SV6 Black Wheels on VF Calais

[Holden17]

No Valiants except for one of my great grandfathers who owned a '68 model
My father and grandfather were always Holden patriots and we still own all the family cars to this day.

Yes, the black SV6 wheels are a good balance with black and machined alloy. When we did the swap the other day I was surprised at how good they actually looked. The rear of the car moreso than the front. The Calais grille cries out for class and refinement but I'm sure it will get used to it. I was thinking of painting the lower grille and foglamp surrounds in Phantom Black to match the rear. Has anyone ever done this?

I don't see the difference between these on a Calais and putting HQ Monaro rally wheels on a standard HQ Kingswood/Premier to dress it up. My father did this to his HQ as did many in the day. This was also the case with the HK-T-G Monaro hubcaps.

My personal preference over the SV6 wheels be the standard Calais V 19" rims as they are the correct upgrade for the car.
If there was a way of improving the ride somehow then I would bite the bullet and put them on instead. Comfort has always been important since my first Kingswood. Love the ride and how the car soaks up the bumps. I'm 37 this year.... It looks like I'm the reverse and wanting a sporty look over the refinement

The rear window shade would look great on your Senator. It fills in the rear. Does it have the lip spoiler too? Any pics on the forum?

LSA on the Senator? I haven't heard that abbreviation? Is that suspension related?

Yes, I’ve also loved the black ed rims on our phantom SV6 Black Ed ute..for a standard rim I reckon it’s one of the best Holden efforts at this level. The black accenting makes them look entirely different to the equivalent all silver on the non black ed versions. I think they look great on your Calais too.

One of the biggest bonuses apart from looks is the ease with which you can get in and give them a thorough clean with each car wash. We had the ute opticoated on purchase two and a half years ago..included the wheel coating...not sure if that has helped but the black inner surfaces retain very little dust/dirt and are easy as to keep clean & shiny. Enjoy!

 

[VFCalais2017]

Hi everyone

I just wanted to thank everyone for their comments and feedback on this topic.
I came to the decision just over a week ago to change the standard Calais wheels to the SV6 Black Edition wheels.
I was fortunate to find four factory condition rims with factory Potenza tyres advertised on Gumtree. I drove to Gosford last weekend to collect them.
The rims are unmarked with no scratches, scuffs or gutter rash whatsoever. The tyres have only done around 14,000kms.

I'm much happier with the new rims as they have transformed the car!
The black stands out and breaks up the excessive silver that I had with the previous rims.
The biggest bonus is that these are so much easier to clean than the Calais rims and they even look great when the car is a bit dirty.

The new tyres are 45 series as compared with the standards which are 50 series. As the car sits higher than the SV6, there is a gap between the tyre and the wheel arch. The speedometer is out slightly; at 60km/h my GPS reads 57km/h. I'm not too fussed as I plan to swap the Potenza RE050's for the Turanza T001's shortly so that the car regains its softer ride. The Potenza is a great tyre though; surprisingly the steering feels lighter but the ride is firmer.

I posted another thread on here regarding the foglight/DRL units to see if SV6 Series 1 will also fit Calais. I think the matt black doesn't look right given that the wheels and grille are gloss. I might just paint the standard foglight surrounds and lower grille in gloss black, the same as the rear bumper. Also thinking of painting the bumper behind the number plate in gloss black too. Might try this with black vinyl first though just to be sure.

I was surprised to see the car turned a few heads this week and also received some comments in the traffic and at work.

It's not an SSV Redline admittedly but we all have our different tastes
The main thing for me is that it's personalised, unique and I'm yet to see another one like it!

Thinking of personalising the badging now... CalaisME, Calais BlackEdition or SME6

 

[Philmecrackun]

Looks good, how the rear sunshade, it keep the sun off those in the back and the tops of the seats? My VZ Calais, the tops of the rear leather seats went hard and stitching tore apart, but someone else had it for 9 years before me, the leather rejuvenation treatments did nothing as rock hard. I bought the lip spoiler last week ($150 trade, I told what you paid, he said must have bought it awhile ago ;-) ) just got to put it on.

 

[VFCalais2017]

Looks good, how the rear sunshade, it keep the sun off those in the back and the tops of the seats? My VZ Calais, the tops of the rear leather seats went hard and stitching tore apart, but someone else had it for 9 years before me, the leather rejuvenation treatments did nothing as rock hard. I bought the lip spoiler last week ($150 trade, I told what you paid, he said must have bought it awhile ago ;-) ) just got to put it on.

Thanks Phil,
The rear sunshade gives vertical protection to the seats and passengers although my car is rarely out in the sun so I haven't been able to test it that well. I think it just looks great as an accessory anyway For full protection, I added the venetians shades in black. When I bought the car, I added the rear sunshade package (side and rear windows) if my wife and I have children. The sides are easy to fit and remove but the rear is two piece and tricky. The venetians are permanent and protect not only the passengers but the trim too.

Before I bought my VX, I looked at a VZ Calais with leather interior. The car had done only 40,000 kms but the rear seat stitching was perished in places, the same as you have described. I couldn't believe it! In my opinion, GM-H have never focused on longevity with interior trim in recent years. The foam inside the velour seats in my VX Calais has perished which now makes the seats appear as though the trims have stretched. Even the front seats in my new VF Calais are stretching after only 20,000 kms. Yet the vinyl and cloth seats in all of my HG's are as good as the day they came from the factory. You got value in a car back then - if you looked after it, then it was built to last!

Great to hear that you got the lip spoiler! They look great and are easy to fit with NO HOLES
Sorry, I gave you the wrong price last message. That's what I paid for the chrome mirror covers. I paid $130 for the spoiler and that was only two or three weeks ago. Still beats the eBay price of $165 They are easy to install. It comes with a paper template that you need to cut out and tape down on each side of the boot lid. Prepsol the area to be applied and than peel away the tape and press down. You'll need someone to assist to hold it in position while you pull the tape.

Your Calais looks nice in white by the way I tried to buy the same but the dealer wouldn't match my offer. Limited choice too when I bought mine.

Things happen for a reason though - I'm happy with my car, especially with the little dress ups I've done to it recently.

Cheers