I sold my OEM S-Lite wheels and tires in the fall. It's beginning to look a bit like spring, so I'm thinking about what I want for wheels and tires. I'm pretty settled on these PIAA wheels. I think they will look great with the gunmetal finish on my CR/B Mini. They are simple and open and will be easy to clean.

Tires are another story. Alex at Tire Rack tells me that 251/45/17's will only need a little Dremel work in the back to work perfectly with the 42mm offset of the PIAA's. I have Bridgestone S-03's on my M Roadster and I really like them. Unfortunately, I can't find the PIAA wheels with S03 tires mounted. I've been offered the following:

Conti Sport Contact ($1899)
Kuhmo Ecsta 711 ($1639)
Kuhmo Supra 712 ($1819)

If I get the wheels alone, they will be $1196 delivered. Tire Rack will sell me the S03's for $706 delivered, $1902 PLUS mounting and balancing, probably another $100 or so, will get me exactly what I want, but I'll be risking damage to brand new wheels by getting my own tires mounted to them, not to mention all of the running around I will need to do to have all of this done. It would be MUCH easier to get the wheels and tires together.

Anyone have experience with the Conti's or Kuhmo's? The Conti's are highly rated by Consumer Reports.

Link to the wheels... http://www.piaa.com/Wheels/Wheel_FR-S.html
.

 

If I am spending over $2k on wheels, I would take into consideration a little
inconvenience to get what you really want. (which is s03's mounted on
your PIAA's) :smile:

Perhaps you can have the wheels drop shipped to tirerack and have
Tirerack mount the S03's for you? Not sure if that's possible, but worth a
try to ask Alex. (?) Did you try that option?


Alex is da man.

 

If I was in the same situation as you I'd do:

PIAA rims with Bridgestone potenza S-03 in 215/45-17
Never mind the trimming. Just run them and if you rub a little it is OK.
I have never trimmed mine and do rub with passengers in the rear but now the part that rubs has worn off the inner wheel arch so it's not as bad. Rubbing hurts the tire only a little. If you drive sanely you'll be fine, if you drive on the track you might rub a little over bumps or with hard cornering.

I don't think that the Kumhos or Conti are on the same level as the S-03 for performance or ride quality. A little more hassle or cost would be worth it for me.

The idea of having the PIAA rims shipped to tirerack is an option- tirerack prices are pretty decent, you have to negotiate any cost of mounting and balancing and pay the shipping for the rims to tirerack and for the wheels to you- but tirerack has great shipping rates and is good about taking care of your wheels. One less headache. It's worth considering.

 

Bob - how much do those wheels weigh?

mb

 

21lbs.

 

I don't track my cars so take that into consideration, but I've had S03's and Kuhmo 712's on my cars and never noticed a difference that would make me buy the S03's over the kuhmos again. I have the kuhmos now and i've had them on a couple cars in the past.
But get what YOU want. Just wanted to offer my personal opinion fwiw.

 

Unfortunatly we're not set up to recive that type of shipments.

Alex

 

OK...so here's what I finally decided on: The PIAA wheels with Toyo T1's. The price was right and they will be mounted where I'm getting the wheels. Everything is shipped with bolts and center caps. Per Alex, I'm going with 215/45/17's. They should be here in a couple of weeks, and hopefully the snow will be mostly melted by then and I can actually mount them.