Search results

To answer my own question, a 42mm offset works with a 7.5" wheel, but it's tight. I think if I had gone with the 8" wheel there's a strong chance that I would've had to roll the fenders.

Here it is with springs installed... I dunno. I'm still riding on the OEM struts and to be honest, it rides kinda bad. I had the same springs on my Protege 5 with the OEM struts and it felt much better. I'm seriously considering upgrading to some aftermarket performance struts that should...

Yeah, that's ok since the front currently sits higher than the rear any way...

Got the wheels and tires installed this morning. Now I just need to get the springs installed to take care of that wheel gap...

Look what the UPS man brought me!

Nah, I've managed to keep this car bone stock since I bought it brand new, but now that I'm nearing the end of the bumper-to-bumper warranty mileage I'm ready to start tweaking it a little bit. Unfortunately it's an automatic, so I probably won't do much beyond what I'm working on now. Maybe...

My tires were delivered today! The wheels and springs should get dropped off tomorrow...

Ahh, that's good to know. The wheels I ordered were either +42 or +43 (I can't remember) and I was a little worried about rubbing, but if you're doing ok with +38 then I think I should be fine.

Sadly, I didn't act fast enough and the 18" tires I was looking at were sold out by the time I tried to order them. Instead I ended up ordering 17x7 MB Weapons in bronze with Hankook Ventus 215/45/R17 tires. I'll post pictures as soon as I have them.

Hmm, any thoughts on running a 225/35 or 215/35? I was already a little concerned about going from the stock 50 series to a 40, but how much more of a difference in ride quality would a 35 series tire make?

I had originally planned to buy 225/40/R18 tires that I had found on clearance, but now they're out of stock. So now I either go down to 225/45's or 225/50's on 17" rims, or I get the 235/40/18's that they still have in stock and which are also on clearance. So I'm wondering if a 235mm width...

First off, I have a '09 3 hatch still riding on the factory suspension. I found a killer deal on some 225/45/R17 tires, so I started shopping around for wheels and settled on a set of 17x8's that I like, but they have a 42mm offset. I know the stock offset is 52.5mm and I've read that the...

Well, its hard to say since I went from a manual to an automatic transmission. The 3 is definitely faster, even despite the different transmission. I haven't really had a chance to push the car's handling abilities yet, but when I do, I expect my comparison to be a bit off since I had wider...

Actually, it looks like I'll probably end up with a Grand Touring model with all the options. I have to admit, the MS3 was a blast to drive, but there were a couple of things that I didn't like. The gas mileage is horrible. People recommend to stay off the boost to conserve gas, but who the F...

Yeah, but you get things like better interest rates and rebates when you buy new cars.

Oh no, it changed colors, and the turbo has disappeared...

Its still at the dealership. They're trying to make a deal with me where they'll pay off the p5 (~$3700) and let me use it as a trade-in, all without getting it fixed first.

It finally happened today on the way to the dealership. It started on Friday. The occasional minor knock suddenly turned into the constant, loud, obnoxious knock. It sounded pretty bad, so I didn't drive it all weekend until Tuesday morning (today) when I took it to the dealership. I was...

Yeah, it pretty much only smokes at start-up. Removing and checking the intake manifold isn't all that hard, but you just need to make sure you keep track of where all the vacuum lines go for when you put it back together. I think it took me about 4 or 5 hours total with no major issues.

I'm not sure how lucky I was, considering that the butterfly somehow managed to break into two pieces, one of which ended up in the cylinder. Now the engine occasionally smokes at startup, which it never did before. I mean, it's still runs, but it burns oil like a mother now. The valvetrain...