Heads up on mounting KWD2's on stock
 

while my new KDW2 225's were fine on a 8" rim, the rear 245's were not mounting up well on an 8" rim. The shop tried several times, each time I was getting "excessive road force with the assembly". You could visibily see the rim protector wobbling in respect to the lip of the rim. Finally, they decided to use WD40 when beading the tire (instead of that soapy stuff)... it popped in perfectly this time. Mounted up only needing a gram on one side (opposite my SmarTire sensor). The other 245 bead was broken, wd40'd and rebalanced. While this one has acceptable road force before, it now had none. My sound levels are 100% better. It was a real hassle, this might really help you guys choosing the KDW2 in stock fitments.

Pardon my ignorance, but what is "road force", and how do you know when it's excessive? :)

thats using a Hunter Balance machine. A regular balance just spins the wheel/tire. Whereas a Hunter machine also uses a roller in contact with the spinning tire to find inconsistancies in the tire, rim, sidewall, out of round, etc. Most shops charge 40%+ more for this type of balance.

more info at:
http://www.gsp9700.com

At some shops, there's only one or two guys that know how to run the thing. But its worth finding a shop that will do it for you.

btw, someone on another board posted that he thought WD40 would be bad on the bead. They didnt use that much. It didnt run out on the sidewall, nor did they spray much because of my tire pressure monitors.

Tware, do you have chrome wheels on your car?

no, powdercoated.

Stock powdercoat, or did you have it done?

I had it done. with a clear, but not sure how much clear made it to the rim.

Thats where the problem in seating the bead was. The beads on the KDW2's don't make things any easier either.

Chrome Lexus wheels are the worst, they're spec'd when they're bare then coated which makes them a little big for the tire.

Thanks, I recall the inside lip being alittle rough when I was banding my SmarTire sensors. I had two separate shops and they really complained about the KDW2 sidewall being so stiff. :)

I love them so far.

http://www.timware.org/pics/g/mb/mb16.jpg