Back in Black

Thanks stan! I appreciate it!



In other news:


Uh oh...look what I got...

SIIIIIIICK

WOW......!

Those are going to look AMAZING!!

Well, the weather turned out better than expected, and the forecast looks decent for a while, so I put the new wheels on! The wheels look so much better in person than on the internet, and phenomenal on the car as far as I'm concerned. The sun doesn't really want to come out today, but these pics are a decent representation overall!

As some of you know, these are the Sport Edition SE-14's, and I ended up with Continental ExtremeContact DW in 235/50/17.

Not even a contest.






This picture exaggerates the front end look quite a bit. The wheels actually line up almost exactly with the edge of the fender.

Wow! Lookin Good! I really like pictures 6 and 9 from the bottom up!

VERY nice! How do you like the ride?

Please keep high-res images handy for calendar submission.

Looks great man. I love spokes on the Riv, they really do fit the car.

I wish mine was black

Rotors and F bodies comin up soon, right? Looks sweet!

Ohhh yes......just let us know if the shimmy is gone between 65 & 70 mph.

Bet you the farm the shimmy's gone.

Haha...yet to find out, we still don't know for sure. Have it in Rivs,Auroras,Park Aves....

Looks perfect! I flirted for ages about buying those very rims. Then I opted for a coil-over conversion.

They look AWSOME! Best looking wheels I've seen on a Riv!

Wow thanks a ton everyone! I'm usually pretty decent at designing and whatnot, and as soon as I installed these I KNEW I had made the right choice in style and tire size. The 5 spokes I picked out just would not have 'worked' from a styling perspective.

I took dad for a short ride - only about 6 miles or so. The short trip consisted of every type of road you can imagine. Bumpy, straight, fast curves, and highway. These tires took every situation and threw it out the window - the car rides SO MUCH BETTER and don't even get me started on handling. Some of the curves were taken so easily I would barely know we were turning if I wasn't the one driving. I'm extremely impressed with the setup, as simple as it is. It's weird - the ride is firmer, but less harsh. Does that make any sense?

Anyway, I'll be going a few places between tomorrow night and Saturday and I'll report back. Hopefully I can get more pictures in the sun too!

I don't know about F-body brakes yet, but I do know I still want to get Addco sway bars. Might be a month or two for that.

I wish I had somewhere to go! I want to drive this thing forever now!

Quote :

the ride is firmer, but less harsh. Does that make any sense?

It makes really good sense. I have a similar experience each spring when I put on the 18"s with 45 profile tires (put them on 2 days ago). A lower profile tire means there's less air cushion between the suspension and the road. It feels more firm because the suspension is now doing a larger % of the work, rather than the 60 profile OEM tires absorbing so much. You are going to feel more of the finer details of the road through the car because there's less air cushion. Also lower profile tires tend to have stiffer sidewalls, reinforcing that stiffness.

And your new wheel/tire combo should actually weigh less than stock. This means less unsprung mass, which is one of the most important things for good handling. Because the wheels & tires weigh less, they will have less inertia, tending to track to the road surface more faithfully = surer grip. Heavier stock wheels bounce more over bumps, because their greater mass wants to keep moving after the bump is long gone. This is why it feels less harsh (more controlled) when you roll over a bigger bump. The lightness of your new wheels more easily follows output from the suspension. Spring says, "Down!". Wheel & tire say, "Yes sir!"

If you had mounted a 60 tire on your new wheels, you'd probably notice about the same level of road feel as stock, but less harsh over bumps (super comfortable). If you had gone with a heavier rim and same 50 tire, you'd notice the ride was more firm, but also more harsh than stock (very clunky). Your new set-up is the best type for spirited driving. Nice job!

Outstanding!

I love the look of those on your car. Just the right mix of sport and class.

Aaron - that makes perfect sense, thinking back on it. Physics! Woo! Either way, I love the way it rides now, and it wasn't bad before!

And thanks guys! That's exactly what I was going for Yoss.

Now your sig needs updating.

I'm running out of room

It's simply amazing what the right rims will do for a car.

I really like those wheels! I wonder if a "Buick" center cap would fit. Did you post what those cost?

I agree Dave...they make the car look completely different. A little more modern even, and I wasn't expecting that.

Al - I didn't think to try that before I put them on the car. I have a few caps I can try but I'd really rather make some sort of "R" centercap to match the car. I have a few ideas.

And I put my invoice away but I think each wheel was $115, each tire was $144, and all things said and done to my door I think they were $1,190-something. Compared with what I COULD have spent, I think I did good. They came with (surprisingly) correct sized centering rings already installed, a new set of lugs, and lug adapter for a crossbar.

Do you know if these Sport Edition SE-14's with tires are lighter than the stock 16s with tires mounted?

Al