A Christmas present to myself...

Front:
225/40/18 Michelin PS Cup Competition Tires, mounted on 18/8.5, 5-112, 37mm offset, Milano M708 lightweight forged wheels with MB center caps, match balanced.

Rear:
265/30/19 Michelin PS Cup Competition Tires, mounted on 19/9.5, 5-112, 37mm offset Milano M708 lightweight forged wheels with MB center caps, match balanced, 15mm forged spacers.

https://www.crossfireforum.org/galle...cat/500/page/1
https://www.crossfireforum.org/galle...cat/500/page/1
https://www.crossfireforum.org/galle...cat/500/page/1
https://www.crossfireforum.org/galle...cat/500/page/1

 

could you post some daytime pics hddp? those tires are sick.

 

Michelin Pilot Sport Cups are DOT approved for dry weather use only... They're slippery as heck until you warm them up (two laps). I've spun the car on many occasions during the warm-up lap of an event, like hitting black ice... And you never feel it coming...

Not recommended for street use especially during the winter IMO... But when they're hot, they stick like glue!!!

What pictures of the tires / wheels do you want to see in the day? Maybe I can shoot some tomorrow...

 

its just a little hard to see how it look on the car because its sorta dark, just the side view...thanks...

 

X'ed: here's the new wheels in the light of day...

https://www.crossfireforum.org/galle...php/photo/2855
https://www.crossfireforum.org/galle.../cat/500/page/
https://www.crossfireforum.org/galle.../cat/500/page/

 

wow... that looks really nice. great choice in rims! they look right at home on the crossfire.

did you add an srt6 front bumper? or is that an aftermarket lower chin spoiler? its hard to tell from the pic and it seems lower on the edge near the front tire than oem.

 

Andrew... How do you do that? I can't add photos to my posts from my MAC... This must be a PC centric website...

Yes that is a SRT6 front fascia... I had mine damaged by a valet at one of the top 10 restaurants in the US while I was working in Santa Fe, NM... The name of the restaurant is Geronimo... And the only reason I'm telling you this, is because they refused to pay for the damage, so don't patronize that place... When I returned to LA, I thought I would put the SRT6 front fascia on it $380 from the dealer and $200 to paint it... Installation $10 for the 12 pack of beer I drank in my garage...

Also got rid of the inside front fender liners since they were limiting air flow to the brakes and the engine bay... I'm working on ducting to the disks... But this is only for my little "MAKE IT FASTER ON THE TRACK" stuff...

I kinda like the wheels, not too much BLING. Although they are 4 lbs heavier than the OEM wheels... Fronts cost me $202 ea, Rears $285 ea... They are made in China, distributed by both Milano and ACE... I had to go with beefy wheels because I run the tracks alot... I've seen too many light weight (BLING) wheels crumble on the track...

Seems to look pretty good though, IMO... But most importantly is the wider stance, with the 8.5" front and the 9.5" rear with the 15mm spacer... The clearance is perfect... I haven't been on the track with it yet, but I guess I can squeeze another .5 sec out of the corners... I'm tempted to run one of the canyons tonight to see if it handles differently...

 

i had 18" ace rims on my '97 acura cl. back then 18's were huge.

your new tires have got to be a huge improvement once heated. i use to autocross rather heavily many many years ago (16v scirroco, mustang gt, corvette) and i used sticky tires...and wow let the rocks fly!

as for uploading a pic... i sent you a pm with the details.

 

Andrew, thank you for the upload tip... I'll see if I can get my MAC to comply... As far as the Michelin PS Cups, I've been running them on the track for the past year... They are terrific in warm climates and for track use when they get heated, but now that we're getting into winter (so to speak) California weather, I needed to swap them...

The only reason I purchased the new wheels was because I can't drive with the Cups on the car during normal street driving in the So. Cal. winter rain and I needed additional wheels for the "all weather tires"...

I tried TOYO S1-R tires for the track, but the side walls were too soft and I threw them in the trash after two track days... I'm REALLY happy with the Michelin Pilot Sport Cups... They're so sticky you can hear them picking up road debris as you drive along...

I'm more interested in seeing how the car performs with 8.5" fronts and 9.5" rears with the 15mm spacer... I have been pretty tight with the previous set-up, but now I might just be able to push a bit harder through the corners...

After all, I don't have the HP, so I have to make it up in cornering...

 

Andrew: I think I got it... Thanks for the teutalage (sp).
[IMG]

 

Where's the brembo big brake kit? Tasteful ride, I must say!

 

HDDP, looks nice. I know the stock Crossfire wheel and tire package is pretty heavy on each corner of the car, and excessive unsprung weight is no good on the track. What do you think each wheel / tire weighs?

From what I have seen, you really don't see too many cars racing at the grass roots level with low profile tires. I wonder if this is due to the decrease in "communication" from the tires when cornering at the limits, or because of the weight penalty associated with using larger diameter wheels. Seems to me that 18" front / 19" rear might be good for the street, but a little excessive on the track. What do you think?

 

Not Installed yet... It's an after the holiday project... Heck it took me 3 months to get around to putting the headers on... LOL

 

I'm Not sure the total weight, my tire shop didn't have a scale and I don't have one at home... I can tell you that the new wheels felt heavier than the OEM by a few pounds, but the new fronts are 8.5" wide and the rears 9.5" wide as opposed to the 7.5/9 OEM combo. The tires are like feathers.

I'll tell you, everything about this car is a major project and sometimes, pain in the ***... I went through 50 different companies trying to find decent performance wheels that would fit the car, that weren't going to cost an arm and leg... And also seemed sturdy enough to take the abuse that I give them on the track... Hell, you should have seen my front OEM wheels when we tried to do a match balance on the Hunter machine. We laughed because they were bent both horizontally and vertically... Probably from a few less than glorious track run-offs into the dirt this year...


I debated alot about this tire, wheel combo... I'm not 100% happy with it either, especially the rears... The 19" wheel causes the biggest issue since Michelin Pilot Sport Cup Competition tires only come with a 30 sidewall in 19" sizes. That side wall is a bit narrow for the track IMO, but the CUP tire is terrific on the track... Competition tires are slim pickin's in the 19" range. I searched high and low for decent tires and even trashed the TOYO S1-R's after I was completely dissatisfied with them with less than two days of track time on them...

I may end-up swapping the rear wheels with 18x10's if this combo doesn't perform right, and put on a 265/40/18 tire in the rear... It's all hit and miss with this car until I get it dialed-in perfectly...

I needed to go a bit wider on the rear wheel / track because I was experiencing some oversteer on my last track day. And since I don't have the availability of many suspension adjustments to compensate, the cheapest way to go was with a bit wider stance by using the spacer and 9.5" wheel

Another thing that concerns me a bit about this new set-up is the 15mm spacer I put on the rears... I might be getting a bit neurotic, but it might just weaken the bond between the wheel and hub, even though they are hub centric. I know it sounds overly cautious, but it introduces another component that could possibly fail with disastrous results or also cause undue stress on the wheel bearings and suspension components in the long run. I also had to use a longer lug bolt which just slides through the spacer with no support from the surrounding hole, instead of actually threading into the spacer and then into the hub. I feel a little less concerned that they are on the rear where there is substantially less load bearing weight, I definitely would not put them on the front...

But your point is well taken... Ideally one would want to go with smaller diameter wheels like 17's with a much thicker sidewall tire so when you hit a rumble strip, the tire absorbs most of the impact and doesn't transfer that energy directly to the wheel, possibly bending it or throwing it out of round... And I think a taller sidewall will give you a bit more flex and disperse the heat build-up in the tire. I also think a smaller diameter wheel would have less chance to flex under heavy torque.

I'm sure there are some other VERY good tire engineering reasons that I am not aware of, which smarter and more experienced people could address... I don't know if you remember our discussion about running 18's on the rear for track use... I think that might be the most effective set-up and there are many more options for Wheels & Tires. Thankfully, I believe ACE and Milano import that same wheel (M708) in a 18x10, but Michelin's closest fit for a comp. tire would be 265/35/18 which only has an additional 5% of sidewall from the ones I have on there now....

Ah Dilemma's... Anyhow, I'm off to Miami for the weekend to shoot the Hot Import Nights / National Custom Car Assn. show... I'll post some stills of these MEGA-BLING cars and hopefully some scantily clad car chicks when I return... See YA !!!

 

At least I know that you have them! Whenever you install them, please let us know how they are and maybe post some pics.

 

Those wheels look good, a bit too nice for track rims but if you've got the money! BTW, why do they need spacers?

 

They don't... I was trying to adjust some oversteer with a wider rear stance...

 

why do these rims look so much smaller than stock?

 

do you think they'd have 20x9.5? because i'd like to get 20x9.5 for the rears and 19x8.5 for the front... i'll call them on monday.

i think i have to go as big as possible because it looks like (due to the design of the rim) they appear much smaller than they are, which isn't an effect i want.

they are so beautiful though.

if i had any REAL complaint it would be putting the mercedes emblem on rims that are sitting under a chrysler crossfire... i'd expect to get the odd person laughing a bit at me trying to be a mercedes poser (whether or not the xfire is built on the slk who cares).

but they can screw off, cause these wheels are beauuutiful.

 

They do have the size you are looking for. http://www.milanomotoring.com
The center cap just pops out... I have a blank cap in there now, got rid of the MB last year...