FN f(x) Pro Wheels – Custom Coating

barryhiram · 2016-06-26T02:14:55+00:00

I’ve been contemplating replacing my factory SR5 wheels for the last 4 years, but wasn’t able to find a rim that I truly liked. So many brands, so many styles to choose from, I keep checking each year to see if any new designs had been released, but nothing tickled my fancy. Then add color choices and finishes, chrome, PVD, black, gray, silver, polished aluminum, and bronze to name a few. I also live in the North East and have to dealer with snow and road salt, so that needed to be considered too. I’ve searched this forum endlessly for different combinations, but again, not able to find anything [B[that I liked. I’m not bashing anyone here[/B], there are lots of awesome looking trucks here, my hats off to all of you! In keeping with my unofficial (and lightly documented) build theme, and intended use (mail crawler), I wanted something to blend/accent Blizzard Pearl White and chrome trim………….yes, I SAID CHROME! Haters start hating………………….. Requirements: Wanted to stay with 17” rim, minimum 7.5” width since I’m running 285’s. It only makes sense that if I were to replace factory wheels, they should be wider otherwise why bother. Material: My choice would be aluminum with hub centric hub. Color/Finish: Personally not a fan of black wheels, seems like it’s the most popular choice nowadays. Chrome, but like mentioned above corrosion would be an issue. But I really like chrome wheels, ugh. Silver, Gray, Bronze just don’t do it for me. Decisions, decisions, what to do? In 2012 flying fuzz posted a picture of the new TRD Pro wheel http://www.toyota-4runner.org/5th-gen-t4rs/121417-info-these-trd-wheels.html , wow did they looked sweet! Followed thread ever since. Fast forward, FNW released their Pro version (8” wide), loved the look, but again not crazy with color selection. Fast forward again, after much consideration since I really like these wheels, decided to give FNW a call (since they don’t list Pro’s on their website https://www.fnwheels.com/). Spoke to Dustin who explain the reason wheels aren’t listed on their site is they can’t keep them in-stock. We discussed available finishes and he emailed me pictures of each. I then inquired if a chrome finish was available, he advised against chrome plating, but had a local company that could coat them with a chrome like finish called “PVD”………………… “Physical vapor deposition (PVD) describes a variety of vacuum deposition methods which can be used to produce thin films. PVD uses physical process (such as heating or sputtering) to produce a vapor of material, which is then deposited on the object which requires coating.” Perfect, this is exactly what I’ve been looking for! He stated it wouldn’t be cheap, but would contact the coater for a quote……..sweet! Couple of days pass, then received a call from Dustin with quote. He was correct it wasn’t going to be cheap, but still within my budget. Basic process would take 5-7 days to complete because wheels had to be stripped of factory finish then coated with PVD. One problem though, wheel center caps could not be coated because they were plastic and would melt during coating process. We discussed all options possible, he also provided a part number of a factory TRD center cap that might fit the bill (PTR18-35092). But to me it wasn’t a deal breaker, I could always come up with something. After considering all my options decided to place order, here are the specs; FN Wheels ƒ(x) Pro Diameter: 17" Width: 8" Offset: 0mm Backspacing: 4.5" Load rating: 955KG (2,100lbs+) Weight: 23.88lbs (approximate) Certification: JWL-T, VIA, SAE J-2530, DOT approved Colors: Matte gunmetal, dark high-gloss gunmetal, matte black and matte bronze Toyota specifics: 106mm hub centric for Toyota hubs, lug holes drilled for 12mm Toyota wheel studs for a snug fit on all 6x139.7 Toyota hubs. Dustin keep me apprised of status all along the way, on the seventh day he was contacted be the coater stating that the wheels did not pass their quality control process and would have to be redone. At that point I couldn’t believe my ears when Dustin called me with the bad news, he offered to refund my money in full! What company does that anymore? Outstanding customer service! Coater completes redo a week later, they pickup wheels, upon inspection, Dustin notices one wheel has a drip on back side of rim and small imperfection on face of one wheel. They test fit three other rims on one of their own Toyota’s to ensure they fit, one didn’t. Dustin again called with bad news, and again offered me a full refund. Who does that? What excellent customer service! Although disappointed, I expressed my appreciation of his attention to detail and quality control! Yesterday, received good news from Dustin, wheels are done and shipping today!!!!!!!!!!!! Expected delivery is this coming Friday by my best friend Mr. FedEx! Dustin, thank you very much for your outstanding service! I highly recommend FNW to anyone! More to come on plans for center caps............. can you say FUTURECHROME | THE BEST SPRAY CHROME