Anybody replaced their stiff ride from 17" to 15" rims? Though to help eliminate some of the rattle and stiffy ride, i have a sport package and wished i bought the regular basic packages.
Tirerack sells the 15" with 40 offset, tires would be 195/60/15" to matched the height of the 205/40/17.
Comments are greatly appreciated.

 

What year and model is your car?

 

2002 MCS/ R53, no brake mod was repleced with aftermarket type like vented but same size.

 

Actually 205/55/15 are a closer match to the oem 17 inch tire size. I have made the switch to 17 inch and back to 15 inch.

 

Aloha from Mililani!

Since you have an R53, it is built in 2002 but is a 2003 model.

The brakes are small enough to fit OEM 15x5.5" rims which is what I use for daily driving and assorted all season tires, sometimes UHP all seasons and sometimes Grand Touring All Season tires. 195/60-15 is a good choice for street use and Costco carries those tires.

You can easily buy aftermarket 15x7" wheels (40 offset is fine) which are not too heavy and not too expensive. I have 15x6 to 15x8" spare sets.

Let me know if you have questions.

And yes, by switching to tires that are higher sidewalled you can get a much less stiff ride. Personally I will be going for Michelin Primacy MXV4 in 195/60-15 for my next set, comfort is it's strong suit followed by long wear and it is available at costco or tirerack.

If you do go with tirerack try contacting Alex@tirerack.com or at extention 4294 on their toll free line. I deal with him all the time.

see
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....XV4P&tab=Specs
Tirerack test-
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/...y.jsp?ttid=171

It is also possible to get better comfort using OEM 17x7" wheels. You can get better tires like Michelin Pilot Super Sport in 215/45-17 if you have the stock sport suspension. And you can change the shocks to Koni FSD for more comfort.

 

I feel your pain. I'm running a JCW Cabrio with 215 40 17 Continentals on Breyton wheels with Megan Coilovers cranked all the way down and while Hwy driving is wonderful, in town in our area is awful. Ran a set of 205 50 16 Michelin Exalto and the ride is greatly improved.

 

Long time no hear Doc, drea-min (password locked and can not reset password)
Yeah, still have my old 02MCS but its all apart at this time, the engine says overheating but water not boiling, removed the SC and found PTO oil lower than normal, can't decide whats the nepxt step, is the club still active any DYI going on at hawaii club?

 

I would say that the club is minimally active but you can always suggest a DIY of your choice. They do get together for coffee now and then and Jan comes over for a tuning session from time to time.

Sorry to hear that you aren't on the road yet. The roads in Mililani might as well be off road. I don't think you can make a road any worse than it is. Just pave it with concrete already.

 

Any of the member had problem with their supercharger that you know of, if and where did they took it for overhaul, i call Bavarian and they want me to bring the whole car. Rebuilt is my next option but i want to just do it on my own just change the PTO seal.
Thanks for the info.

 

This is off topic and (a thread hijack) but,

You can purchase a new or rebuilt Supercharger with any pulley size through Way at Way Motor works,

http://www.waymotorworks.com/r53-r52...ercharger.html
Standard rebuilt SC from $895

http://www.waymotorworks.com/r53-por...ercharger.html
Ported rebuilt SC from $995

http://www.waymotorworks.com/r53-coo...ercharger.html
New SC from $1400

http://www.waymotorworks.com/superch...e-r52-r53.html
New SC with kit/seals from $1500

I did a rebuilt SC with 17% pulley from Way when I had my engine work done. Works fine.
Core is $500 deposit.

Sorry to the OP.

 

Odd tire discussion. haha

 

Sorry, wrong thread..... PM is appropriate place to discuss other things. My apology.

 

I binned my 17" S Spokes for 15x7 Team Dynamics Pro Race 1.2 et35 with 195/50/15 Yokohama Parada Spec II tyres.

The wheels weigh 6.2kg each, about 5kg saving per wheel over the standard S Spokes. This is unsprung weight and should improve handling considerably.

The ride is amazing and it makes such a positive difference in the way the car drives.

Clearly their circumference is considerably smaller than standard which lowers the gearing (nice), lowers the car (nice) but gives a bigger wheel gap (not so nice). I prefer to drive my cost than look at it, so I'm not too bothered.

I've completed this mod now on both the R53s I've owned.

 

Thanks, i am for the ride not the look, tired of the stiffy ride, too many pothole in Hawaii.
Glad im not the only one to switch