13" to 14" OEM wheels swap

MMamdouh · Post by **MMamdouh** » Sun Oct 30, 2005 12:03 am

well... i don't know if we have the Ecsta here, only thing i could find are the power star and 732 touring... both got treadwear of 400 so ccording to my calculations they will last the next 40,000 kms as well just like the pirellis.

now i have cleaned and painted 3 rims but the forth got some rust and i had to work my @$$ out to clean it... i didn't paint it yet and i just got the Nubira wheel covers, it is only days till i get the tires and get this done and overwith.

MMamdouh

MMamdouh · Post by **MMamdouh** » Sat Nov 05, 2005 3:06 am

went to Bridgstone distributer yesterday and they were closed

got to go again tomorrow and see the prices as i heared that the Indonisian tires are much cheaper than the Japanees ones (as low as Kumho) i am hunting for the B700 AQ model.
http://www.wheelmarket.ru/tyre/bridgestone/b700aq/

anyone got feedback on GoodYear tires? models GT2 and F1 GSD2 ? i saw it on many Hyundai Verna's and it looks nice... no idea about the specs yet.
http://www.lastix.com/pinfo.asp?pid=1536

also what about the GT Radial tires? anyone got feedback on them or tried them? i am intrested in the champiro 128... they are quite popular here and i saw them on many cars including a 205/10/16 on a beemer so i suppose they are reliable... anyone with feedback on that?
http://www.gititire.com/tiredetail.asp? ... language=1

MMamdouh

MMamdouh · Post by **MMamdouh** » Sun Nov 06, 2005 7:21 pm

guys... need feedback on them GOODYEAR and GTRadial tires... best invention by mankind?, worst product on God's green earth?, what do you think?... need your feedback guys.

Thanks.

MMamdouh

woo · Post by **woo** » Mon Nov 07, 2005 2:24 pm

mmamdouh wrote:guys... need feedback on them GOODYEAR and GTRadial tires... best invention by mankind?, worst product on God's green earth?, what do you think?... need your feedback guys.

Thanks.

MMamdouh

all i can say is what do you do with 365 used condoms?

melt them down into a tyre and call it a goodyear

MMamdouh · Post by **MMamdouh** » Mon Nov 21, 2005 12:45 am

well... finally the project is done

the 14" Nubira rims fits perfictly on the lanos and the 185/60/14 tires looks very nice indeed.

the car feels more stuck to the road now, steering is hardly any heavier... couldn't tell if the car slower or not as i was driving with 2 passengers and 4 used 13" rims in the trunk along with one extra fully inflated spare wheel.

i got a set of GT Radial champiro GTX 65 tires as the only Kumho i could find with 185/60/14 size is the 727 model with is very ugly, the GT is uni directional and very very nice looking... only costed 12.5% more than the Kumho would have.

testing will continue tomorrow and most probably will do the alignment after tomorrow or so... will keep you all posted.

MMamdouh

ChiPPy · Post by **ChiPPy** » Mon Nov 21, 2005 1:57 am

Congrats on finally getting the rims on the car. I'm sure you'll enjoy your new handling.

MMamdouh · Post by **MMamdouh** » Mon Nov 21, 2005 1:23 pm

i didn't really test the car but the initial feel is like "someone glued the tires to the road"... car feels sticky to the ground and better cornering and braking.

i thingk the tires are a bit noisy or is this normal with brand new tires??

BTW i haven't had it aligned yet so could this make a little noise?

MMamdouh

ChiPPy · Post by **ChiPPy** » Mon Nov 21, 2005 10:05 pm

Noise is usually a side effect of directional tread tires, which you now own, welcome to the club.

I would presume your new tires and rims will make your handling feel a lit tighter. As you stated already, the tires seem to grip much better, and because of the lower profile of the tires, you will get much less tire rollover.

MMamdouh · Post by **MMamdouh** » Mon Nov 21, 2005 10:36 pm

i was told that too about the sound... it is an inherent thing with wider tires, i don't care as long as the handling is better.

the car feels much responsive now on both the brakes and steering... it feels as if someone removed the steering lag away and added more effecency to the brakes.

still didn't have an alignment or a full test but i am liking it already... a bit disapointed because of the sound though but it will be faded by the cassette or engine sound as i was intentionally driving carefully today to listen to the tires... never heared it yesterday at all so its cool.

MMamdouh

MMamdouh · Post by **MMamdouh** » Tue Nov 22, 2005 2:38 pm

finished work at 5:00 AM and went flat out to home... 10Kms drive :twisted:

the car feels as if it is wider and more glued to the road... got to be due to the wider tires, also the steering is more responsive than before and i guess this is due to the lower profile.

the most great thing is the braking experiance... it is some 20% better than ever, with the old tires i used to hear my tires squeal when i am braking hard and have high tendancy to lock... now it is braking, braking and more braking without slipping.

as for acceleration... i don't think it is affected, if the car is not as fast as it used to be then it is hardly any slower... can't complain at this department.

the most irritating thing is the sound... very noticable between 40 and 60 KPH... Chippy said it is normal with uni directional tires so i guess i have to get used to it... other than that it has been a very effective mod. for me.

as for its total cost... i was already going to get a new set of 175/70/13 tires for 800 LE but the current ones cost 1100LE so i paid 300LE more in tires, 300LE for rims and 85LE for wheel covers so totaly it costed 685LE more... thats some 118USD, i say it is money well spent for sure.

MMamdouh

AcingTeam · Post by **AcingTeam** » Wed Nov 23, 2005 12:05 am

FINALLY this thread could be now closed lol j/k.

Congratz!

MMamdouh · Post by **MMamdouh** » Wed Nov 23, 2005 12:10 am

thanks man... indeed their is not much to say here however it opened a new thread about swapping in 13" rotors instead of my current 12" ones.

MMamdouh

MMamdouh · Post by **MMamdouh** » Thu Nov 24, 2005 7:53 pm

again another test at 5:30 AM and the feeling is great... i can't feel that the car is any slower at all, now i took the 4 old 13" rims off my trunk but i still have an extra fully inflated spare in... maybe the very cold weather made the car do better than usual so i will keep an eye on the car's performance for a little longer.

one thing i was monitoring closely to make sure i am not imagining things... the steering does feel lighter with the wider tires

i don't know why is that and i can't complain either :twisted:

the tire produce more noise than the old one for sure but given all the added benefits... i can live with that.

still haven't pushed the car hard during corners (memories of the accident still hunts me) but so far it seems promising, their is this series of 4 consecutive sharp 90 deg. turns on the way back home and when taking them hard as i used to do with the old tires i went in and out with no problems... the old tires would have squealed as hell during the process.

finally i can't tell you how much better the braking experience has improved... now i can go as fast as i can knowing that i can stop whenever and wherever i want... got to wonder how it will feel when upgrading to 13" rotors. :twisted:

MMamdouh

MMamdouh · Post by **MMamdouh** » Thu Jan 12, 2006 8:46 am

first wet road tests... not that good

the tire is wider than the old one (185 vs 175) and it is uni directional so it is supposed to give better grip in the wet but that is not the case... i can spin the wheels on wet roads at second gear and tendancy to lock under braking is a bit high, no idea why is this happening despite having wider tires and uni directional tread that is supposed to do better on the wet.

maybe this has to do with how hard the tire compound is?? the old P3000 got a tread wear of 400 where the GT got only 260 so i recon it is almost 50% softer and that causes it to slip... maybe?

i don't know guys... i am not that confident on the wet as i used to be on the Pirelli P3000 or even the OEM Kumho Power Star... any suggestions on what is happening here?

MMamdouh

SickDrift · Post by **SickDrift** » Thu Jan 12, 2006 7:02 pm

MMamdouh wrote:first wet road tests... not that good

the tire is wider than the old one (185 vs 175) and it is uni directional so it is supposed to give better grip in the wet but that is not the case... i can spin the wheels on wet roads at second gear and tendancy to lock under braking is a bit high, no idea why is this happening despite having wider tires and uni directional tread that is supposed to do better on the wet.

maybe this has to do with how hard the tire compound is?? the old P3000 got a tread wear of 400 where the GT got only 260 so i recon it is almost 50% softer and that causes it to slip... maybe?

i don't know guys... i am not that confident on the wet as i used to be on the Pirelli P3000 or even the OEM Kumho Power Star... any suggestions on what is happening here?

MMamdouh

I dont know anything about those gt tires you have. Never heard of them.

The pirelli p3000's are some of the best touring tires out there for the money. They have great tread compounds, and ton's of siping (the little slits in the tread blocks) which provides more biting edge. So you get better traction in any condition, wet or dry. I used to sell the shit out of them. I put them on my moms car, and some of my friends cars. It's definately not a performance tire, at all. It's a touring tire, meant to give a comfortable, safe, and long lasting ride.

But looking at the tread of this GT tire, it apprears as though it wouldnt have very good wet traction. A good performance tire in the wet i have found is the falken 451:

.
If you compare the tread on this tire to the tread of the GT tire you will see that the falken has a more broken up tread design, which aids wet traction. This is what i have on my corolla, and i have a hard time breaking traction on it. I highly reccommend it for value and quality.

And please note, there is no standard rating system with those UTQG numbers, so you cant compare them between different manufacturers. A michelin 320 will get more milage than a lesser quality 420. And that michelin will still be stickier.