More winter mods...new wheels! 16 x 8 RX-7 cross-over rims!!!

[Chiketkd]

Got these at a steal from a guy in Charlotte, NC. Four wheels from his '93 RX-7 along with some barely used, mounted and balanced 225/50 Dunlop Sport SP 8000's max performance summer tires. All for the killer price of $250.00 if I picked them up at his house. :)

These 16x8" wheels weigh 16lbs each and have a +50mm off-set and mount perfectly on the SVX hubs.

The previous stock wheels and all-season M+S Bridgestones I had weighed 47lbs each, while these new wheels and tires weigh 38lbs on the scale at his local UPS store. That's a total weight savings of 36lbs of unsprung weight.

With a 1/3 tank of gas my car previously weighed 3430lbs w/o driver. My car will now weigh ~3395lbs.

Wheels aren't that glamorous to look at, but the 5 spoke design does show off my red calipers more.

http://www.subaru-svx.net/photos/files/Chiketkd/23689.jpg

The Mazda center caps are still on the wheels, but when I get the chance I'll pop them off, sand off the logos and repaint them with some GM silver I have left over from when I touched up my SVX center caps on the old wheels.

http://www.subaru-svx.net/photos/files/Chiketkd/23690.jpg

http://www.subaru-svx.net/photos/files/Chiketkd/23691.jpg

Had to get some new lugs from Advance Auto as the stock SVX lugs have those spacers and stick out too much.

Will take some more pics of my car tomorrow when the light is better. :)

-Chike

P.S. I can't wait for the dragstrips to open. I have a Magnaflow muffler on order and I got in some sweet oval tips from them already! When the production phenolic spacers become available, they'll complete my Winter mods. Then my attention will turn to suspension and handling mods over the late Spring & Summer! :cool:

[n00b on demand]

looks better allready....i'm popping off the waterfall tomorrow to do some "stuff" to it ;)

[Chiketkd]

Originally posted by soobiesvx93
looks better allready....i'm popping off the waterfall tomorrow to do some "stuff" to it ;)
You know, I almost got some Konig Traffik rims. Just before I was about to make the guy an offer on them, this deal arose and I couldn't pass it up.

I'd be interested to see what you do to the Waterfall grill tomorrow. Take pics if you can. :)

-Chike

[mbtoloczko]

Originally posted by Chiketkd

You know, I almost got some Konig Traffik rims. Just before I was about to make the guy an offer on them, this deal arose and I couldn't pass it up.

...

You made a good choice. The car will actually handle better with the RX-7 rims.

[n00b on demand]

Originally posted by Chiketkd

You know, I almost got some Konig Traffik rims. Just before I was about to make the guy an offer on them, this deal arose and I couldn't pass it up.

I'd be interested to see what you do to the Waterfall grill tomorrow. Take pics if you can. :)

-Chike

Where did ya find em? I cant find even pics of them anywhere! Ive only seen them on one other SVX and never on any other car. I have seen them on a red civic once painted white.

[n00b on demand]

The traffiks look sweet on a red car when their nice and washed....they sparkle when the spokes are in motion ;)

[Chiketkd]

Originally posted by mbtoloczko
You made a good choice. The car will actually handle better with the RX-7 rims.
...and the handling will be kicked up another notch once I get your 1" drop springs for $375 shipped! (will save up for that over the Spring/ early Summer) :)

-Chike

[Chiketkd]

Originally posted by soobiesvx93
Where did ya find em? I cant find even pics of them anywhere! Ive only seen them on one other SVX and never on any other car. I have seen them on a red civic once painted white.
As you may remember, I love all of the japanese supercars from the 90's. I occasionally check in on a forum for RX-7's (www.rx7club.com) and that's where I found both of these deals. I could have gotten the Konig Traffiks for ~$240 w/o tires.

-Chike

[lee]

Originally posted by Chiketkd
Got these at a steal...snip...

at that price I hope you at least bought him a beer or equivalent. I looked around here once upon a time & the wrecking yards wanted about 100-125 per (and no tires).

[mbtoloczko]

Hi Chike. I prefer to call them "sport" springs because the drop makes a minor improvement in handling while the increased stiffness makes the majority of the improvement in handling. :-)

Save up for the rear sway bar too. Fun factor is even better. :-)

[Chiketkd]

Originally posted by mbtoloczko
You made a good choice. The car will actually handle better with the RX-7 rims.
BTW, the tires will also help my handling a bunch as well. These Dunlops are easily the stickiest rubber I've ever had on any of my cars. The treadwear rating is just 200.

I decided to put them on for a couple of weeks as VA is going to have some nice 60-70 degree weather over the next 1-2 weeks. :)

At the first sign of snow though, the stock wheels and all season Bridgestones will be back on! ;)

-Chike

[Chiketkd]

Originally posted by lee
at that price I hope you at least bought him a beer or equivalent. I looked around here once upon a time & the wrecking yards wanted about 100-125 per (and no tires).
I couldn't. He was er...not very amicable. He's in military intelligence and wasn't much of a talker. ;) I was literally in and out of his place in 20 minutes.

I didn't twist his arm or anything. He just wanted to unload them before the Winter as they were taking up space in his garage. $250.00 was his asking price. Said he saw RX-7 rims & wheels going for those prices on ebay...

-Chike

[Chiketkd]

Originally posted by mbtoloczko
Hi Chike. I prefer to call them "sport" springs because the drop makes a minor improvement in handling while the increased stiffness makes the majority of the improvement in handling. :-)

Save up for the rear sway bar too. Fun factor is even better. :-)
Good point. From what SVXRide says, sport springs is a much better name...

Rear sway bar...now you have my mouth watering! :cool:

-Chike

[SVXRide]

Chike,
Nice choice in rims!:D I think you'll find them a big improvement in handling and acceleration. Glad your Advance Auto had enough lug nuts!
-Bill
p.s. Mychailo's springs work great with these rims! Then again, you won't know the full extent until you get yourself some real tires (R-comps rule!):D
p.p.s the rims really do look better on a black SVX:p http://www.subaru-svx.net/photos/files/SVXRide/23695.jpg

[Chiketkd]

Originally posted by SVXRide
Chike,
Nice choice in rims!:D I think you'll find them a big improvement in handling and acceleration. Glad your Advance Auto had enough lug nuts!
-Bill
p.s. Mychailo's springs work great with these rims! Then again, you won't know the full extent until you get yourself some real tires (R-comps rule!):D
Hey Bill,

Thanks again for getting back with me so quickly last night. Glad I ran out and got those lug nuts. I made it just 5 minutes before they closed... :D

The best part about the rims I got, is that they're in near perfect condition. This guy is the original owner of a '93 and garages it in the Winter. The two front rims are blemish free, while the two rear rims have a little curb rash on the edges.

I haven't done a launch from idle yet, but I kinda want to see how easily it will be to break traction with these sticky tires on the road. I imagine my 60ft times will improve in the 1/4 mile even more from the 36lb reduction in unsprung weight.

-Chike

P.S. I may just need those Victoracers. I'll see how long these tires last after doing a bunch of drag racing in March when the tracks open up in VA. :cool:

However, I'm still toying with the idea of moving up to 245/45 tires after these tires wear out. The guy I spoke to at Tirerack says they weigh just 0.5 lbs more than the 225/50's.

[drivemusicnow]

So chike... just wondering.. what exactly is your "End goal" for your svx...(if you have one)

I do agree they look a bit better on the black.. but then again.. doesn't everything???:p :p
I'm trying to bug the people at subydude to get more rota wheels that fit the 05 STi, and our cars (and my GSX for that matter)... some of them are as light as those rx7 wheels, in 17's...

I'd like to get a set of ultra sticky tires and light weight wheels that i can throw on either car.

Interesting fact of the day: More WRXs were sold in the first year of production (for the US) than Total number of SVXes over all 5 years... (18k to about 15k) (randomness)

[Chiketkd]

Originally posted by drivemusicnow
So chike... just wondering.. what exactly is your "End goal" for your svx...(if you have one)
Don't really have a finishing point as my 96 L has always been a project car for me (been saying this since day 1). By the end of 2005, I'd like to have an n/a SVX that does the 1/4 mile in ~14.5-14.7, with a suspension tuned for AutoXing.

That's really all my budget would allow for in the next 12 months...

-Chike

[Chiketkd]

Took some more pics of the new wheels today...

http://www.subaru-svx.net/photos/files/Chiketkd/23719.jpg

http://www.subaru-svx.net/photos/files/Chiketkd/23722.jpg

http://www.subaru-svx.net/photos/files/Chiketkd/23720.jpg

My front and rear track are now 22mm wider (~1 inch) and you can see the subtle change best in this pic:

http://www.subaru-svx.net/photos/files/Chiketkd/23721.jpg

The grip and handling of my car seems to have improved markedly from the wider wheels and stickier tires.

One off-ramp that I take on my way home from work has a 'recommended' speed of 30mph. On my previous all-season rubber, I could take this ramp at 58-60mph before the front tires would start to protest... Took the same ramp today at 70mph without even feeling like I was near the 'grip' limit of my tires.

-Chike

P.S. I ordered some urethane bushings from Dayle tonight which he'll be shipping out to me in the am. Hopefully with these bushings and a slightly more aggressive wheel alignment, I'll be able to make a good showing for myself in AutoX competition next season. By mid-season, I should hopefully have Mychailo's 'sport' springs which will take my handling up another notch or two... :)