Wheels and Tires

[MCOjerry]

I went in for service today, and they told me that by next time, I'd probably need tires. They told me I had 5/32 of tread left on the front and 4/32 on the rear.

Question number one: Does this sound correct, will I need new tires in 5K more miles? I have 32K on them now. With all the rain and oily roads we have here in FL, I don't want the tread to get too low, but I also don't want to buy tires before I have to.

This leads me into many more questions on wheels and tires. I know people have covered this before, but please remember that I don't know a lot about cars...other than I have to put gas in it and take it in for service every 5K

Anyway, I was thinking, if I have to buy tires...maybe I'd treat myself to an upgrade and get some 18" wheels and tires. It's one of the few things I can do, and easily reverse when I turn the car back in (lease), especially if I leave enough tread on the old tires to just have them put back on!

So...can everyone chime in on some wheel brads that are good and what brands to STAY AWAY from? I know, from hearing you guys talk, of some of the brands that are popular, but I'd really like to know the bad ones too.

I was searcing on the Tire Kingdom site (are they any good for service?) and found these. They are OZ Sardegna wheels. I think they are a bit unusual, and sort of like them. What do you think?



They are $309 and the site lets you see them on your car, they even have an 06 covert to see...unfortunately, I can't figure out how to see them on any other color car than black, I'm Lunar Mist. Also can't post them on the car because it only let's you save the pic in .pdf, and I don't know how to host a .pdf to show in the post.

I'd really like to hear some opinions, and am willing to take help from anyone who's willing to give it.

Will 18" wheels look OK? I'm not going to lower my car, so that's out.

Please all...speak up!

Thanks!


EDIT: Here's the link to the page with the Solara on it...just pick the OZ Sardegna wheels and tell me what you think.

[Biggi_e]

not a big fan of your wheels. choosing wheels makes the look of your car also so keep looking to make sure its what you want. as for tire thread i would get them asap if your conditions are rail and oil.

[MCOjerry]

^I'm not set on these...Just thought they were interesting. They seemed to look good on the black Solara. Did you use the link to see them on the car?

Before I get too into looking, though, I want to know the good brands and the ones to stay away from. THAT will help me decide.

[Biggi_e]

what is your price range? size wheel? finish on the wheel? any certain style your interested in?

[MCOjerry]

See, that's the problem. I don't know.

I know I DO NOT like shiny sparkly wheels. I like the finish that's on the OE wheels, and that range.

I wanted to go up to 18", I thought they'd look a bit beefier on the car. As far as style goes...I have to seem them on the car. That's why I liked that site, because I could get some idea of what they'd look like on my car.

Standalone pics of wheels don't do anything for me, because I can't visualize them on MY car. On that note, if you know of any other sites that have the same feature, and have a better selection of wheels, that'd be great.

Price, well...let's just say that that's not a problem...but I certainly don't want to dump $2k on wheels (I still have to get tires), it's just not really worth it to spend a ton...to me.

I could justify perhaps $1200 or $1300 plus the tires, give or take...but if I fell in love with something else, the money isn't really a problem.

[SolaraBlue]

oz is a great brand however i dont like those ones... yuck!

if you dont lower your car when upgrading to larger wheels its going to raise your car, giving it a "4x4" look... its up to you if you care or not.

check out www.tires.com
www.tirerack.com
both great sites. do a google search for "wheels and tires" and youll find lots more....

wheels to check out:
oz
momo
volk
rays
g-games
5zigen
falken
enkei (their higher end line)
lexion
piaa
racing hart
axis
hre
and many many more.

wheels to avoid:
konig
r1
hot wheels
excel
sport max
primax
nex-o
katana
drag
and MANY MANY MORE!

now, i say avoid because they either look like sh!t and/or rip off other designs from higher end wheel lines or theyre made with soft less durrable metals, which may bend or crack. however, you, living in FL, may or may not worry about that.

when buying rims you can really count on the "get what you pay for" theory, so keep that in mind when looking.

[MCOjerry]

Thanks for that list SolaraBlue. That will help me a lot.

Is there anyone here who has a Gen2 on 18" wheels that's not lowered? Your comment concerns me, but I'd like to see what it would look like.

I'm not sure, but I think the Gen2 comes with 17", correct?

[crispone]

^^^ Overall... some good advice, I think...

With respect to DROPPING or NOT-DROPPING, that is entirely up to you... especially being a lease and all. Your car will NOT necessarily sit ANY higher on 18" rims, IF the sidewall height (tire PROFILE) is selected to MATCH the overall diameter you are now. (SMALL variance here is NOT a big problem... might effect speedo and odometer a couple/few percent, if done in moderation...)

SLIGHTLY wider/taller profiles CAN provide better RIDE in many cases... but not always the TIGHTEST lateral load holding ability. (Not necessarily a "NEED" unless you drive pretty aggressively... and CORNER alot.)

To be a TALLER profile, some prefer 17"rims... such as myself. (Great ride... more "forgiving" with the ROUGH roads I sometimes travel...) But there are good arguments on BOTH sides of the 17's, 18's, or LARGER argument.

MOST IMPORTANT!!!

I'd get NEW tires by the SPECIFIED mileage... (SOONER if it were ME...)

WORN, "TIRED" tires... (pardon the PUN!), are just ASKING for diminished GRIP, compromised HANDLING, reduced BRAKING ABILITY, LESSENED ability to DISPLACE WATER, or OTHER degradations in performance on the PROVERBIAL "WHERE THE RUBBER MEETS THE ROAD" taken to a LITERAL level of relevance point...


So long as you don't wait TOO LONG to get good rubber on your car... the OTHER choices you make are not so critical... mostly PREFERENCE intensive decisions.

May the SELECTION "FORCE" be WITH YOU!


(NOTE: I HIGHLY recommend choosing GOOD TIRES over any other decision you end up making. If MONEY is not the MOST CRITICAL factor, by all means, buy yourself some premium performance all-weather (RAIN, in the case of FL...) or TOURING tires for YOUR particular "style".

(Bang for buck... actually more BUCKISH than I'd like... I am pretty impressed with the POTENZA series in the upper end... and I've had good luck with BFG in the past... but I MIGHT be trying some YOKOHAMA's or something NEW to me on my Supra project... mainly because of MONEY!!! ...and a little curiosity...)

Good luck,

-crisp

[MCOjerry]

Thanks Chris. I could stick with 17" tires...it's not really a big deal...I'm just playng around with some ideas.

The Potenza tires you are speaking of...are they really good?

Is there a good site that you know of that will give me some good info on the different tire brands...not a site with a hard sell, but a good informational site?

[MCOjerry]

So, what does anoyone think of these? The color says hyper black...anyone know what they look like in person, and would they be OK on LMM?

They really don't look black...but who knows from a picture?

[crispone]

^^^ I believe those are ENKEI rims? They are "good" rims. (I like the look of those...)

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/surveyres ... type=UHPAS

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/surveyresults/index.jsp


I like those links for tire comparo info...


Tires are CRITICAL to your enTIRE car experience.



heh heh heh...


-crisp

[crispone]

...thought of a good crispanalogy:


"Putting cheap or poor tires on your car is like running the BOSTON MARATHON in shoes that you bought at WALMART."


-crisp

[SolaraBlue]

^^^ lol crisp has a point..... i think... :p
tires really are the best thing you can do for your car. whether it be for safety or performance. dont skimp out.

as for the enkeis, i think they look pretty good... not really my style, but that doesnt matter.
hyper black wheels will look great with your color car (imo)
and youre right, hyper black isnt really black... think of it as dark silver...

[MCOjerry]

Yes, they are Enkei. I just don't know what "hyper black" REALLY looks like. If they are TOO dark, they will not look good on a LMM, but if they are somewhat graphite in appearance, they might.

So...if I buy wheels and tires online, how do I get them put on? Will places put them on if you didn't buy them from their store?

I'm having a hard time finding a place (online) in Orlando that sells a good variety of tires. Most of the places I see online seem to just have cheap stuff.

I hate car stuff...

[MCOjerry]

^^^ lol crisp has a point..... i think... :p
tires really are the best thing you can do for your car. whether it be for safety or performance. dont skimp out.

as for the enkeis, i think they look pretty good... not really my style, but that doesnt matter.
hyper black wheels will look great with your color car (imo)
and youre right, hyper black isnt really black... think of it as dark silver...

Hmm...does sound like it will look good with the LMM. I guess I have to frive around to see if I can find someplace that has them, or at least some model in that finish to see 'em for real.

I would prob need to see them for real before buying anyway...pictures really don't do much justice...especially when they are touched up to make 'em look their best