A few of you have asked me to post pictures of this combo when my order finally came, so here it is:




I bought them with Goodyear F1 GS-D3s in the 205/50 size. I weighed all four wheel/tire combinations, and they averaged 32.1 pounds. I weighed two of the rims alone. One was 11.1 pounds, and the other was 11.5 pounds, for an average of 11.3 pounds. Very light.

Incidentally, I was concerned that the locking lugbolt would make the wheel unbalanced, but the standard lugbolt is 69 gms, and the McGard lugbolt is 67 gms, almost identical. I've ordered black lugbolt plastic caps to cover the rather utility-looking silver lugbolts.

Offset of the wheels are 42mm.

I've only tooled around on the street a little bit so far, and already I notice a big improvement in traction upon acceleration from a standstill. The DSC is much less intrusive. I used to see that DSC light flashing quite often, even on dry pavement!

_________________
'03 MCS, EB/BLK, pkgs#1,2,3, Nav, H/K, PDC, Anthracite w/black leather, Alta pulley, Evotech ECU, SSR Comps

 

very nice!

 

Nice set of wheels!

Loved the dark color of the wheels really matches the scheme you got going. What did you do for a spare?

 

stylin

 

I hate you! (in a nice way)

 

>>Nice set of wheels!
>>
>>Loved the dark color of the wheels really matches the scheme you got going. What did you do for a spare?
>>

wuidoy,

For my "spare", I bought at the local Orchard Supply Hdwe:
-mini compressor
-can of tire repair sealer
-tire plug kit
-pr. pliers
-pr. of scissors

I'll use the plugs for a temp repair if the circumstances allow me too. My second choice would be to goop up the rim and wheel with the tire gunk. The pliers are to pull out any nails, screws, etc, and the scissors are to cut the plugs to size. All these items fit into the left and right side storage areas flanking the boot, even with the H/K amp in the right cubby. Everything cost about $50, less than any other "mobility kit" sold by dealers/retailers.

 

Greetings

LetsMotor,
Great looking combo. Congrats on your new wheels !!

Give us a follow up report after you put some miles on this set up !!

Best Regards,
Ron

 

Those look so freaking hot. I gotta have my own.

 

>> I've only tooled around on the street a little bit so far, and already I notice a big improvement in traction upon acceleration from a standstill. The DSC is much less intrusive. I used to see that DSC light flashing quite often, even on dry pavement!
>>

Have you noticed any improvement in acceleration itself with the light wheel/tire combo?

 

The anthracite finish goes well with the black roof and mirrors for you- great.
The look and quality of the SSR comps is excellent. This 16x7 wheel is only a little heavier than the
new SSR Comp R that is 16x6.5 and due out very soon-we've been waiting so long. However the Comp R does not come
in the different finishes and has no machined lip or centercaps and still costs approx $280 each rim.

How do you like the 50 series tire- smoother, softer ride, less road/tire noise? Are you planning any springs to lower your car?

 

>>The anthracite finish goes well with the black roof and mirrors for you- great.

Thats Exactly what I said to LetsMotor, when we spoke today! Electric Blue with black roofs are not common. He's going to run a bit of track time this week, I am really excited to see how he feels about this setup out there!

Alex

 

>>The anthracite finish goes well with the black roof and mirrors for you- great.
>>The look and quality of the SSR comps is excellent. This 16x7 wheel is only a little heavier than the
>>new SSR Comp R that is 16x6.5 and due out very soon-we've been waiting so long. However the Comp R does not come
>>in the different finishes and has no machined lip or centercaps and still costs approx $280 each rim.
>>
>>How do you like the 50 series tire- smoother, softer ride, less road/tire noise? Are you planning any springs to lower your car?

Thanks for the nice comments! It wasn't an easy decision deciding between anthracite vs. the silver Comps. I wanted silver initially, but would have to go to a 7.5" width to get it and I wanted to stay with a 7" width. What makes up for it though is the shiny machined rim on the 7.0 rim. IMHO, it really adds a snap to the appearance. This was a pleasant surprise for me.

Well to answer the last few posts, I've noticed that the ride is still firm, but the hard jarring over rough pavement is virtually gone. They are very quiet, and the squealing on cornering is also virtually gone. Instead, on hard turns, you just hear this quiet gripping sound as the rubber claws at the pavement, very different sound than the factory mud and snow tires!
They really do stick! I'm experimenting with the tire pressures right now.

Acceleration has been harder to judge since I have had some pinging issues lately (that you may have read about in another thread), so I haven't been too hard on the go pedal. (I don't want to go to a "Piston Party", as Randy calls it). My initial impressions from the reliable accelerumpeter has been positive though.
Randy, who did the pulley and ECU on my car, suggested a colder range plug, and I'm going to try that next. Hopefully that'll cure it before I get on the track!

As far as lowering the car? No way for me. I only plan on tracking it once or twice per year. On canyon runs and hill climbs, when I drive hard, I already scrape my airdam on sharp turns as the road goes from a downhill to an uphill grade. Overall, I'm pretty happy so far with my stock suspension. The only thing I may add before long is a bigger rear sway bar, so that I can keep my tire pressure differential smaller from front to back.

_________________
'03 MCS, EB/B, pkgs#1,2,3, Nav, H/K, PDC, Anthracite w/blk leather, Alta pulley, Evotech ECU, Anthracite SSR Comps

 

The polished lip really compliments the chrome look on the car. VERY nice looking.

 

Very Nice, Same setup I have But i have 18's....
Love Them

 

>>Very Nice, Same setup I have But i have 18's....
>>Love Them

Wow, 18's? They must look great! I'd love to see any pictures you might have of your car.

 

great color car,

and great rims choice

congrats on the wise deicison to go wtih brand name :smile:

 

>>>>The anthracite finish goes well with the black roof and mirrors for you- great.
>>
>>Thats Exactly what I said to LetsMotor, when we spoke today! Electric Blue with black roofs are not common. He's going to run a bit of track time this week, I am really excited to see how he feels about this setup out there!
>>
>>Alex

Wow, just finished a day at Thunderhill raceway. First off, FWIW, these comments are for tires with just 500 miles on them, but this tire sticks. There is no squealing, and the tire is forgiving and communicates very well at the limit. Even if you go into a corner a little too hot, it let's you know progressively; you can ease off, and not get bitten. The sidewall seems to be somewhat less stiff than some of the other high performance rubber I've driven, but turn in is still very good. I suspect this gives the tire it's lighter weight and very good ride however. Also, though this tire is very new, the noise levels are extremely low, even at 70-80 mph. In rain, I would suspect that this tire would surpass most of its competitors. So far I'm impressed. :smile:

_________________
'03 MCS, EB/B, pkgs#1,2,3, Nav, H/K, PDC, Anthracite w/blk leather, Alta pulley, Evotech ECU, Anthracite SSR Comps

 

You've made a great choice of rims

I like to think of the EB/B as the S version of my SG/B (both are rare combos).

Thanks for the reviews of the tires. I may consider those when I wear out the S-03s.

One positive thing about the anthracite/polished lip is that when the wheels are dirty they still look beautiful. Polish them up and they look outstanding.

Cheers,
Kim

 

>>>>
>> Also, though this tire is very new, the noise levels are extremely low, even at 70-80 mph.

To keep them this quiet, rotate front to rear at lunch on track days. Also rotate ever 3-4k of street miles.

Alex

 

>>One positive thing about the anthracite/polished lip is that when the wheels are dirty they still look beautiful. Polish them up and they look outstanding.
>>
>>Cheers,
>>Kim

Your absolutely right about that Kim, especially with the wheel wax I got from Alex at Tire Rack, who I ordered my wheels and tires from.

 

>>>>>>The anthracite finish goes well with the black roof and mirrors for you- great.
>>>>
>>>>Thats Exactly what I said to LetsMotor, when we spoke today! Electric Blue with black roofs are not common. He's going to run a bit of track time this week, I am really excited to see how he feels about this setup out there!
>>>>
>>>>Alex
>>
>>Wow, just finished a day at Thunderhill raceway. First off, FWIW, these comments are for tires with just 500 miles on them, but this tire sticks. There is no squealing, and the tire is forgiving and communicates very well at the limit. Even if you go into a corner a little too hot, it let's you know progressively; you can ease off, and not get bitten. The sidewall seems to be somewhat less stiff than some of the other high performance rubber I've driven, but turn in is still very good. I suspect this gives the tire it's lighter weight and very good ride however. Also, though this tire is very new, the noise levels are extremely low, even at 70-80 mph. In rain, I would suspect that this tire would surpass most of its competitors. So far I'm impressed. :smile:
>>
>>_________________
>>'03 MCS, EB/B, pkgs#1,2,3, Nav, H/K, PDC, Anthracite w/blk leather, Alta pulley, Evotech ECU, Anthracite SSR Comps

Nice report from Thunderhill! I was also at Thunderhill for this event and unfortunately running on the standard 16" all season runflats (which were a bit un-nerving). I would definitely change the rear swaybar at a minimum, it really is a huge improvement. For my next track event, I will not run again on these tires. I am now torn between the S-03's and these Goodyears. These wheels look terrific, but I also really like the OZ's Super L's too. Any opinions out there for a good street/track tire and wheel set-up. I have the H Sport's and Madness swaybar.
This event hooked me to try this again!

 

>>Nice report from Thunderhill! I was also at Thunderhill for this event and unfortunately running on the standard 16" all season runflats (which were a bit un-nerving). I would definitely change the rear swaybar at a minimum, it really is a huge improvement. For my next track event, I will not run again on these tires. I am now torn between the S-03's and these Goodyears. These wheels look terrific, but I also really like the OZ's Super L's too. Any opinions out there for a good street/track tire and wheel set-up. I have the H Sport's and Madness swaybar.
>>This event hooked me to try this again!

Absolutely!

I was torn between the SO-3's and F1's as well. If you haven't already, read the customer reviews on each tire at TireRack.com. I mainly focused on the reviews by owners who have front wheel drive cars. Also the F1's have a huge rim protector! I love the extra insurance it gives me against curb rash, esp. with the high buck rims. That's a big reason why I went with 7" rims and not the 7.5" rim, even though I could get all silver with the 7.5" size.

The OZ wheels look great too, but I figured if I was going to spend the big $ for new wheels anyway, I might as well go for the lightest wheel I could find. The Goodyears are also considerably lighter than the SO-3s. This is noticable to me when accelerating out of a bumpy turn. The DSC light comes on a lot less, since IMHO, the lightweight tire/wheel combo is so compliant with the pavement surface, and the traction is SO much better than the stock M&S tires that came on your car and mine.

Randy has great things to say about the H-Sport rear sway bar. Did you install it yourself? I ended up with front to rear tire pressures at a two pound differential with the stock bar. Randy says that I could get rid of this dilfferential with a bigger rear bar, so that's probably my next upgrade.

What color is your car again?

_________________
'03 MCS, EB/B, pkgs#1,2,3, Nav, H/K, PDC, Anthracite w/blk leather, Alta pulley, Evotech ECU, Anthracite SSR Comps

 

>>Also the F1's have a huge rim protector!

Beg your pardon?

:?

 

>>>>Nice report from Thunderhill! I was also at Thunderhill for this event and unfortunately running on the standard 16" all season runflats (which were a bit un-nerving). I would definitely change the rear swaybar at a minimum, it really is a huge improvement. For my next track event, I will not run again on these tires. I am now torn between the S-03's and these Goodyears. These wheels look terrific, but I also really like the OZ's Super L's too. Any opinions out there for a good street/track tire and wheel set-up. I have the H Sport's and Madness swaybar.
>>>>This event hooked me to try this again!
>>
>>Absolutely!
>>
>>I was torn between the SO-3's and F1's as well. If you haven't already, read the customer reviews on each tire at TireRack.com. I mainly focused on the reviews by owners who have front wheel drive cars. Also the F1's have a huge rim protector! I love the extra insurance it gives me against curb rash, esp. with the high buck rims. That's a big reason why I went with 7" rims and not the 7.5" rim, even though I could get all silver with the 7.5" size.
>>
>>The OZ wheels look great too, but I figured if I was going to spend the big $ for new wheels anyway, I might as well go for the lightest wheel I could find. The Goodyears are also considerably lighter than the SO-3s. This is noticable to me when accelerating out of a bumpy turn. The DSC light comes on a lot less, since IMHO, the lightweight tire/wheel combo is so compliant with the pavement surface, and the traction is SO much better than the stock M&S tires that came on your car and mine.
>>
>>Randy has great things to say about the H-Sport rear sway bar. Did you install it yourself? I ended up with front to rear tire pressures at a two pound differential with the stock bar. Randy says that I could get rid of this dilfferential with a bigger rear bar, so that's probably my next upgrade.
>>
>>What color is your car again?
>>
>>_________________
>>'03 MCS, EB/B, pkgs#1,2,3, Nav, H/K, PDC, Anthracite w/blk leather, Alta pulley, Evotech ECU, Anthracite SSR Comps

My car is EB/W. Funny you should mention reading the Tire Rack reviews on the F1's, I just finished reading them when I came back to MCO to see your post! Very convincing argument for the Goodyears! I started looking at wheels at the same time. Not sure what white wheels would look like, but the K1's looked good too. For the swaybar, I did have a friend in San Jose who owns a Tire Center to install both the springs and swaybar at once. He said the install was very straight forward. PM me if you want his contact information.

 

>>>>Also the F1's have a huge rim protector!
>>
>>Beg your pardon?
>>
>>:?

The 205/50x16 tire is wider by almost 1/2" than the 7" rim, at the point where they meet, so the rubber would scrape the curb before the rim would. Yes, you could still chunk your rim if parking with reckless abandon, but it's just a llittle more insurance to cover for that, as OZ puts it, "moment of distraction", or something like that.

_________________
'03 MCS, EB/B, pkgs#1,2,3, Nav, H/K, PDC, Anthracite w/blk leather, Alta pulley, Evotech ECU, Anthracite SSR Comps