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Porsche 928: Customizing Your Rims

Change the look of your Porsche 928 by customizing your rims. There are simple ways to give your ride a face lift that won't break the bank.

By William Henderson - March 27, 2015

This article applies to the Porsche 928 (1979-1995).

There are three primary ways of modifying your rims. You can replace your OEM lug nuts with bigger, smaller, and/or colorful aftermarket lug nuts, paint your rims, or powder coat them. Each modification has its pluses and minuses. Replacing your lug nuts is the least expensive upgrade, while powder coating your rims is the most expensive. Even a novice DIY'er can replace lug nuts and paint rims, but applying a powder coat is beyond the skill of even most experienced DIY'ers.

Lug Nuts

DIY Cost – $25 - $45 for a full set

Professional Cost – Parts plus labor, so expect to pay between $80 and $100. A drawback: you may not have as many options paying someone to do it.

Skill Level – Easy. All you need is a lug nut wrench and the replacement lug nuts.

Help customize your ride's wheels with a new set of lug nuts. There are tons to choose from in a number of sizes, shapes, and colors. Replacing your OEM lug nuts won't cost much. When shopping around for new lug nuts, keep in mind that steel is more durable than aluminum, but it's also heavier. Titanium lug nuts are pricey and can set you back more than $400 for a set. You can find lug nuts that coordinate with the color of your ride and complement it. Of course, you can always paint your OEM lug nuts, but there's really no reason to do that when you are likely to find lug nuts in the color you want at an affordable price. This is probably one of the easiest and inexpensive mods you can do to your 928, but even this simple change is enough to give your car a face lift.

Painting

DIY Cost – $5 - $9 for a can of spray paint

Professional Cost – $40 - $60 per rim

Skill Level – Easy, but plan to spend 1 -2 hours painting your rims and letting them dry. You won't be able to re-install them (if you take them off to paint them) until they are fully dry.

Painting your rims is an easy way to personalize your ride, plus it helps hide any scuff marks or dings that you might have on your rims. You can find special spray paint for rims at your local auto parts store, and some stores also stock Plasti Dip, which is a special paint that peels off. Using this paint means you easily can "go stock" or remove it and paint your rims a different color. Keep some paint on hand after you're done. Paint isn't going to prevent the rims from getting dinged in the future, so having paint on hand means you can touch up your rims when necessary. You should remove each rim to paint it; if you opt to paint it without removing it, then cover the tire with painter's tape to help prevent it from getting painted as well.

Powder Coating

DIY Cost – N/A

Professional Cost – $75 - $150 per rim

Skill Level – Difficult. You likely don't have the tools you need to powder coat your rims, and the cost of buying the tools is more expensive than simply paying someone to do it for you.

Powder coating your rims is expensive; however, it is also the most durable way to upgrade them. Each rim is covered with a coat of powder and then baked at around 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 15-20 minutes. The heat bakes the powder coat into the rim. This powder coat is aesthetically pleasing and helps protect against rust and damage. A powder coat is fade, scratch, and chip-resistant, and can be applied in a gloss, satin, flat, high gloss, metallic, clear, or glitter finish. Color powder coats last longer than simply painting your rims. However, this modification is far more expensive.

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