Hi there... after a big delay, my aftermarket wheels have arrived. (sorry about the crappy pictures...)
This is what i ordered a billion years ago:
The wheels come with individual "certificate". I am glad that they're seemingly perfect!
Some snap shots:
The all-important wheel cap...
Appearance
Obviously this is a personal choice... but i am really glad about the matching outcome. The new wheel size is 16x7 - only 1" larger in diameter but, maybe due to the white paint, the 1" increment seems understated in person. For the new rubber, i opted for Toyo DRB 195/16 45.
http://www.ityre.com/en/tyres/catalog/toyo/size/70861/
Performance
Too bad that i had no access to a scale when I had these bad boys installed at the garage. All i can say is that, and as you can see from the picture above, the new wheels weighted 6.35kg each. Due to the weight loss, the car feels sportier in all speed range, especially in stop-n-go traffic. For a car that was already lightweight, further loss in (unsprung) weight became even more noticeable. The car can now accelerate quicker, stop in shorter distance and, working with the previously installed Bilstein B14, the whole suspension geometry benefited greatly. I can literally feel that the wheels are now moving up and down more freely.
Comfort
Originally I thought this would be the department of tradeoff. But to my pleasant surprise, the ride quality improved! The wider rubber managed to absorb a bit more bumps and as previously stated, the lightweight of the alloy really allowed the suspensions to work more effectively. I am sure this is not a biased view because my girlfriend could also tell the difference. So this particular mod has really no downside; except these bloody alloys are tough to keep clean! :devil:
Value
I paid £820 for the wheels and £300 for the tyres. I think it's money well spent cuz I can actually use the performance on top of the great look! If you're to change your factory wheels, you really should go for something light! (it'd probably save you some gas money, too.)
This is what i ordered a billion years ago:
The wheels come with individual "certificate". I am glad that they're seemingly perfect!
Some snap shots:
The all-important wheel cap...
Appearance
Obviously this is a personal choice... but i am really glad about the matching outcome. The new wheel size is 16x7 - only 1" larger in diameter but, maybe due to the white paint, the 1" increment seems understated in person. For the new rubber, i opted for Toyo DRB 195/16 45.
http://www.ityre.com/en/tyres/catalog/toyo/size/70861/
Performance
Too bad that i had no access to a scale when I had these bad boys installed at the garage. All i can say is that, and as you can see from the picture above, the new wheels weighted 6.35kg each. Due to the weight loss, the car feels sportier in all speed range, especially in stop-n-go traffic. For a car that was already lightweight, further loss in (unsprung) weight became even more noticeable. The car can now accelerate quicker, stop in shorter distance and, working with the previously installed Bilstein B14, the whole suspension geometry benefited greatly. I can literally feel that the wheels are now moving up and down more freely.
Comfort
Originally I thought this would be the department of tradeoff. But to my pleasant surprise, the ride quality improved! The wider rubber managed to absorb a bit more bumps and as previously stated, the lightweight of the alloy really allowed the suspensions to work more effectively. I am sure this is not a biased view because my girlfriend could also tell the difference. So this particular mod has really no downside; except these bloody alloys are tough to keep clean! :devil:
Value
I paid £820 for the wheels and £300 for the tyres. I think it's money well spent cuz I can actually use the performance on top of the great look! If you're to change your factory wheels, you really should go for something light! (it'd probably save you some gas money, too.)
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