I got me some rims. 18x8 +35 mm offset Drag DR31's Matte Gun Metal. I got them from discounttiredirect.com... I would have went with tirerack but shipping was cheaper since discounttiredirect has a warehouse in Dallas and I'm in Houston. Plus every tire I liked on tirerack.com was on back order so.. I plan on getting a 5mm spacers and I STILL haven't installed my eibach spring sitting in my garage in a box. I need too. When I still had my 17x7's I had no shimmy now I have one. I've had these new rims hunter balanced twice and the breaks were just installed two weeks ago. And there was no shimmy with the OE wheels. I'll get an alignment and another balance after I buy/install the KYB's and the eibach spring. Maybe the smaller tire and bigger rim allows for more feel of the road. I don't know. Thoughts?



I'll be painting my calipers red when I install the struts and springs.

 

If you have shimmy now it's probably because they need to be rebalanced, I'd take it back unless they came shipped already mounted and balanced.

 

I took them back the next day to the same discount tire that mounted and balanced them. I still feel they hurried thru the balancing. From all the threads I've read (being a good newbie that I am) the balance needs to be dead on precise. I have another discount tire I've been to that has been able to make my OE continentals on 17's ride like clouds. I'm going to ask for them to take their time and really pay attention to where that laser is on the inside wheel and try to line up the weights perfectly on the hunter machine. This will be the 3rd hunter balance. The first two I'm possitive they just flew thru the balance and got it so-so and sent me packing. Speed of service should never compromise the quality and this time, I'm sure it did.

 

Better pics..?

 

I would get this with no pics



I'm not a professional photographer. My wife is so I'll get her to take some better photos with her nice camera. Maybe somewhere with a better photo opp like your sig photo.

 

The color of those rims pairs perfectly with your car.

looks really good

 

Thanks. Chrome on this silver didn't seem like it would work. Minus Jsmith's pimp *ss ride.

I can't wait to lower it and get the RLM aka prototype bumper on. LED brake light smoked, angel eyes in the front, custom courtesy lights in the handles and a red floor leds and then I'm done.

Ya, at one time I did say I would keep my car in sleeper mode but I changed my mind. Mwwhahaha!!

 

I didn't mean professional quality...

How about a side shot out of the garage?

 

me likey. Nice wheels. worst case scenaro, shimmy could be your brand new tires. What are they?

 

not bad. but i gotta see some better pix. They kinda remind me as the Nismo rims.

 

Nismo wheels are what I was going for. But these were less costly.

Unfortunately they are falken 245/45zr18's. I have a warranty on them so I guess if all else fails, have them put a new set on until the shimmy goes away. Speaking of the "shimmy". I finally had a chance to put some miles on these wheels this morning. One thing I noticed is that if I hot a smooth patch of road the shimmy almost dissappears then comes back but always above 55 mph. So, I think they're still out of balance but not to far off, possibly. I'm leaving work in a few minutes to go by the local discount tire and have them investigate this.

 

 

Apollo, ha! Didn't mean to kick you in the junk with that comment. I guess if I can't give everyone a shout out then I shouldn't do one at all.

OK, so I went to my trusty discount tire location that had an old hunter machine but it wasn't a road force machine. I was told the other location didn't balance the tires correctly BOTH times. The guys at the location did it right and the car rides smooth on good pavement. I do notice I can feel more of the imperfections in the road in some spots. If the pavement is smooth and I'm going 60 I get no shimmy. Only on bad pavement do I feel the shakiness. So, I'm happy. I'll post more pics up soon.

 

Looks very nice... much like the Nismo rims which I have been yearning for for a long time.

Any idea how much your wheels might weigh?

 

LOL...it's all good my man. Glad you are back in business. Lazy tire balancers

 

Regarding the shimmy...if you don't already have them, you might want to consider getting centric hub rings.

"Hubcentric rings are designed to fill in the gap between the hub of the car and the center bore of the wheel. Most wheel manufacturers design their wheels with a centerbore large enough to fit on most cars. Therefore, since wheel manufactures make their center bore large enough to fit most cars, most wheel fitments have a gap between the hub and the centerbore. This gap usually doesn't allow for the wheel to fit hubcentric but rather lugcentric which causes vibration. Therefore, to fill the gap and ensure the fitment is hubcentric, hub rings are used."

 

From what Drag said 19.5 lbs without the tire.

The gap in the front is driving me mad. I need to lower it soon.

 

They came with the wheels. Installed when mounted. Purple little rings that fit on the rotors. Thank you for the heads up though.

 

nice rims! what side of houston you live in? i have never seen you before.

 

I'm on the northeast side in the burbs of lake houston. Out in bubba-ville aka cowtown Crosby. *shivers* Why must I subject myself to the "getr done" population of texas? I must like self-inflicted pain.

Is there any other max fans in H town? Be cool to meet up one day.

 

yo KC2010 ... sorry about my pm box is full. i just empty it.. PM me let me know.. thanks

 

That's pretty much been my wheel balancing story. I've had it balanced 3 times on a hunter roadforce machine. Both times it there was shimmy above 65mph. I took it to a place without the roadforce and they fixed it. So, from the looks of it, the roadforce machines are just for marketing and they don't actually do as well as the old ones.

 

I had the same issue when most of our local shops went to laser/digital alignment systems. I'd have go find an old shop to get a good alignment.

 

Is this better?

 

Great picture. Now that's what I'm talkin' about.

The wheels and car look very nice.

Can't wait till you lower that badboy!

 

Thats so perdy. Very sporty look.

 

wow... rims really look good... i like that picture in the driveway

 

Thanks guys! And a BIG thank you to the rim guru CoolMax for all the help and honesty on all my choices. I really appreciate your input on this upgrade!!

 

I got a REAL road force balance today. No more shimmy! YAY!!

 

My pleasure Bro.

No more shimmy...priceless!

 

Nice wheels. Real clean.

 

Discount tire traded out the cheap falcons for some yokohoma's. Shimmy is gone. Yipee! On to the drop.

 

Nice. That's the color I want for my Max.

 

OK, I lied. The shimmy WAS gone but it comes back every once in awhile. I wish I could explain it. I now know my strut bearings are shot on both sides and the assembly is loose on the driver side. This was visually confirmed when I got my alignment a few hours ago. The back tow on my car was WAYYY off spec and when you turn my steering wheel to the left and right the wheels don't turn in sync which usually means a strut problem. Remember, my car had no shimmy problem until recently. All signs show that I hit a pot hole and damaged a strut. I remember hitting one a few months ago but didn't feel the strut until I put low profile tires on my car. I now believe I don't have the shimmy that everyone has discussed especially since I an 05 not an 04. I don't really want to start another shimmy debate but I need to vent so bare with me. Thanks

Edit:

My Steering Axis Inclanation (SAI) was about 5 degrees over spec on one side and a smaller amount over spec on the other. If the two sides do not have an equal amount of degree then a part of the suspension is bent. And it's typically the struts or mounts. Mcpherson Strut design: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MacPherson_strut