Recently purchased a 97 C2 coupe that came from the factory with 18" "Technology" wheels. I'd call them Turbo Twists, and am wondering how to tell if they are of the solid or hollow variety.

 

I thought the valve stems on hollow spokes were made of metal while the stems on turbo look wheels were rubber

 

Pull the wheel and take a look at the back of the spokes. If they look "solid", they're hollow. If parts of the spokes look like they are machined out, they're solid.

 

If the inside of the spoke is flat its a hollow, and if you can feel a hollow then they are solid, as well as hal m's comments.
The valves are all metal and sit flush with the rim.

 

You can also also tell by the part number printed on the back side of the spoke. The hollow spokes are 993.362.140.00.

mike

 

See this LINK

 

There are similar grooves on the back of the 17" cups. Royal PITA to clean. Can't even get a tootbrush in those grooves, and I refuse to take a Q-Tip to the back of my wheels...It's not like I'm Andreas or anything!

 

Thanks for the link. I'm not in ATL so can't check the car now, but having felt the inside of the wheels before I'm pretty sure I have hollow spokes. Out of curiosity, when and why did the factory fit hollow and/or solid spoke wheels? Were they dependent on model year? Did one cost more than another as an option? Am I correct in assuming that the hollow spokes would be more desirable due to weight savings?

 

The term "Technology" means hollow spoke (vs the regular "turbo twist"). The factory had them as an option on C2's. Your car is likely well-optioned if the original owner went to the expense of these wheels. Yes, they are much lighter- a couple of pounds on the 8" and almost 3 lbs on the 10", IIRC.

-Jim

 

Thanks for the explanation. My car also had the factory rear seat delete, which I've heard is fairly rare. The dealer pulled the original sticker up (they had sold the car new) and the "Technology" wheels were indeed expensive, maybe 3 grand if I'm not mistaken.

 

I resemble that!

Andreas

 

He hasn't told you about dismantling his dashboard to Armor-All the inside of the HVAC ducts...not sure how PETA would feel about doing that to gerbils but...nevermind...

 

The original owner seems like he was choosey. Kinda surprised that he didn't get the "S", unless he figured that the NB was more like the RS.

Now I'm kinda curious- what other options is your car equipped with? Also, are you saying that the dealer who originally sold the car can pull up a replica window sticker or similar document? I'd love to get my hands on something like that and I know who the originating dealer was....

-Jim

 

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Andreas

 

As long as we're doing a good-natured pile-on, I see a new avatar screen-grab coming, courtesy of the late, great Phil Hartman...

http://www.jibjab.com/view/141756

click "View It!"