ORIGINAL: wordslayer

Hey, guys and girls!

Do you know what I hate about having my car? It's the indecision of what to do next. Here is my dilema. Sometime after the first of the year, I will have a little money to blow on my car. However, I don't know what I should do next. You all, as experts, would say, "well word, what is it that you want to do next?" And me, seeking the advice of a mentor, would answer it like this:

I hate/loathe/despise the wheels/tires on my car. I've seen Amish wagons with wider wheels than my car has. When I look at the back end of my car, I hate the skinny tire look. I want wide/fat/obese/meaty/juicy tires on it. I want the car to have a fatter look. I want the tires to be wide. I want to somehow find a wheel/tire combo that will be able to handle 245 series tires. This *may* be what I want the most. Okay,,,what's the problem? Well,,,my freaking tires are still like new, so it would probably be a waste to put new tires on when I have good ones. The second problem is, I have a white car, and I am having a BRUTAL time figuring out what color of wheel to put on the car. Okay,,,,here is where I am at with the wheel choice. I want a gold/bronze wheel. What's the problem, then? Well,,,,,it's that I am afraid that I am going to look like a pimp with that color of wheel. In my mind, I think that would look really good on a white car, but I have asked around to a few people and they give me that "are you serious" kind of look. What do you all think would be a good wheel choice/color for a white car?

First off - nothing wrong with bronze on a white car. Very classy looking. Black would be my first choice, but I would also consider bronze. Now - that being said, remember the weight factor. In getting wheels for 600$, you will have only a few options in the bronze direction. Those will generally weigh more than the stock wheels, which aren't terribly heavy at 21 lbs. You will lose performance gong to a heavier wheel(somewhere around a factor of 10 times the weight difference since it is rotational mass). A black wheel will afford you more options.

Also another thing to consider would be the second option of finding a light wheel in a standard aluminum and painting it black. In that direction - ebst deal on a qualtiy wheel I can think of is 17x7 centerline storms : a 5 spoke polished aluminum wheel weighing in at 15 lbs(it is forged!, and a cumulative weight loss of 24 lbs will give you the handling difference equivalent of dropping around 200 lbs from the car), and last time I spoke to them they had the wheel on special for 129.00 a piece and I think they go for 159 regularly - you can buy them direct from centerline. I actually think the polished aluminum would look good on the white.

If you can stretch on money a little motegi traklites can be had for around 900-1000 and weigh a tick under 14 lbs(they come in flat black or graphite polished, and would look very race/purpose oriented)(if you need a source for the price let us know).

Falken Hannabi's are around 16.5 lbs and are a swept 7 spoke that look good on the car and have a decent sized polished lip(I think edgeracing had them when I was looking - but I am not positive).

Remember that the stock tires are pretty damn good in the grip department, even in a 205, other than the road noise. Tire selection is as important as wheel selection. Think about what you are looking for in the area of wet/dry/safety/performance... Goodyear f1 gs-d3's are a good choice for an all around excellent performer but are $$$$$. Michelin PS series - same story. Yokohama Advan neova's are supposed to be like glue on dry roads and decent in the wet. Toyo proxes t1-s is amazing in the wet and acceptable in the dry and a good price. Some of the Falkens can be great budget performers. BF goodrich TA/KD's are awesome in the dry, but not so hot in the wet. There are so many choices to look at - but that is a good start.

On tire size, proper upsize for this car is a 225/45-17 which will net you a -0.4% difference if you want to keep the diameter the same a 235/45 would be fine, too with only a 1% gain in rolling diameter. A 245/40 will net you a -1.4% difference, which isn't too bad and could be good for torque, but you are starting to mess with calibration at that point.

Good first mod, actually, wheels and tires make a huge difference.


Second issue:

I had intended to go with a stage one and exhaust as my first upgrade. (sidenote: first upgrades change with me like the barometric pressure) Okay,,,I thought about doing that because I wanted to go to a stage 3 upgrade. However, the more I think about it, the more I am wondering how feasible it will be for me to ever get stage 3. I have a daughter who will be entering stage private college before too long, and I am thinking that will probably eliminate any chance of stage 3 happening. Sooo,,,,I'm thinking, maybe I should go with stage 2 with toys, but I wonder how much of a difference that will make. The dyno numbers and track times don't mean a lot to me, because I don't have a "feel" for how much difference that would make. If I went with stage 2 with toys, would that make a huge difference on the butt dyno? In other words, would that be better than going with a stage one with exhaust?

Stage2 with toys makes a big difference. I have never been dissapointed in the 1400 I dropped on it. In fact, I couldn't be happier with it. Go for the toys if you do it, it is definitely worth the 500$. Like PSIChick said, that little red button is magic, you won't believe the way the car wakes up when you hit it. A mopar exhaust would be fine at this level (and at 329.00 it won't kill you.) You could also have maxxfab send you a side exit with a 3" downpipe for not too much more and get a huge reduction in backpressure along with some pretty decent gains. Exhaust can be added later, too, so starting out with s2, and then saving for the exhaust is perfectly acceptable - Can be good to start gradually, and learn to use the added power in stages.

It's just amazing. I know that, when you do anything, you need to have a plan. Okay,,,that makes sense....get a plan. You know,,,,have a goal. But the pisser with this car is, I can't come up with a plan that remains the same. It's like I am all over the place in trying to find the right path.

The wheel choice, I think, is going to end up driving me nuts. You just can't muck up your wheel choice. Gold wheels? Am I really thinking about gold wheels???? YES....hell yes.

I argee emphatically. I mulled over the choice for weeks, and even spent many hours on the clock at the office(don't tell the boss) working on it. Hardest decision I have made on this car. Finding a ultralight wheel that is strong, affordable, and good looking was quite the task. I ended up with the tracklites at a great price, and absolutely love them in the graphite on my silver car. My months of searching paid off.

One good thing about getting aftermarket wheels is you can use your stockers to mount some snows. In the 6" width - they are suited well for it.

Time for forum riddle:

My car saw 210 mph a little over a week ago. How could this be?

I thought PSIChick had it with her answer. Has it seen any time on a helicopter, or a transport? Do you have a dvd player in the car where you could see that speed in movie format? Do you have a car other than the SRT-4 that can do that type of speed?