Hi,

my thoughts :

Rim damage : the rears are a nightmare, they stick out so far, kerbing is difficult to avoid, done mine when parking , when getting a ticket from a car park, they stick out a lot at the sides. It can be minimised by getting the right tyres, i.e. ones that stick out a bit more than the rim. I've got more used to it and seem able to avoid now, even so, when I get the chance I am sticking 275s on the rear. Probably worse if you use the car every day in multi story car parks in unfamilar towns, reversing in places you don't know ( and can't see anything out the back in the Roadster) etc

Low Mileage : I think there are a lot of folk who have them as second cars/ weekend cars etc ( see threads on mothballing for the winter etc). I have done 42,000 miles in mine and use it every day. Just done a 5 hour return trip from Lichfield to Hatfield for work today.

 

In your first post you asked about tyres so its maybe worth saying that I recently bought a set of Barum Bravuris 2's (www.barum-tyres.co.uk/bravuris2.asp) in size 255/35/19 for my Crossfire through www.tyre-shopper.co.uk. Made by Continental I think, and are only Ł117 each, including fitting and balancing. So far they seem to be performing well and I can honestly say that on a day to day basis (motorway commuting on greasy winter roads) I can't tell the difference between the Barums and the high performance Michelin Sport 2's which were on the car when I bought it new. They offer good comfort and low noise but are harder wearing than the soft Michelin compound. Each to their own I guess, but I certainly wouldn't dream of forking out in excess of Ł280 (minimum) EACH for the so-called premium hi-performance brands. Moral of the story is shop around!

On other Crossfire issues, providing you can adapt to the notchy 1st-2nd gear change on the manual (mines is a 55 plate manual and it took alot of getting used to!) and the grim visibility when parking/manouvering (even in the coupe), you'll soon fall in love with the car like the rest of us!

 

Hi Beeblebrox
275's on the Rear rims is totally the way to go ,i've had mine fitted for about a year now & they have saved the rear rims about 4-5 time so far , Also they look so much wider next to the 255's

With the manual gear selector , I like the action its so positive , I do find going from 6 gear down to 5 gear some times i have to take two goes at it , But its no problem , I find having 3 gates across the selector you have to be more careful or your drop into the wrong gear ( but only if your in a rush ;] ) . On the visibility front ( Rear) if you have a back neck forget it as you need to look around all the time.


Cheers

Andy

 

Rear view visibility is improved by fitting reaversing sensers. You don't see any better, but I found them a great improvment after fitting mine.

Although I did find a mixed bag of size's when looking at verious make's, so if you go this route ensure you check the size before purchasing or having them fitted. The bumper units range from very large to discreet.

Lastly, don't fit them to low on the bumper or you will having them going off all the time while reversing.

Cheers

Ken