Winter Tire & Wheel Options, Opinions Wanted

[Kristof]

well im confused because i just bought firestone winterforce tires for my wifes pilot after everyone reccomended them to me. has that opion changed?

 

[MikeD]

well im confused because i just bought firestone winterforce tires for my wifes pilot after everyone reccomended them to me. has that opion changed?

No, you made a great choice...its just easy to go and theoretically spend another member's cash like Dave said. Winterforce tires are a great deal for the money and they should last you a few winters...but its not the absolute best tire available.

 

[i-wagon]

I <3 my winterforces....except for the dry road handling. haven't driven in snow yet, but I can't get my car sideways on our dirt track like I could with continental conti-extreme contacts

i thought the conti's were pretty darn good for an all season, they just didn't last long, so a good option for keeping speed rating, mine were about $95 a piece at tire warehouse

 

[Iboc_C64]

Well I picked up a set of tires and Sport Edition 16" rims from DougM12. The rims are mint, I am reselling the tires, so essentially I got the rims for $175 + $20 for gas to pick em up. It was a long drive from F-Town to Ellsworth and back after dark though. I got Blizzak WS-60s comming in to VIP but they got backordered. I ordered the damn things a week ago. Anyone else have any Idea where I can get a set of Blizzak's that will price match Tire Rack? I am also looking for a deal on Rally Armor flaps, but I don't expect to find one. Anyone have any suggestions?

 

[Nate]

you wont find any deals on Rally Armor flaps. They dont put them on sale.

Check with subiemods (our new vendor. They might be able to get you some out with free shipping or something. that's about the best you will do.

Dont know about the tires. Ive always had decent luck with Tire Warehouse. Dont know if they do Blizzaks though. Might get you into something good for less money though.

 

[Iboc_C64]

Yeah, I am pretty dead set on the blizzaks. I am willing to save money on everything else but hands down I wan't blizzaks. Don't get me wrong though, I want to pay as little as possible for a new set of them.

 

[Iboc_C64]

Ok, I got my Blizzak's in and mounted to the Sport Edition 16" rims. They look pretty bada$$. I will probably be swapping them on to the car tonight. I will post pics as soon as they are available. Next step, order up some RA UR flaps!!! Hopefully I can manage this later this week.

 

[Iboc_C64]

Ok guys, took my a while. I managed to get the wheels on the car this past Saturday. Took it for almost a 200mile drive to break em in, even got my car dirty on the Byron Rd in Weld, also known as T6. These tires and rims are great. Highly recommended if your looking for a winter wheel setup.

 

[Nate]

^^^^ Pics or its not true.

 

[MikeD]

Rally Armor flaps are great..I just have the basics and they work really well and add that off-road/rally look. However, I know that i-wagon (Matt) can make you some flaps if you're looking to save a little cash after you just bought the snows and the rims and with Christmas on our doorstep. I saw the ones he made for his car and they look really nice...

 

[gakosaurusrex]

its true i see't it! they look good

 

[Iboc_C64]

^^^^ Pics or its not true.

I am going home sick right now, feel crappy. I will try to post them later today.

 

[MikeD]

Ahh man, that sucks. Kill the bug before Wednesday!!

 

[Iboc_C64]

Ok I got pics. I had before and after of the car sitting in 1 place in the same lighting and pics of me putting them on but I used my Dad's camera and did not download them before he went to a family reunion yesterday and he erased them all!

I guess that's alright though, you can see pics of what it looked like before with stock wheels in my profile. I took some fresh pics 5 minutes ago. So, by popular demand, here are the pics.

 

[Iboc_C64]

Here is what it looked like before. Sorry I don't have any before and after pics from install day. I wish I had the pics from when I got back yesterday morning. I took the car down the Byron Rd. (T6). It was covered up one side and down the other with dirt & dust & mud rooster tails. It kinda looked like a graphic, ha ha ha. I gotta get some RA flaps. The undercarriage wash didn't work at the car wash yesterday either so I got gyped, and the underside is still dirty as well as the inside of the wheel wells. Hell with it though, I will need to wash it again after Wednesday!

 

[4WRXter]

Those 5 spokes look awesome!!!

 

[Iboc_C64]

I originally wanted some Kazera KZ-X I think they call them, but I got these 4 F7s for $175!!! I got em from DougM12. They were very low miles and in damn near perfect shape. I could not pass them up even if they looked dumb, but as you can see, they work out pretty good! The nice thing is, if one is damaged I can replace it for around $100 new from Tire Rack.

 

[Iboc_C64]

Well, I wasn't expecting to need my contingency plan so fast but here I am. I warped one of these rims in less than a week. Guess I need to be more careful. Anyway my problem is now this, Tire Rack is out of stock for the season. I will need either a new rim or a rim repair within the next month or two. I know it would be rare, but does anyone have one or more of these Rims that they wish to part with? A more likely solution (but more expensive) would be rim repair. Does anyone want to recommend someone in maine that can do repair? I have heard of someone in Gorham. I knew I should have bought steel, oh well live and learn

.

 

[Nigel Prodrive]

the Sport Edition wheels are made of fairly soft alloy, yours is not the first to get tacoed faster than an owner thought was "proper"

what pressure you running in the blizzaks? you may want to air em up a bit to help protect wheels bettAr, esp if you are headed out for some backroads fun. check tire sidewall to see max recommended pressure, and go with that for starters

 

[Iboc_C64]

Thanks Nigel, will do. I thought about that but did not do anything about it because I did not want the tire tread centers to wear faster than the edges. I assumed the issue was soft metal along with the 5 spoke design, oh and the Nut behind the steering wheel, ha ha ha. My fault anyway, that's the price of having fun I suppose.