wasn't a big fan of them.

I posted another thread a while back that talked about how the Rivian looks so much better in person than it does in photos. Possibly these are the same thing? The custom wheels were donated. When I looked at them in the box, I wasn't a fan, but agreed to put them on for photos / video. Once on the truck however, while not necessarily "in love" with them, they certainly looked a lot better than I thought they would. It's why I became more hesitant to make a change to all black. Before buying another set of wheels, threw the 21's on since I had them, just to see how I feel about the solid black look. As noted, they certainly have their efficiency and sound benefits and don't look bad at all in all black. But, at this point, I can't imagine finding a sportier wheel in all black that would make that big of a difference over the 21's. Possibly could get a little better "stance" out of custom wheels as I could get more offset in them to bring them closer to the edge of the fenders. But beyond that, honestly when I see other Rivian's with black 22's or even 20's, I have to look closely to see any difference. Black wheels are black wheels and mostly look the same from 10 feet away.

Was thinking of some wheels with at least a small portion that's machine faced. Not nearly as much as the custom wheels shown above, which are fully machine faced on the face side of the wheels, black on the inside portions of the wheel. Have found other wheels with just a small 1/4" (or less) machined trim piece that adds a little life to the wheels and distinction. These custom wheels probably won't go back on unless I decide to take an unlikely trip off-road. The black wheels do look nice, but they don't seem to have much personality to them in all black? Although, I like them a TON better than the stock 21's without powder coating.

If anyone has anything they've seen that they like, would love to see photos. I may end up just sticking with the 21 inch wheels as I can't imagine putting a custom set of all black wheels on it. Would be waste since they'd look basically the same. But would be interested if anyone has seen something different that they DO actually like!??

 

[TLR1S]

EDIT: See follow-up post below (Post #14) after receiving replies to this thread).,...........

Looking for everyone's opinion now, on which wheels they think look better (photos below)?

My truck came with 20" all-terrains. I swapped them out for a set of custom wheels which I got a ton of compliments on when people saw them in person. Personally, I always thought I wanted black wheels. Thinking more on it, almost all black wheels tend to look nearly the same unless you look closely in bright light. The machine finished wheels started growing one me.

Not a fan of the stock 21" wheels with aero covers at all. But, acquired a set and had them powder coated in gloss black. What a difference. Still not sure if I want an all black wheel, but they certainly look better than the stock wheels in my opinion.

I originally wanted the off-road oriented styling. The custom wheels pushed the tires out some and gave it more of an aggressive stance.

Decided to throw on the 21's that had been sitting in the garage. Will leave them on for at least a couple of weeks to see how I feel about them. I can say, surprised at how much quieter they are than the 20" all-terrain tires. Plus, drove some more today and the range has absolutely improved by at least 0.3 wh / mi compared with the 20" wheels. So about 37 miles of total range added.

I bought a set of 5mm wheel spacers for these, to push them out closer to the edge of the fenders. Based on the number threads available on the wheel studs, probably could have gone up to 7 or 8 mm.

Let me know which you personally prefer?

The custom wheels are certainly more aggressive and unique. The black ones blend in. Sacrifice; lose range, but get more aggressive look. Or, gain range with a more subtle look?

Can see prior history of how I came up with the prior custom set here:
www.rivianforums.com/forum/threads/updated-new-custom-wheels-tires-20x9-18mm-offset-with-275-60-20-pirellis-33-no-rubbing.6685/

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