Got my Enkei wheels and Pirelli tires put on...

the other day. Would love to post (or better yet ATTACH) a photo or two. But could someone school this fool on how to do it? Thanks EDIT: Pictures are in post #7

1. Hit "Reply" 2. go to "Manage attachments" 3. Select the picture you want 4. Select "upload" 5. finish you message and "submit"

I'm curious which enkei wheels you got.

Rob, thanks for the tutorial. I got the Enkei RPM2 in 18x7.5 in hyperblack with Pirelli P Zero Nero tires. Stock wheel/tire combo is about 43 pounds. My new tire/wheel combo is 40.5 So I dropped 2.5+ pounds each wheel. The Pirelli's are VERY nice. Smoother, quieter, and MUCH more responsive. The lost weight helps the steering response of course, but quick moves are done easier and more controlled. Less roll in the tires too. The car feels a touch snappier in acceleration, especially at lower rpms when your not in the power band. Obviously the less rotational mass helps that. Dropped 2 pounds in each tire and about .7 pound in each wheel. Haven't jumped on the brakes or anything, but I'm sure braking distance has decreased (improved) with the better tires, but the pedal feel still stinks and the LGT definately needs better brakes. At least brake lines, fluid and pads, which would help tremendously I'd imagine. I'll snap some photos tomorrow and post them.

Well, I quickly went out and snapped a couple pix before the sun went down. I messed up though and had the camera on exposure for interior so the pictures didn't come out that good. When I have more time, i'll take some proper shots. Hope this uploading works Edit: Nope, I'll try again. Edit #2: I my "files" are too big (like 3 times too large) how do I shrink the image down without cropping it all to pieces?

You need to resize it with an image editor... For example, with Photoshop you can open the image up and then go to Image > Image Size... and set the pixel width to 800 pixels (and the height should shrink automatically preserving the aspect ratio). Then Save As... a jpg file.

Ahh, okay thanks.

 

Here's the pix...finally.

 

Again, remember these aren't exposed or color balanced properly. I took them very quickly without setting my camera up to the proper levels.

These photos don't do justice to how the car looks with these wheels in person.

very nice. You think we could get leveled shot though?

I didnt realize how dark the wheels are.. oh yea, any plans of lowering it? cuz it would really give the car some REAL UMPH! Keefe

[quote name='Driver72']......The Pirelli's are VERY nice. Smoother, quieter, and MUCH more responsive. The lost weight helps the steering response of course, but quick moves are done easier and more controlled. Less roll in the tires too. The car feels a touch snappier in acceleration, especially at lower rpms when your not in the power band. Obviously the less rotational mass helps that. Dropped 2 pounds in each tire and about .7 pound in each wheel......[/QUOTE] Have you noticed any tramlining with the Pirellis on the grooved LA freeways?

I like it a lot!! Do you plan on lowering it? :)

It's very STI-esque :)

So my problems and your S4 buddy's problems with the Falkens scared you off of them huh :lol: Looks good, but just like me, you NEED to lower your car now!

I like 'em. How much did the pkg cost you?

Very nice, how much did you pay for those wheels? Sly

I have to agree on the lowering. That would be the perfect enhancement for an already nice car.

Looks good. Nice choice.

Okay, to answer some of the questions? Panamajack, oh come on, all level shots are boring. Angled shots give it flare. Keefe, yeah, they look darker on the car than I thought they would too. But I like it a lot. Not only will it hide some brake dust, but it sets off the silver car a bit. The only thing I think would make it look even better would be a polished lip. But again, the pictures don't do it justice. Boost, LOL, yeah, as I stated, I was going to go with the Falkens because of price, high rating, and at least in stock size, they were the lightest. But I did get a bit nervous about the Falkens not being as "big" of a name. And the Pirelli's ended up being only $6 a tire more, weigh the same in this size as the Falkens. And Kurt with the S4, is getting the Pirelli's put on (and the Falkens taken off) tomorrow! :) Tire and wheel package, including mounting and balancing, tax and road hazard warranty on the tires = $1451 But I got a pretty good discount through a buddy at the local tire store who also has a LGT. Retail would have been about $1750 all said and done. As for lowering, I keep thinking about it, but I don't like a "lowered" car look. If I did it, it would have to be only like an inch. I saw the pics of Hodgeee's car and it doesn't look too lowered, but I've seen another with STI "pinks" and it looked to ricer-like low for me. Honestly I don't mind how it is now. These wheel/tires are actually one tenth of an inch taller than stock, even though it doesn't look like they fill the wheel well anymore. Thanks guys, when I get a chance to take better pics, I'll post them up.

I think ricer low is when you have the body kit scraping on the ground (even GT cars barely touch the ground but they are race cars).. LOW is when you can't put a jack under the car. I have lowered my car a good 2"+ and I havent had any problems with curbs, speed bumps, potholes, dips, and steep driveways. STi pink springs are a good thing to do. It's well worth the money for those springs and drive. Oh yea, I can still put my 4" tall jacks under the car without the need to drive up on 2"x4"s to get the jack under the car. If I had a body kit on, I would be perfectly fine with ground clearance still, but I would need to drive the car up on 2"x4"s to get the jack to clear the side skirts to get to the lift points on the chassis. Keefe

I have been wanting those wheels for so long when i had my wrx, but know i don't have her anymore. However, I will be getting a legacy very soon, and those wheels will be on my car! With the same tires as you no less. Nice ride! Nick

[size=2]Car looks really good. What size tires did you get? I know they're 18s but what width and sidewall?[/size]

215/40/18's There almost identical to the size of the stock wheels. Overall diameter with that size is only .1-.2 inches taller. According to the tire calculators at 60 mph I'm now going 59.6 mph. With the stock wheels, 70 mph was dead nuts on 3000 rpm in 5th. Now dead on 70 mph has the tach needle still touching the 3000 rpm line, it's just on the bottom half of the line instead of dead center. So I'd say a measly 10-15 rpm's less. But I dropped about 2.7 pounds per wheel. The tire alone is 2 pounds lighter than stock, the wheel about .7 or so lighter than stock. So it feels more peppy now. I'm going to dyno with the stock wheels/tires, then switch to these and put it back on the dyno all in the same day, and see what kind of power gains I really got. I'm estimating 3-5 hp more to the ground. I can't wait to show you guys what it looks like in good light with better pixs. Gold brake calipers would look hot.

Are those the Nero M&S or the straight Neros?

M & S But the tread pattern is exactly the same. It's just the compound of the rubber that differentiates the M & S's and the regular.

Very nice! I've been trying to decide between the Rota Tarmac II and these Enkeis, and seeing the pics on a silver car has sold me on the Enkeis. BTW, you got a great deal at that price!