I finally bought the ASA AR1's for my XF last week and had them installed. I'll go through the installation nightmare later, but I finally got the car back midday and drove the 30 miles to my office...and i'm shocked how badly they feel. There is a visual shaking in the steering wheel, and i can see the gear shift lever moving back and forth as i rumbled down the road.

With my original set of factory wheels, my XF was smooth as glass at any speed...this new set of wheels creates a ride far less smooth. So my question is: Is this just a balance issue with the tires...has anyone else gone through this?

I'm ready to call them back about this and other things...but wanted to know what the group thoughts.

The nightmare part is two fold. First, Tirerack sent the wrong lugs for the rear wheels, they were too big and rubbing something on the inside of the wheels. The other part, was that NTB said the car was ready to go, when any idiot could hear this rather loud clicking with those wrong lugs on. Tirerack also send only three hub covers for the XF with the wheels. And finally, to top all this off, the NTB guys thought it nice to run the front bumper over the curb, scraping the entire bottom to hell.

To be honest, the wheels look great as long as i don't look at the bumper and don't drive the car.

NOT HAPPY.

 

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Obviously somebody needs to correct all that's wrong with the install. I wonder if they weren't as "caring" because you didn't buy the tires from them. If I remember correctly, NTB is owned by either Michelin or Sears (I think it's Michelin). You may want to check and, if you don't get satisfaction at NTB, run the problem up the line.

I wish you had asked before (I know, hindsight is 20/20) but I would have recommended Crawford Tire (now Gemini Goodyear) on Arlington Blvd. in Bethesda. A great team of guys and they really take care of all my cars, especially my XF. I had to leave it waiting for Goodyear F1's to arrive for the rear and they brought it into the shop each night rather than leaving it out in the lot. Since I buy my tires from them, they can't give me any excuses but then again they've never had to. Sorry to hear about your experience. If it happened to me I would be beyond frustrated!

OPPS, SORRY I WENT OFF TOPIC. My eyes saw "wheels" but my mind read "tires."

 

Senna:

Yikes...

I would have recommended having the shop spin the wheels on their balancing machine without the tires to make sure the wheels were "true" (round)... Many of these wheels are made in China and don't have alot of QC before they are shipped... I had to go through a few sets of ACE wheels before I got a full set that were actually round...

The problem with the rear bolts making noises is that they are probably hitting the E brake cable inside the hub... A good grind will solve the problem...

But definitely get the wheels back to the shop, dismount the tires and spin the wheels to see if they are true !!!

 

Thanks guys for the feedback. Derek, i was thinking the same thing last night, perhaps the wheels are not true. This has not been enjoyable.

But i gotta tell you they look good at least, however now i have to lower the car...

I'll let you know how it goes.

 

i had the same problem with my high end aftermarket wheels, i bought online and i got mine rebalanced and that did the trick! sometimes the tire "dudes", probably a 18 year old kid or somting, just slapped some weights on without paying attention to detail. ps i got the walmart lifetime balancing plan! good luck and i hope your problem is as simple as mine to fix. the rear bolts on mine needed to be 1/4 inch shorter than the stock ones to prevent the previously mentioned clicking noise.

 

The hub rings you are mentioning are a must... If you got those (all 4) then find a shop that does high speed balancing. I took mine to Butler Tire in Atlanta and they knocked off the old weights and did them right. Still have a slight vibration at around 90-95. But can accept that. You are right about the stock rims - they rode GREAT!!! But I wanted the look - so you make the sacrifice. Looking back - wish I would have had my stock rims chromed.

 

I'm sorry you've had problems... If anything, I'm more familiar and experienced with the suspension, brakes, wheels, tires for this car... I learned awhile ago that this car can make-up for it's lack of HP with handling modifications...

Take a look at those wheels... I've seen some really bad wheels from overseas that are warped side to side and center to edge... No matter how you try to balance them, it's useless...

As far as lowering your car, it depends how much and how you want the car to drive... If you want some serious info to base modifications on, PM me...

 

Derek,
I'm going to have them reweighed today, lets see how it goes. I'll definitely be in touch about the suspension. As with some of us...this car is a bit of a passion, and i'm gonna just try and tweak it with to get it where i think it should be. BTW, here's a few pics of the new ASA AR1's. I know you've seen them before, but I'm really very happy with how they look, it's exactly the look I was hoping for.

 

Really nice choice... I hope a re-balance does the trick...

 

dude no offense but are those like 16's, they look tiny.

 

Rak (dude),
I hope you are not suggesting that the tires on my car somehow shrunk when transferred from the factory wheels to the new ones and are no longer 18's and 19's?

If, infact, you are referring to space around the wheels, well then we are on the same track. That's exactly what i don't care for either.

Anyway, seems the rookie that dealt with my wheels in the first go around was, infact, less than capable in reading the balancing machine. Took it back Saturday afternoon, they drove me right in the bay, i stood with them as they spun the wheels and weighted them...and they are fine now. Took it out kicked it up to 100...smooth as silk, just like it always has been.

The payment for the front end still has to happen, but at least i'm moving again. Honestly, NTB Germantown took care of the issue well all around.