I have a black 2005 mazda 3 with stock rims. I either plan on powder coating them black or buying new rims. I was wondering if any one had a picture of a black mazda 3 with black rims so I can make sure if id like it or not. I was also wondering of a good place to buy rims. Thanks

 

Black car, black rims. A dime a dozen. My guess it's gonna look like blacko on black. Big surprise.
But assuming you don't find any pics on the forums, go to tirerack.com, plug in your car info, thentry on some wheels.

 

Do you think it would be better to powder coat or to buy new rims?

 

ive seen some 3's around here, with stock 17's, painted black, and they look pretty nice.
i'll post up a pic in a bit...

 

That is a very broad question (no pun intended.) It strongly depends on your needs vs. your wants and what rims you might replace the OEMs with.
Myself? I would go for some wheels that were lighter and stronger, especially lighter, than the OEMs. Reasons being: better handling; better mileage, though minimal; better braking.(edit: I can't believe I misspelled braking. [:@])In general you get better performance, as long as you chose the RIGHT wheel, and not just go for style.
Our wheels have a +52.5mm offset. These are hard to duplicate on the aftermarket. Few have an offset that comes close. Usually a +48 is the best you can do. Few offer a +50 or more in offset.
Center boring is also a concern. A wheel that fits, but who's center bore is too large may cause unwanterd vibrations. A universal plastic hubring (hub-ring) is often used, but a metal one is better.
Too low an offset (<+48,) and/or too heavy a wheel (20lbs+) will do more harm than good for all the reasons I stated above.

 

Oh, BTW: Powdercoating is a very good alternative to painting, but it does add weight.
It has also been suggested thatdoing that to your OEM wheels will void any warranty you may have or have purchased to protect yourself from wheel replacement or damage.
That said, here is my own photoshopped dream of powdercoating the stock 5-spokers.

 

Thanks for the advice

 

you can also check out wheelmax.com

 

Virgin,
Your Photoshop wheel looks great! I have been talking about powder coating mine gray for while now but I was going to do the whole wheel. I really like it w/ just the centers done. I think that would look great on my car and I found a place around here that’ll do the set for $200-$250. Glad I found that pic!
Virg’s old posts, still adding value!

 

There"s a color available from Eastwood Tools(?) that I was looking at then. IIRC, it was called New Iron. That was the color I was trying to emulate.
$200-$250/set of four is a good price!! I hope their work doesn"t reflect that. Do they have other work you can see, or do they offer a customer satisfaction guarantee?
And yeah, that is an old post.