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My new wheels/tires scare me :)

Posted: Fri Sep 19, 2003 2:18 am
by ciper
Thanks to Grants post viewtopic.php?t=1921 I found some Rota Slipstreams near me with 215 45 16 Falkens mounted.

Wow. I cant stress to everyone how light these are. I always thought the WRX wheels where top bang for the buck but these easily win.

16x7 and only 13 pounds! May not sound like much of a reduction but when you can easily lift them with ONE HAND including the mounted tires you understand.

So I guess I should explain the thread title. I drove to one of the weekly subaru meetings to pick these up. I can get them locally for 400 brand new. These had tires with 40% tread left and I talked the guy down to 420.

I took them home in my sedan, so I had to stick them in the back seat. I was sitting them in garage one by one. All of a sudden I heard someone tapping on the car then running down the street! Scared the heck out of me. I looked and saw this short black creature moving at high speed.

It took a second for my eyes to adjust and I realized it was one of my wheels! Somehow after sitting still in the garage it rolled down the driveway and took a hard right turn and proceded down the hill :lol:

If any of you are interested and local I dont mind to show you the wheels. I know that SubyDude regulary sells them for 450 SHIPPED, a great deal.

Ive seen many WRX owners use these as dedicated autocross wheels, not only are they light but I havnt heard of one being damaged.

Mine are 48mm offset, not sure about other sizes offsetbut they are available in 15x6.5 15x7 as well. The 15 inch sizes are 12 pounds from what I know, read about a few being used for rally. Check this image out for color options Image

Bottom line I challenge everyone to show me a better wheel for the money. These really outshine the RS wheels we always look for in every catagory, except looks and that the RS wheels are a subaru part. Should this have been posted in the review forums? :)

oh, I should mention they dont brake like sub zeros http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthr ... did=296503

Posted: Fri Sep 19, 2003 2:26 am
by 91White-T
Damn.. those black ones with the silver ring are sweeeet!!!

Posted: Fri Sep 19, 2003 2:58 am
by ciper
I researched wheels for a while and the closest to these are:

WRX stock wheels 16x6.5 at 16.3 pounds
RS wheels 16x7
SSR competition 16x7

The SSR Competition are good but cost three times as much. Only 1 pound reduction though

Posted: Fri Sep 19, 2003 3:16 am
by mTk
I can lift my Rota attacks w/ tires mounted w/ one hand :D

but yeah, lighter wheels and better tires > *

MK

Posted: Fri Sep 19, 2003 3:25 am
by Yukonart
Damn you all and your easy wheel applications. :oops:

Currently, there are maybe a dozen 17" rims out on the market that'll clear the Brembo calipers on the STi. Many more 18s, but then they start getting heavy.

16s? Forget about it! :lol:

I love the look of some of the Volks and Rotas. . . . but a select few will ever the hub of an STi. :(

Oh well. . . those Slipstreams look great! Nice variety of finishes on them, too! 8)

Posted: Fri Sep 19, 2003 3:29 am
by mTk
*17x7.5 rota attacks with 205/45/17 tires

mk

Posted: Fri Sep 19, 2003 3:48 am
by import_freak
i want some dont have the money now but maybe by christmas (need to do brakes) how would i go about getting some?

Posted: Fri Sep 19, 2003 3:52 am
by ciper
If you want anything Rota do a search in the vendor classifieds on nasioc. Subydude has TONS of specials on them, not only are they the right offset but he is well trusted in the subaru community

*NOTE: You will need to use aftermarket lugnuts on the wheels, stock units are too wide.

Posted: Fri Sep 19, 2003 4:05 am
by import_freak
sweet thanks 8)

Posted: Fri Sep 19, 2003 6:41 am
by Grant
That is too funny. I've been hoping no one had bought them. He was going to give them to me for $500 shipped. Congratulations! What do you think about the Falken Azenis (spelling?) on them. I need a good street tire. I've got more winter tires than I know what to do with and have decided that next after suspension is wheels and tires. Where the pics with them on??? I think the flat gun metal or the sports bronze would look sweet on my maroon legacy. So would the black ones, but all my rally wheels are black so it'd be cool to switch it up.

Posted: Fri Sep 19, 2003 2:01 pm
by Legacy777
ciper......your wheel ok after rolling down the driveway?


Yukonart.....don't waste your money upgrading calipers to something that extreme unless you are going to track your car, and track it hard. WRX calipers will definitely improve the braking of our legacies. They can screw with the bias however, and if you do decide to go that route or another, you should pay attention to how all the other componants are going to react. I speek from experience......and after replacing pretty much every componant in my braking system except the hard lines......I have a setup I am happy with, and performs very well in terms of stopping power and balance.

Posted: Fri Sep 19, 2003 6:10 pm
by Yukonart
:shock:

I should have specified.

WRX STi in a few weeks. :P

Posted: Fri Sep 19, 2003 6:54 pm
by ciper
Grant: I havent driven on them yet, Im waiting for my engine swap to be completed. I could install them on one of my other cars but it wouldnt be the same. I dont think they are a very good tire for one reason, they wear out too fast. For the increase in traction the price isnt worth it. If they where dedicated autocross tires the story would be different. I still think for most people there are only three tires worth buying

Kuhmo Ecsta 712
Yokohama AVX-ES100
Dunlop Sport A2 (better all weather traction)

Legacy777: I was able to catch it before it ran into anything or fell over. At first I thought it was a dog running down the street! I still cant figure out how it started rolling in the first place.

Posted: Fri Sep 19, 2003 8:04 pm
by THAWA
most excellent the white ones look pimpin 8)

Posted: Fri Sep 19, 2003 11:04 pm
by 91scoobiesubie
do 18 fit if so what size tire

Posted: Sat Sep 20, 2003 1:17 am
by ciper
18's do fit but I wont post any info because I dont believe in BLING

Visit the wheels and tires forum on nasioc and read what they use. Nearly anything that will fit on a WRX will fit, our cars take a slightly smaller diameter tire and slightly less offset. Usually the aftermarket wheels have a large decrease in offset and our fenders have more space (except when compared to sedans).

Posted: Wed Oct 29, 2003 8:25 am
by 970subaru
ciper wrote:18's do fit but I wont post any info because I dont believe in BLING
amen. I cant understand anything larger than 16's or 17's. you have to run rubberband tires, which unless your streets are perfect is like TRYING to kill your rims. they weigh more, cost more, and dont even look better than a smaller size in the same rim in most cases. :roll: