At Long Last... New Tires and Rims

Printable View

04/12/2010, 10:13 AM
vt_maverick

At Long Last... New Tires and Rims

So I've been looking for a very specific set of rims for at least six months now to no avail. I'd find traces of ones for sale on Craigslist, but then they'd be gone by the time I called. A very nice guy in LA had a set for sale, but they weren't complete so I passed. Finally in doing some searching on this site I found a for-sale thread that a former member posted 7 or 8 months ago, but no one had ever responded to. So I give the guy a call, and it turns out he's still got them in his parent's shed in Pittsburgh! Apparently he and his wife moved to the Carribean to become charter boat captains two years ago, and although they sold everything else (including his VX) they were never able to find a buyer for the rims. :confused:

So with my bonus / tax refund in-hand the wife and I drove 14 hours round trip to Pittsburgh this weekend to pick these up. The tires are Yokohama AVS/T's in 265-60-18, and barely have 3K on them (even the little nibs are still there). I was up trimming the cladding until the wee hours of the morning to make them fit (T4B and I discovered I have especially tight front wheel wells when doing the nerf bar install last year) but they look great! It's a max performance summer tire so it's not for crawling, but they should work great in the sand (where cross section is more important than block spacing).

The rims... well I think you'll recognize them. :D

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
V

18" Borbet CW3's!!!

http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/da...4/DSC00277.JPG
http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/da...4/DSC00278.JPG
http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/da...4/DSC00279.JPG
http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/da...4/DSC00281.JPG
http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/da...4/DSC00282.JPG

Sorry for the crappy pics, the morning sunlight was playing tricks with my cheap digital camera. I'll post better ones tonight or tomorrow, hopefully with the Thule 696 rack mounted. :)
04/12/2010, 10:18 AM
Ldub

N - I - C - E...

Gets two of these...:thumbup:.:thumbup:

And one of these...:dan_ban:

:yes:
04/12/2010, 10:37 AM
tomdietrying

I agree with Ldub 100%.:thumbup::thumbup:
Peace.
Tom
04/12/2010, 01:54 PM
Mile High VX

Quote:

Originally Posted by tomdietrying

I agree with Ldub 100%.:thumbup::thumbup:
Peace.
Tom

X 3...here you go

:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:

And

:dan_ban::dan_ban::dan_ban:
04/12/2010, 02:49 PM
nfpgasmask

There's nothing like new rubber! :)

Looks good.

Bart
04/13/2010, 08:18 AM
tom4bren

Looks great VT. Now get some lift on it so we can see the Kilby's.
04/13/2010, 10:29 AM
VX KAT

Wow, that's looks great Ashley! No wonder you've been so stealth about it . With the aluminum 696 rack on and those wheels, WOW that will look awesome!! :thumbup::thumbup:

p.s....what's the license plate mean?? Just curious...
04/13/2010, 11:03 AM
vt_maverick

Thanks Sue. I'm a Virginia Tech alum and after the shootings in 2007 the university held a memorial convocation during which distinuguished poet/author/professor Nikki Giovanni read her poem "We Are Virginia Tech" as a tribute. Afterwards the university used the phrase in its advertising to demonstrate the "one-ness" of our student, faculty, and alumni community, collectively referred to as "Hokie Nation." Take a look...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0cSuidxE8os

The idea is that the plate and plate holder together read "We are Virginia Tech"
04/13/2010, 11:25 AM
RamAirZ

That's an awesome story on the plate! Wheels look good on there!
04/13/2010, 12:14 PM
VX KAT

Quote:

Originally Posted by RamAirZ

That's an awesome story on the plate! Wheels look good on there!

x2! Very cool and uber respectful!! :thumbup:
04/13/2010, 01:30 PM
RallyDude

Wow wished I had picked up on that one. They look great. So why didn't you have greyhound send them? 14 hour trip plus gas sounds fun...
04/13/2010, 06:50 PM
Y33TREKker

Well obviously I think you made a wise wheel choice. :bwgy: Looks great! I'm actually getting ready to take mine off and put the summer shoes back on.

IIRC, Steve sold the set he had in CA without the centercaps or else I would have asked if you wanted to go halvsies so we could both grab a spare...you know....just in case.
04/13/2010, 08:52 PM
technocoy

Man, I love a nice shiny foxfire. Looks great with the Borbets!

Now just do some refinish restorer and put on your thule and it's gonna be mean and clean!
04/13/2010, 09:23 PM
VX KAT

Quote:

Originally Posted by technocoy

Man, I love a nice shiny foxfire. Looks great with the Borbets!

Now just do some refinish restorer and put on your thule and it's gonna be mean and clean!

:eek: What?!! I think his cladding looks phenomenal! It's so nice & dark. I just did mine with Refinish/Restorer 2 days ago and it's a bit too shiny satin, and my cladding is several shades lighter than his as is, so I'm really admiring his cladding!
04/14/2010, 08:25 AM
vt_maverick

Quote:

Originally Posted by RallyDude

Wow wished I had picked up on that one. They look great. So why didn't you have greyhound send them? 14 hour trip plus gas sounds fun...

Greyhound quoted shipping for the four tires and rims from LA at something like $300+, and although these were much closer in Pittsburgh, they had much larger (and therefore heavier) tires, which I can only assume would have negated much of the price difference. I think we probably broke even on driving up there vs. shipping it Greyhound, plus it gave the wife and I a chance to get a break from our 14 month old for two days. We drove through Virginia horse and wine country and then through the mountains in western Maryland and West Virginia on our way, which were all beautiful in the amazing weather we had over the weekend. On the way back we stayed in a nice hotel in Winchester, VA for only $60 :eek:, and ate at one of the best southern BBQ places I've been in a long time.

So we end up paying about the same as shipping and got a nice weekend away instead.
04/14/2010, 09:26 AM
Mile High VX

Quote:

Originally Posted by vt_maverick

So we end up paying about the same as shipping and got a nice weekend away instead.

Hats off to you for an excellent choice...:LineWave:
04/14/2010, 07:19 PM
PK

Quote:

Originally Posted by VX KAT

:eek: What?!! I think his cladding looks phenomenal! It's so nice & dark. I just did mine with Refinish/Restorer 2 days ago and it's a bit too shiny satin, and my cladding is several shades lighter than his as is, so I'm really admiring his cladding!

Aahh Sue - if you was using Mequiars Gold to detail the cladding, his looks like it is just about ready to be done again. :bwgy::smilewink
Need to do it every 6 - 8 weeks though.:mad::mad:

PK
04/15/2010, 07:40 AM
vt_maverick

Quote:

Originally Posted by PK

Aahh Sue - if you was using Mequiars Gold to detail the cladding, his looks like it is just about ready to be done again. :bwgy::smilewink
Need to do it every 6 - 8 weeks though.:mad::mad:

PK

I'll have to try that out... can you find it in the local AutoZone / Advance Auto or do you have to order it online?
04/15/2010, 07:28 PM
PK

Quote:

Originally Posted by vt_maverick

I'll have to try that out... can you find it in the local AutoZone / Advance Auto or do you have to order it online?

Down under you can buy it in any autoparts store.

Don't know where you would go for it.

PK
04/15/2010, 09:46 PM
Ldub

Quote:

Originally Posted by PK

Down under you can buy it in any autoparts store.

Don't know where you would go for it.

PK

If you can get it at O'reillys in Fargo, you should be able to get it almost anywhere...:yesgray:

I'd hate to think that Fargo was ahead of the curve...:rolleyesg...:laughing:

This is what you're looking for...:yesgray:

http://www.meguiarsdirect.com/produc...p?T1=MEG+G7516
04/15/2010, 10:42 PM
technocoy

Hey Kat...

I can't figure out where the differences in lightness seem to come from when applying the refinish restorer...

When I put a product on mine it can be light as hell but it always darkens WAY up once the product starts to sink in a bit.

I know you said you washed your cladding really well, but it makes me think that some cladding isn't absorbing like others...

weird.
04/15/2010, 11:07 PM
VX KAT

Quote:

Originally Posted by technocoy

Hey Kat...

I can't figure out where the differences in lightness seem to come from when applying the refinish restorer...

When I put a product on mine it can be light as hell but it always darkens WAY up once the product starts to sink in a bit.

I know you said you washed your cladding really well, but it makes me think that some cladding isn't absorbing like others...

weird.

:_thinking My cladding just never looked dark, check out my early gallery pics when I first got it. Weird too is that my cladding didn't look dry & parched when I got it, it was in real good condition, it's just a lighter gray I guess.....

Before I applied the R/R, I had used Stoner trim, B2B, some liquid in a neon lime green spray bottle (2000 something), the horrible grape smelling Mequiars Gold Endurance Tire gel, the ICE product, even Windex!....all made it very slightly darker, but nothing like vt mavs or many others. When I applied the R/R, it acted the same, just darkened a tad.

Recall, my gasoline stain refused to budge also, despite trying like 5 or 6 remedies that others had used successfully.....starting to make me wonder if the PO did something weird to my cladding:_confused
So now that I've properly applied the R/R, it's done, that stuff is a hard permanent coating. I just wish I'd tried some shoe polish before I first applied the R/R last year, that may have worked, I don't know.
04/16/2010, 06:59 AM
vt_maverick

Quote:

Originally Posted by PK

Down under you can buy it in any autoparts store.

Don't know where you would go for it.

PK

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ldub

If you can get it at O'reillys in Fargo, you should be able to get it almost anywhere...:yesgray:

I'd hate to think that Fargo was ahead of the curve...:rolleyesg...:laughing:

This is what you're looking for...:yesgray:

http://www.meguiarsdirect.com/produc...p?T1=MEG+G7516

Oh that's what you meant, I already have a bottle in my garage! :laughy: Also known as grape jelly I believe. That's what I use on my tires and it works great, much better than previous Meguiar's and Turtle Wax products I've tried. (See my latest pics for examples of the shine - looks just as good today as when I applied it on Sunday.) Never tried it on the cladding, I would think it would be darker but WAY too shiny for my taste. The B2B shines some at first, but if you work it in really well it fades to a nice black matte finish.
04/16/2010, 04:35 PM
VCrossfan

Very Nice..:drool2::clap::drool2: