Guys and Gals-
I had emailed Year One about the possibility of them making an aluminum GN wheel. It seems that the idea was contemplated about :biggrin: I saw that they make the Monte SS wheels in 17" and they are $199. Thought that was very reasonable. At any rate it looks like it might be a possibility that they might make a 2 piece (custom offset). Here are the emails (modified a little):
Thanks Doug,
I am a member of Turbobuick and GNTTYPE. I have owned over 10 G bodies (2
Turbo Regals) and I love them all.
The N90 came about due to being used on not only MCSS but also the late 2nd gen
Camaro's. Therefore my ROI
footprint was very large.
I would probably not build the GN wheel without a commitment (presales) as I
cannot gamble that sum of money
on only the possibility of sales.
On the first link you sent what I read is very typical for this type of project.
Some folks want 15", some
17" and some 18". Some want 8" wide, some 9" and some 9.5".
I am currently only making one piece wheels, therefore only one diameter, one
width and one backspace could be
offered per tool (per order). I am investigating and product testing a two
piece wheel at this time. Meaning, I could
offer a 17" two piece (multiple backspace) wheel at some point and possibly sell
enough to make sense.
Someone stated on the message board they could not get a manufacturer to build
the wheel due to copyright
infringement. That is only true if the wheel was built exactly like the original
(steel, chrome, 15x7 and so on).
Any change at all releases you from copyright or licensing liability to GM.
You are welcome to post my comments, I only ask that you remove my phone numbers
before doing so.
I can be reached through the Year One main line for anyone who wants to talk.
David Gravley
Year One Inc
Product Development Mgr
YearOne, Inc.
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-----Original Message-----
Sent: Monday, December 12, 2011 2:13 PM
To: David Gravley
Subject: RE: Buick GN Wheels
David-
What I can do for now is give you some links to the Turbobuick site. Hopefully
that will give you an idea of the popularity of the rim and some insight into
the owners. There was someone that was going to have them done larger (17"-18")
in aluminum but that seemed to fizzle out. Here is that link:
http://www.turbobuick.com/forums/brakes-suspensions-tires-wheels/275444-aluminum
-reproduction-gn-wheels.html
then there is a wheel that looks close to the GN wheel that Budnik is doing:
http://www.turbobuick.com/forums/brakes-suspensions-tires-wheels/320013-first-ev
er-alum-gn-rims-pics.html
Hope you have a lot of time to read them
The wheels definately get people's
attention. I do understand that you are a business and when I saw the Monte SS
ones for $200/each I thought that was reasonable. The Budnik ones are $$$$$, but
are fully customizeable. My personal opinion is that MOST TurboBuick guys are
very picky and borderline cheap. If you produce a 17-18" aluminum wheel for a
very reasonable price, I don't see having a problem selling them. How many, I
have no idea. They would have to be close to 100% replicas however. Alot of
regular regals like putting the GN rims on their cars too. The stock rim is 29
lbs and 15"x7". If you can, look over the links and let me know if I could do
anything. Even just posting our emails would lead to many many questions that I
couldn't answer at this time.
It looks like there were ALOT more Monte SS's made compared to GN's, but to give
you my honest opinion, I never did really like the SS rims (and I owned 1 too).
The GN ones seem a lot more desireable to have. But if I had a stock SS I
probably would buy them. Again though, it is your business and you know better
than I do.
Thank You_Doug
--- David Gravley <davidg@yearone.com> wrote:
> Hello,
> We have considered making the GN wheel in a replica 17", however I
> am not sure there is enough demand to satisfy manufacturing cost.
>
> In order to build this wheel and recover the cost of a mold I need to sell a
minimum of 400 wheels.
> If 100 sets can be sold then I would consider moving forward on this wheel.
>
> How can you help?
>
> David Gravley
> Year One Inc
> Product Development Mgr
>> YearOne, Inc.
>
>
> Find us on Facebook!
> Follow along for new product updates and exclusive offers:
> Welcome to Facebook - Log In, Sign Up or Learn More
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Marty Thomas
> Sent: Monday, December 12, 2011 10:47 AM
> To: David Gravley
> Subject: FW: Buick GN Wheels
>
>
> David
>
> Would you care to address this? If not let me know.
>
> Thanks
> Marty
> X5495
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
>> Monday, December 12, 2011 12:39 AM Posted To: Email-Tech Support
> Conversation: Buick GN Wheels
> Subject: Buick GN Wheels
>
> Hello, noticed that you make the Monte SS wheels in 17" and you are also
making the snowflake wheels in larger sizes.
> Was wondering what it would take to make the GN wheels in 17-18", or
> if that is even possible. I know there is a lot of interest on
> Turbobuick.com for them. Thank You. _Doug
I had emailed Year One about the possibility of them making an aluminum GN wheel. It seems that the idea was contemplated about :biggrin: I saw that they make the Monte SS wheels in 17" and they are $199. Thought that was very reasonable. At any rate it looks like it might be a possibility that they might make a 2 piece (custom offset). Here are the emails (modified a little):
Thanks Doug,
I am a member of Turbobuick and GNTTYPE. I have owned over 10 G bodies (2
Turbo Regals) and I love them all.
The N90 came about due to being used on not only MCSS but also the late 2nd gen
Camaro's. Therefore my ROI
footprint was very large.
I would probably not build the GN wheel without a commitment (presales) as I
cannot gamble that sum of money
on only the possibility of sales.
On the first link you sent what I read is very typical for this type of project.
Some folks want 15", some
17" and some 18". Some want 8" wide, some 9" and some 9.5".
I am currently only making one piece wheels, therefore only one diameter, one
width and one backspace could be
offered per tool (per order). I am investigating and product testing a two
piece wheel at this time. Meaning, I could
offer a 17" two piece (multiple backspace) wheel at some point and possibly sell
enough to make sense.
Someone stated on the message board they could not get a manufacturer to build
the wheel due to copyright
infringement. That is only true if the wheel was built exactly like the original
(steel, chrome, 15x7 and so on).
Any change at all releases you from copyright or licensing liability to GM.
You are welcome to post my comments, I only ask that you remove my phone numbers
before doing so.
I can be reached through the Year One main line for anyone who wants to talk.
David Gravley
Year One Inc
Product Development Mgr
YearOne, Inc.
Find us on Facebook!
Follow along for new product updates and exclusive offers:
Welcome to Facebook - Log In, Sign Up or Learn More
-----Original Message-----
Sent: Monday, December 12, 2011 2:13 PM
To: David Gravley
Subject: RE: Buick GN Wheels
David-
What I can do for now is give you some links to the Turbobuick site. Hopefully
that will give you an idea of the popularity of the rim and some insight into
the owners. There was someone that was going to have them done larger (17"-18")
in aluminum but that seemed to fizzle out. Here is that link:
http://www.turbobuick.com/forums/brakes-suspensions-tires-wheels/275444-aluminum
-reproduction-gn-wheels.html
then there is a wheel that looks close to the GN wheel that Budnik is doing:
http://www.turbobuick.com/forums/brakes-suspensions-tires-wheels/320013-first-ev
er-alum-gn-rims-pics.html
Hope you have a lot of time to read them
The wheels definately get people's attention. I do understand that you are a business and when I saw the Monte SS
ones for $200/each I thought that was reasonable. The Budnik ones are $$$$$, but
are fully customizeable. My personal opinion is that MOST TurboBuick guys are
very picky and borderline cheap. If you produce a 17-18" aluminum wheel for a
very reasonable price, I don't see having a problem selling them. How many, I
have no idea. They would have to be close to 100% replicas however. Alot of
regular regals like putting the GN rims on their cars too. The stock rim is 29
lbs and 15"x7". If you can, look over the links and let me know if I could do
anything. Even just posting our emails would lead to many many questions that I
couldn't answer at this time.
It looks like there were ALOT more Monte SS's made compared to GN's, but to give
you my honest opinion, I never did really like the SS rims (and I owned 1 too).
The GN ones seem a lot more desireable to have. But if I had a stock SS I
probably would buy them. Again though, it is your business and you know better
than I do.
Thank You_Doug
--- David Gravley <davidg@yearone.com> wrote:
> Hello,
> We have considered making the GN wheel in a replica 17", however I
> am not sure there is enough demand to satisfy manufacturing cost.
>
> In order to build this wheel and recover the cost of a mold I need to sell a
minimum of 400 wheels.
> If 100 sets can be sold then I would consider moving forward on this wheel.
>
> How can you help?
>
> David Gravley
> Year One Inc
> Product Development Mgr
>> YearOne, Inc.
>
>
> Find us on Facebook!
> Follow along for new product updates and exclusive offers:
> Welcome to Facebook - Log In, Sign Up or Learn More
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Marty Thomas
> Sent: Monday, December 12, 2011 10:47 AM
> To: David Gravley
> Subject: FW: Buick GN Wheels
>
>
> David
>
> Would you care to address this? If not let me know.
>
> Thanks
> Marty
> X5495
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
>> Monday, December 12, 2011 12:39 AM Posted To: Email-Tech Support
> Conversation: Buick GN Wheels
> Subject: Buick GN Wheels
>
> Hello, noticed that you make the Monte SS wheels in 17" and you are also
making the snowflake wheels in larger sizes.
> Was wondering what it would take to make the GN wheels in 17-18", or
> if that is even possible. I know there is a lot of interest on
> Turbobuick.com for them. Thank You. _Doug
