Ultra Mega 18 month long overdue update!!...pg 7

[BonnieBoy08]

Always nice to be ready for winter. I just bought 4 winter tires in the same size you got 215/65/16, funny because i went with the cooper weather-master st2s you mentioned. Theyre a cheaper tire but they have some nice deep treads, they go on friday and i cant wait to test them out . Your car should look pretty good with those wheels too.

Let me know what you think of those. They did have nice deep treads and the reviews seemed good. They were dirt cheap online but Fleet Farm wanted more for Coopers than NTB did for Bridgestones

[J Wikoff]

It's a little hard to tell, but in general they look like they were due. No obvious issues, but maybe some overly darkened ceramic around the electrodes. That could be carbon tracking which leads to mis-fires.

[DJC906]

"Not going with the GXPs now for winter?" Not anymore, i didnt wanna ruin them and i was lucky enough to find a cheap set of 16s

[BonnieBoy08]

Well they are on! I like them a lot so far! Was in and out in under an hour. Got them up to 70 on the highway and they ride nice. Maybe a little more road noise. Little more free feel in the steering at highway speed maybe and the wheel seems to turn a little easier, maybe its just me. The rims look pretty good on the car too I think. I drove circles in a snow packed parking lot and couldn't get them to break loose! Have a way harder time getting the ABS to kick in when braking and a way harder time breaking the tires on snow when accelerating, can't wait to try them in deep snow!

One thing I am a little ticked about is I noticed when I got home they are 225/60/16s and not 215/65/16s like I was told or like my invoice said. I assume these are real close in size anyway? I don't know what the numbers mean other than the last one is rim size. Should I call and complain tomorrow? Any chance the ones I got are cheaper in price than the ones I was invoiced for? Anyway...onto the pics





Chrome valve stems and covers FTW!


Caliper clearance is a little tighter than I anticipated but they should be fine I think?

[harofreak00]

225's will be more expensive than the 215's, so you got a good deal. However, 215's probably would do a little better in the snow as they are bit narrower. I wouldn't worry about it though.

Edit: the first number is the width, the second number is the aspect ratio (height), and the third is the rim diameter. http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html

[00Beast]

Aspect ratio is the percentage of the overall width in sidewall from the wheel to the outside of the tire. So a 225/60 has 60% of 225mm = 135mm from the lip of the wheel to the outside diameter of the tire.

[crash93ssei]

They do look pretty good! Now just wait until you actually get to put them to the test!

I also wouldn't worry about the difference in size, the overall diameter will be about the same as stock still and as Andrew mentioned, the tires you got will actually be more expensive. When I was shopping for tires, had the 225 been cheaper then the 215 I would have went with the 225s. The narrower tire will have a small grip advantage, but I think the gain in traction you get over all seasons will be so great you will never know, not to mention that I doubt the difference between the two sizes would even be noticeable much at all even side by side. Also, the 2000+ SE still came with 225/60/16 tires stock.

[BonnieBoy08]

Good to know! The steering is really spongy with these, are the sidewalls that much softer than what I had before? Or will they show weak rear tow links or sway bar links or whatever they’re called? I am going to re-torque the lugs after work. Maybe its all just me but I feel like the rear end of the car is all over the place since I got these. I noticed it a lot more this morning then I did last night.

[repinS]

The soft tread compound and knobby tread depth are going to affect dry weather handling. Plus you're down to 16" compared to 17", so it will squirm even more. I run the same tire in 235/55/17 on the G8 and I definitely miss how it feels with summer rubber on.

Rest assured though, when the snow/slush/ice hits, you'll be good to go!

[crash93ssei]

Yea, it will definitely have a squirmy feel compared to your other tires.

[BonnieBoy08]

Ok. I’ll get used to it eventually. Would it help if I bumped up the air pressure? They are at 35 psi now, max is 44 psi

[harofreak00]

No don't over-inflate them. You'll wear out the centers if you do.

[BonnieBoy08]

So 35 psi is as high as I want to go?

[00Beast]

You want to run them at whatever pressure nets you the best wear. What a person ought to do is mark the tire with tire chalk, then drive straight on a level surface, and see how the chalk is wearing off. If the center is still marked but the shoulders are wearing, you're under inflated, if the center is wearing more than the shoulders, it's over-inflated.

From a lot of searching around on tires I was doing, tread width differences on tires like that could be identical. I was looking at 255's and 275's, both installed on a 9" wheel having the same tread width, but different overall widths. I woudn't worry about it.

[harofreak00]

32-35 is where you want to be.

[BonneMe]

If it's really slippery, or icy like we've had the last week or so, lower pressure will help you get a little more grip, but otherwise normal tire pressure is perfect.

[BonnieBoy08]

I’m loving these tires so far! I have gotten use to the lack of handling over my all seasons. Went bow hunting last night and got to test them out in deep snow in the parking area of the piece of land I hunt. 8+ inches of snow and never even spun a tire going in or out! Also got my remote start installed Friday and did an L.E.D. swap on all of my interior bulbs. The car doesn’t seem to like the remote start though. It worked initially but quit over the weekend. I am going back to the guy that put it in tonight. On the key fob remote it says a door is open on the car so I think that may be the problem. The back driver door seems like it could maybe be shut a little tighter. Is there any way to adjust this??? That or it might be the RPM regulator or reader or something he thought? He just let it use a default setting and I guess you can run a wire to the ICM or something to get an actual reading. Anyone who’s had experience or troubles installing please chime in so I can try to troubleshoot here. The guy who did the install is the one who tinted my windows and I know he’ll make it right. I just want to help him out with past experiences or tricks anyone may have on here. He said it was a harder job than any other car he’s done. He installs on Grand Prixs all of the time and said the wiring harness on a Bonneville is completely different.

[BonnieBoy08]

Well on Friday I took the car to a guy I know that does custom graphics. He did my 4wheeler a few years back and it turned out amazing. My car had a pinstripe before the accident and I wanted one back, there were some marks on the driver door paint where it used to be.

He put a pinstripe on, I had him lay black over the faded window trim (forgot to take pics), added red into the rear bumper inlays (he had one hell of a time with those!), put some SSEi decals on the front calipers, and put some custom graphics on the interior head rests. All in all I'm pretty happy. I did a 1/8" stripe on top with 1/8" gap and 1/4" stripe on the bottom, it comes off a little larger looking than I had anticipated and I wish I would have done 1/6" on top with 1/8" stripe on the bottom. Someday I might redo it but I can live with it for now. The head rest graphics pop a little more than I wanted too. I wish I would have done light gray, I'm hoping it grows on me but I may look into some dye for changing the color. Onto the pics, let me know what you guys think!























Also got some mud flaps in an effort to save the paint on the rockers on the rear doors, I'm also hoping they help cut down on the road spray. Since there are no Bonneville mud flaps on the market I bought some universal ones and had him make up some decals for those also. I'll get them installed this weekend I hope.

[nos4blood70]

Looks pretty good!

I like the head rest logo most along with the caliper SSEis.

[bobgto65]

second that for the calipers