kauai1800

I thought you guys would get a kick out of this...

Bought my used 2004.5 6-MT Touring convertible for $4000 last year and been upgrading and finally it is time to do the tires and wheels. The car came with the 18" 6 spoke wheels and standard 225/45/18 and 245/45/18 set up, but I noticed the brand of tires was IRONMAN iMOVE Gen 2...made in Vietnam. And even though these are pretty much bargin brand, they actually are pretty decent tire. However as I was getting closer to replacing the tires I looked more closely and saw that only 3 of the tires were this brand. The driver side front tire was a different brand: "Fierce Instinct" (?) made in Chile. Again it was a decent tire, W speed rating and nice squared up sidewalls...but I thought it was pretty funny that I had two entirely different front tires for the past 10,000 miles.
And people said it couldn't be done....

Well out with the tires made on 2 different continents and on to some tires made here in the US (by a French company)...some Michelin Pilot Super Sports!

Recall that I live on Kauai so it's not easy to order up new wheels and tires without paying $400-$1000 in additional shipping charges. The best option out here is to get the wheels from Tire Rack (only about $225 shipping) and get the tires from Costco (free shipping). I wanted to improve the handling of the car as my #1 priority - I could care less about 'stance' - just going fast and being responsive...also wanted to reduce unsprung weight.
So..
Got some 19" Advanti Sveltos in 8.5" and 9.5" widths that weigh in about 4-6 pounds less than OEM (20.3 and 21.5 lbs vs 26.5 lbs) and put on 255/35/19" (front) and 275/35/19" (rear) and everything fits perfectly!
Car now drives fantastic! There had been terrible road noise (because of the two different tread patterns on the front I suspect) and that's now gone. Plus I can tell the rolling resistance is lower and the acceleration is quicker. I lost about 25 pounds of unsprung weight, so the shifts are smoother and handling is terrific.

I'll try to post some pics soon, but they also look pretty mad too.

Spike100

Long post… but has some interesting background that provides some good reading.

But (and is so often the case), no mention of the wheels’ offset or the suspension (stock or aftermarket, and if modified, what are the changes?).

1. What are the wheels’ offset?
2. Is this a stock suspension?

kauai1800

Spike100

^^^ Thanks for additional information.

If you decide you want to have a setup that orients the tires and wheels a little better to the car’s fenders, consider dropping the car between one half to a about an inch, and install 15 to 20 mm spacers.

kauai1800

Thanks for the tips - however I like the way it looks and am not wanting to use spacers. Here's a shot of the results...

herrschaft

Why would you want to??? You could run 4 different tires of similar size if you want, but its certainly not recommended.

No_name

Nice upgrade, congrats, looks good and glad to hear the performance improvement is evident.

kauai1800

MicVelo

I remember when you bought that car (a year, two ago?)... Very nice, cleaned up well.

You're right though, going A ==> B to work and such, having mixed tires isn't going to make THAT MUCH of a difference (especially on Kauai) except maybe in evasive maneuvers or intentional high speed runs up a volcano. But a full new set of Mushylins is always better!

When we head back "home" to Maui this summer, will probably puddle jump over to Kauai and Oahu to see friends. Can't wait to be back "home". (Even though I'm not a native...)