New Shoes...

Posted by murmini Thu, 31 May 2007 20:29:00 GMT

With about 45,000 miles on the car, it was time to get some new shoes. I had already replaced the fronts at about 15k but now it was time for a change.

The world of tires is extensive. Each with features and considerations of types of driving, performance handling in dry or wet weather, wear and tear and road noise. Even more comprehensive in design and performance are the incredible options regarding wheels. Most of which I found to be garish. I have been very impressed with the Enkei that Pedro at Motoring Fun had recently installed and we had chatted a bit over his supplier and his general purchase experience.

With all that in mind, I contacted The Tire Rack and initially used their web site to review wheels and tires. You can even dial in your car on their site and select an image of the various wheels and how they will look on your car... colour combination and all. I was impressed with the options and the clear view of availability of both tires and wheels. I had read many postings of recent about tires and had some general opinions myself about the type of tire I wanted.

I had been using the BF Goodrich T/A and although the performance had been good, the tread wear had not impressed me and I had found it generally a noisy and hard tire.

I also decided to increase the vertical height of the tire from a 215/40/17 to a 215/45/17 hoping to get a little more ride comfort. My choice of tire was the Goodyear Eagle F1 GS-D3. Again, Tire Rack has great comparative charts of all performance aspects of each tire including ride and noise comfort and tread ware.

Vance, at The Tire Rack was exceptional in locating the wheels and tires I wanted within their warehouses and I placed the order. Two days later, UPS delivers the tires, mounted on the rims fully balanced and ready to install on the car. I must say the entire process of dealing with them was 1st class and I would highly recommend them to anyone in the market for wheels and tires. If your just buying tires, they will ship to you and make arrangements with your local tire shop to have them installed.

All in all I can say that the entire selection and shopping experience was wonderful and without fault. The new wheels are a mere 17lbs and feel extremely light and very responsive.

The tires feel very sure footed and 'tight'. I am sure once they are run in, they will be a huge improvement over their predecessors. Altogether, this has been a terrific upgrade and in every respect has enhanced the driving experience.