Did it again.. More new wheels and tires on the wa

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Well, as some of you may have read, I just ordered a new set of Enkei G5 wheels and Conti ExtremeContact DW summer tires for the Eclipse.

As much as I love the cars, and working on them, and maintaining them (everything I have is overly maintained, I know that goes against the "penny pinchers" on BITOG, always trying to get the best value and performance/protection) and I enjoy upgrades and things of that nature.

Today I was cleaning out the misses 08 Kia Spectra sedan, and as much as it is not my type of car, I love this little thing. It has plenty of room inside, not a powerhouse but has enough power to drive everyday, and it rides very nice for such a small car. Smooth and quiet. Then you add the nice little features like 4wheel independent suspension, and disc breaks at all four corners, and you get something that you don't generally see in smaller inexpensive vehicles.

The biggest complaint I have is the lack of fun or cornering ability this car has, or actually doesn't have. The tires on it are 195/60-15 Dunlop Signatures, which ride nice and get decent a/s traction and grip, I just had to do something to it to make spirited driving more fun and obtainable. I've looked around at the aftermarket for this car since we purchased it, and there are some companies who make lowering springs, and there are some hard to find upgrades such as sway bars etc, and KYB struts (which who really knows if the GR-2s really give you 10-20% more damping than the originals) Then I looked at the fact that the car sits very low as it is, and that it is a female driven car, and this female is not one who enjoys lowered, rough, bouncy riding vehicles.

So, after all of that typing and non-required information, I'll get to my point.

I just ordered a new set of wheels and tires to improve on the handling of the vehicle, and to give it a much needed sprucing of the styling.

I went with Focal F10 17x7 wheels, on Michelin Pilot Exalto PE2 205/45-17 tires. For some reason, TireRack recommends a 215/40-17 when upsizing to 17" wheels on this car. It would be nice to have the little extra section width, but the 205/45's are nearly identical to the OE diameter, where the 215/40's are aprox 1/2" less diameter. Doesn't sound like much, but it is enough to at hwy speeds to throw the speedo off.

I believe that the 17" wheels, along with a very good set of tires will make a night and day difference with this little car. The wheels are of course my style (I always seem to have something similar. By Enkei G5 and the ASA AR1's which they replaced are both similar style wheels), and out of all the wheels we looked at, she actually likes these the best also. Even without my influence.

The Michelin's are their older High Performance Summer tires, which have always received rave reviews. One of the main reasons I chose these over some of the other tires is because of the price. They are on closeout now since Michelin has a new replacement tire available, and it is hard to pass up such a premier tire for $89 each. I could have bought some Kumho's or Hankook's for about the same price, but the Koren low price performance tires are lacking when compared to the higher priced badges. Also, it seems just about every inexpensive performance tire is directional, and I'd prefer the asymmetrical tread design because they seem to wear much better.

All in all, I'm really happy with the purchase. Can't wait for them to arrive and put some spark into the little Kia. The wheels are nice and low weight also coming in at 19.6 lbs, and the tires weigh in at 20lbs, which makes for a nice 40lb package at each corner. In comparison, the OE Steel wheels and tires weigh aprox 39lbs, so it was important not to add too much weight.

Pictures to come once they arrive and I install them, but here are the website photos of the new setup. Sorry for the long winded message, but I'd like to hear peoples thoughts.

Oh yeah, forgot to mention the $70 rebate card from Michelin. This makes it an almost buy 3 get one free deal.

Focal F10 17x7
focalF10.jpg


http://www.ultrawheel.com/wheel_detail.cfm?brand=5&id=335

http://www.tirerack.com/wheels/WheelCloseUpServlet?target=runWheelSearch&initialPartNumber=1777703AMF&wheelMake=Focal&wheelModel=F10&wheelFinish=Machined+w%2FAnthracite+Accent&showRear=no&autoMake=Kia&autoModel=Spectra+Sedan&autoYear=2008&autoModClar=EX&filterFinish=All&filterSize=17&filterBrand=All&filterSpecial=false&filterNew=All&filterWeight=All&sort=Price

Michelin Pilot Exalto PE2
exaltoPE2.jpg


http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?...romCompare1=yes
 
Wheels and tires are. Again, great to deal with Tire Rack. Everything looks great, fits great. The Michelins ride very quiet and smooth, and have great road mannerisms. They corner great, take on ramps and off ramps great. These are the previous generation of their top tier summer tires. These are so good, I'm be interested to see what the new ones are like.

Here are some photos..
2011-09-08140959.jpg

2011-09-08141015.jpg

2011-09-08141048.jpg

2011-09-08141054.jpg

2011-09-08141130.jpg
 
I agree, the second picture shows the car sits too high, too much gap between wheel well and tire. Lower the car by 1-2" will make it looks much better.
 
Nice, and they should 'wake up' the handling of that thing quite a bit!

Although I agree with the others about how much better it would look (and handle, if done properly) lowered, I realise that it is not always practical for everyone (speed bumps, road craters, steep driveways, etc.).
wink.gif
 
Here it is after washing and waxing, rainy day.
2011-09-08181120.jpg


These tires are the same diameter as the originals, so there really shouldn't be any more wheel gap.

One thing that everyone has to remember is that I live in the Detroit area. Anyone who has ever had the pleasure to live or visit here understands that the roads around here are not even enjoyable to drive on. They are filled with cracks, pot holes, whoops, any any combination of them all. It really is a rough ride just about anywhere you go. Nice smooth roads are few and far between.

I would like to lower it, however, the car sits pretty low as it is and since it is not my daily driver, I don't want to lower it because of the ride quality. I'm fine with lowered cars but it would have to be lowering springs, and many times you see that the oe struts don't do an excellent job with rebound with the lowering springs. Tends for more of a bouncy ride. Right now the car rides extremely well for such a small vehicle. I drive Versa's and Sentra's all day, and the Spectra by far has a better ride.

Maybe come spring time I can talk her into the lowering springs. 1" coils should be ok.
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted By: addyguy
Nice. They really suit that little car - sporty, without being rediculous.


Thanks. I think they also fit the car well. They give it a new fresh look, but are still conservative enough that it doesn't look crazy. The factory 15"s and wheel covers just didn't look good. Now it has a more sporty look. Almost reminds me of some of the Focus's you see driving around. I'm not sure what package it is, but some of them have the grey wheels like that.
 
Originally Posted By: dailydriver
Nice, and they should 'wake up' the handling of that thing quite a bit!

Although I agree with the others about how much better it would look (and handle, if done properly) lowered, I realise that it is not always practical for everyone (speed bumps, road craters, steep driveways, etc.).
wink.gif



Again, I'd like to drop it but it just isn't right for this car right now. I may be able to talk the owner into it come spring time. I'm a little worried with the car in the winter being lowered though. We get quite a bit of snow, and believe it or not, this car actually sits pretty low in real life as it is.

And you are right. There is a night and day difference in this car now when driving. It tracks straight 90mph speeds, no roaming side to side. Lane changes are crisp and confident, and on & off ramps are fun again instead of holding on while the car feels like it is going to roll over on its tires.
 
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