My OBXT w. new Rotas

[sduford]

Here's some pics of my OBXT with new 17"x8" Hypersilver Rota Torques and 245/50ZR17 Michelin Pilots Sport A/S.

 

Pictures don't do justice to these wheels. They are much more impressive in person. The Hypersilver finish is beautiful.

 

The 245/50s give the car a wider, more agressive stance.

[red beast]

how do you like the michelins?

[sduford]

Well, only driven on them for a couple of hours so far, so I can't say all that much. Steering response is quicker, car feels more nimble, but part of that is probably the lighter wheels. They are also nice and quiet at high speed. Braking on dry seems to be much stronger, coulnd't get the ABS to kick in.

 

One thing I noticed is that at highway speeds the Michelin seem to just eat-up cracks, expansion joints, and small bumps. It's a bit weird cause you can hear the tires hit the expansions joints, but you don't feel them!

 

The rear end seems to be a bit twitchy and I don't know if it's because of the wider track screwing the alignment or if I just need to bump up the tire pressure. The tire shop set them up at the recommended 34/32, I bumped it up to 35/34 and it helped a bit. I'm going to try 36/36 when I get a chance.

[Guest *Jedimaster*]

Well done!

[ChE Outback XT]

Beatiful. Love it.

[Guest *Jedimaster*]

This is a mean looking shot- perfect width for the XT. Looks mean!

 

http://legacygt.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=6215

[suicideking]

I can't speak to the 245s, but I've got Pilots on my '02 Z06 and they handle wonderfully. As good or better than the Eagle F1 Supercar that were standard when I bought the car. Awesome handling in the wet as well. I can't imagine how well they'd do on an AWD vehicle.

[sduford]

Nobody noticed the stainless steel exhaust tips? I guess the shot is from too far away.

[03Indigo]

I noticed, the tips look great. Do you think the rota's look smaller than 17". Maybe an illusion, but they look like smaller rims than the OEM 5 spoke 17"

 

I am getting the Rota Tarmac in 18", wonder if they are going to have that effect as well.

 

The rims look great though, how are the Pilots holding up so far? A lot of people used them on the Audi Allroad, same tire sizing and +1 sizing, but they had premature tread wear.

 

cheers

jon

[TimGinCentralNJ]

Here's some pics of my OBXT with new 17"x8" Hypersilver Rota Torques and 245/50ZR17 Michelin Pilots Sport A/S.

 

Pictures don't do justice to these wheels. They are much more impressive in person. The Hypersilver finish is beautiful.

 

The 245/50s give the car a wider, more agressive stance.

 

...I had been wondering how a 245 tire would make the car handle (not to mention in potential hydroplaning conditions), but from your comments it sounds like it's just a question of figuring out a good amount to inflate your tires to. Would appreciate hearing whether or not that resolves the 'twitchiness'.

 

So, fit-n-finish wise, how do you like the Rotas? Where did you end up buying them, and would you recommend them?

 

Lookin' good....thanks for sharing the pics--a very nice, tastefull upgrade IMO.

 

Rgds,

Tim

[03Indigo]

I can't speak for Sduford, but I also have Rotas and 245 wide tires, but 18" rims. the car feels solid and secure, have not driven in water yet, but that more has to do with tire design than width really. You can have a really wide tire that is made for rain that will do better than a dry traction tire that is much thinner. I have that issue on my MINI...the tires on there are crap in the rain, but they are track type tires, etc... you know what I mean.

 

I got my rims from http://www.oakos.com, quick service, no shipping charges, and my wheels came in perfect condition via UPS. David, the owner, also sends personal emails with shipping info...not computer generated auto mail. My friend Jonny got his rims from them, and referred me. Their prices are on par or better than Subydude.com...just shop around for what you want. I also got new lug nuts from him as well, they all came together. Ordered Thursday, delivered on Monday.

 

cheers

jon

[sduford]

...I had been wondering how a 245 tire would make the car handle (not to mention in potential hydroplaning conditions), but from your comments it sounds like it's just a question of figuring out a good amount to inflate your tires to. Would appreciate hearing whether or not that resolves the 'twitchiness'.

 

So, fit-n-finish wise, how do you like the Rotas? Where did you end up buying them, and would you recommend them?

 

Lookin' good....thanks for sharing the pics--a very nice, tastefull upgrade IMO.

 

Rgds,

Tim

 

Sorry for the long delay, I was out in Africa for 10 days, with no Internet access.

 

The fit and finish of my Rotas is excellent. I was expecting some small imperfections but they turned out excellent. The Hypersilver finish is really beautiful. I bought them from JINSU-POWER here on the board. Cheaper then Subydude and shipping to Canada was also cheaper with JINSU. They drop-shipped them straight from the Rota factory. I would definitely buy from them again.

[sduford]

I noticed, the tips look great. Do you think the rota's look smaller than 17". Maybe an illusion, but they look like smaller rims than the OEM 5 spoke 17"

 

I am getting the Rota Tarmac in 18", wonder if they are going to have that effect as well.

 

The rims look great though, how are the Pilots holding up so far? A lot of people used them on the Audi Allroad, same tire sizing and +1 sizing, but they had premature tread wear.

 

cheers

jon

 

Yes I think they do look smaller, probably because they are not as massive as the the stock wheels are.

 

I got to drive the Pilots in pouring rain last night and tried some heavy breaking. This was my number one issue with the Crapenzas. I must say the Pilots passed the test! The breaking power in heavy rain felt nearly as good as on the dry, very difficult to get the ABS to kick in.

 

I'm also enjoying the improved ride and reduced noise. These tires really do suck up little bumps and expansion joints. Grip level seems to be excellent, more then I'm likely to need with an Outback!

 

As for the "twitchiness", proper inflation seems to have got rid of most of it. It's really weird, whenever I hit small bumps on one side or the other, it seems to jerk the suspension a little bit sideways. I'm thinking it may be caused by the very square shoulders of this tire. My local alignment shop says that a change in camber and toe-in should get rid of that. I will be trying that next week.

[03Indigo]

As for the "twitchiness", proper inflation seems to have got rid of most of it. It's really weird, whenever I hit small bumps on one side or the other, it seems to jerk the suspension a little bit sideways. I'm thinking it may be caused by the very square shoulders of this tire. My local alignment shop says that a change in camber and toe-in should get rid of that. I will be trying that next week.

 

Ya know, the Allroad has our exact same OEM tire size, and many people upgraded to 245-50-17, I upgraded to 245-45-18....and we all experienced the same twitch. I just went with 18" Rota's, you can see pics of them in this forum, and there is NO twitch with the same size tire I had on my allroad. I even have Summer Performance tires as well.

 

Once I put in my suspension, I have no doubt I will need an alignment to adjust a lot of things.

[sduford]

Which tire did you put on? Are you also on the Pilots?

[03Indigo]

nope, way to much money for a fast wearing tire, had personal experience with them, don't think they are a good "value", great tire, not good value.

 

I put on the Dunlop Direzza DZ101 in 245-45-18. It is an ultra high performance summer tire. For winter, I will run the ContiExtremeContacts on another set of 18" rims. I plan on selling my OEM 17" and the RE92's on them.

[sduford]

Fair enough. Value is very relative and totally dependent on what your own priorities and values are. For me safety is more important then dollars, so I went with the tire that I felt would provide me with the best wet performance. I also run winter tires but I still bought all-seasons as my summer tires because I live at the end of a mountain a dirt road that can get muddy and even snowy at times.

 

The reason I was aksing is that I think the twitchiness is caused more by the shape of the Pilot's square shoulders then anything else, which would explain why you do not experience it.

[03Indigo]

I hear you, but for comparison, many people that loved the Pilot Sports switched to the ContiExtremeContact, better price, better feel, EXCELLENT traction, and all season as well. I ran those for a while on the allroad, LOVED them compared to the Sports. I have a friend that also tracks them. So, for what you get, overall performance, warranty, the Michelins are way over priced....you can get better tires for less money, and still have all your safety. Do your research, shop around a little, you will see. Plenty of very safe tires for about $50 less or more per tire.

 

The Sports are a great tire, really, they are , and the square shoulder has nothing to do with twitch, I had the twitch on the allroad as well, with the ContiExtremeContacts, Falkin Azenis ST115s, and other tires when I went up to 18". I think it had more to do with my sway bar than anything, and the wider tires at 245. With the 245 I have on my outback now, they have a very square side wall, and I get no twitch. Go figure. We will see what happens after I lower the car with coilovers and sways, and then with the winter tires, that may induce some twitch.

[sduford]

Actually I did do a LOT of research over the winter and in this tire category it seemed to be like this:

1. Michlein Pilot Sport A/S

2. Pirelli P-Zero Nero M&S

 

And the Toyo Proxes and Falken Ziex were also getting better ratings then the Conti.

 

If you look at it as performance per dollar, the Pirelli wins hands down since the Michelin is a full 50% more expensive but is certainly not 50% better. If I had been looking at saving some money I would have gone with the Pirelli rather then the Conti.

 

However, I think that safety has no price so I don't calculate it that way. The Michelin is apparently marginally better in terms of steering responsiveness, ride quality, and braking, and it is "outstanding" in the rain. Those were the qualities I was interested in.

[03Indigo]

really, well cool. That is good news and you should be very happy with your tires. as for the Ziex 512....great tire, but everyone I know on heavier cars shows premature wear. On an allroad, one good friend, only about 12,000 miles to the tread bars, and on my buddy's passat, the side walls on the front tires did not last. He corners hard, but not THAT hard. Tires only lasted 9 months.

[yummer]

Sly - What offset are your rims? Do you experience any tire rubbing? Thanks.

[sduford]

My wheels have a 48 mm offset. No rubbing whatsoever.

[carcand]

eeehhhhhh...no!