HeavyArms SS

iTrader: (4)

Got some new wheels put on today. They are 17x8.5 C6 ZR1 replicas in gunmetal from OE Wheels. The tires are 255/40 Michelin Pilot Sports for the front and 275/40 BF Goodrich g-Force Sport Comp-2 for the rear. I think the gunmetal goes perfect with the blue/green chameleon color.

xx_onyxknight_xx

Thanks. I found a great thread that helped me figure out what I was looking at when fixing it. It's a '95 Firebird, 3.8l V6, red, completely stock for now. I'm actually currently visiting family, so I got to do it all by myself this time, lol. I finished it, and am happy to say that I did it right. Got my brights fixed while I was in there, too, lol. Today I started looking into a braking issue I've been having for a couple weeks now.

Daniel Richards

iTrader: (1)

my new brake pads arrived today, and I continued my search to find something to replace these 199,800 mile factory front decarbon shocks, as you might imagine they ride quite ruff and feel unbalanced on the highway. Budget is SUPER tight right now so I can't afford the good brands, I just need something stable and safe for my DD.

Decadence75

iTrader: (17)

If you want a better ride for the cheapest possible then just grab some monroe gas-matics from advanced auto. Could probably do it for around $100. Personally I would just save up a little bit more and go with either the Koni STR.T series that is premiering this month from Sam Strano or Bilsteins. Either of those will run you around $375 for the set. I would only go through the trouble once and put in good shocks the first time.

Decadence75

iTrader: (17)

Pick these up from e-bay for a good price and will probably throw them on the bird in a month or 2 until I can save the scratch to send them off to AI.

Daniel Richards

iTrader: (1)

I ended up scoring a set (front 2) Tokico HP (blues) brand new for $80 shipped on ebay friday night, I actually have the monroe max-air shocks in the rear I did them several months ago, I just needed something good enough, this is a DD car and won't ever see a track. dropping 400 bucks on anything won't be an option for me till either a Christmas bonus (if we get one this year) or tax returns, either way I don't want to try another winter on those factory fronts.

Decadence75

iTrader: (17)

I hear ya. I am still on factory springs and decarbons with around 145K on the clock so it rides a little rough. Those shocks aren't just for the track, they will improve both the ride and handling of the car in general. It's amazing sometimes how much suspension upgrades effect the cars. I spent the majority of my time and money when I first got the car doing engine work and go fast mods without paying attention to much else. About a month ago I upgraded my LCAs, PHB, TA and LCA relocation brackets. The car is now a completely different animal in how it drives and handles.

RCh9Jense

Going to paint my WS6 hood today!! SOLD my TA today !!

Daniel Richards

iTrader: (1)

I also scored a set of Moog front replacement springs off Amazon "warehouse deals" for like 20 bucks a while back because when I look at these pictures of my car (before any suspension work last year) and compare it pictures of lowered 4th gens I always feel like my front end looks lower then it should be (i've got to find some level ground so I can get some dimensions).

Also I've still got to get my rear sway bar installed, I got a set of WS6 bars a few months back and did the front one while I changed the steering rack, also did the STB back just before that, kinda wish I had focused on the suspension first, I used my last tax return to buy the headers, cat and cat-back that is still not on the car yet.

PA formula 78

I ordered a new CSR electric water pump due to the CSI pump seeming to leak slightly. And since I am currently installing a new delphi opti, I don't want the old water pump messing up the new opti. So hopefully before the end of the week I can get this thing put back together again.

Daniel Richards

iTrader: (1)

what I did today, new shocks should be here soon, hopefully.

Kevin Lee 487

iTrader: (1)

How far off is your speedometer? I'm planning on getting ZR1 rims from OE wheels as well, but if they don't have black 17s, I will have to go to 18s.

Just curious on if its worth fixing or not when I do swap the rims.

Daniel Richards

iTrader: (1)

compared to the optional stock size 235/55/16 those front tires are -4.4% and the rears are -2%. those are of course just one of the sizes that came on these cars depending on options.

if the car came with the factory 17 then the 275/40/17 is the correct size tire, but if it was a base model then there 215/60/16 there is also an option that had 245/50/16 so it really depends on which options the car had for how off the speedo will be.

so amongst factory options there is about a 2% variation, the math says regardless of starting sizes it won't be off more then 2-3 MPH @65MPH and within 5MPH @100, either way you'll be going slower then the speedo says.

awesome calculators:
http://tire-size-conversion.com/tire-size-comparison/
http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html

fbody_brian

When I bought my OEWheels I went from 215/60/16. I ended up with 255/45/17 and 285/40/17 to keep the height the same. Speedometer stayed pretty darn close. the 215/60/16 is just about 26.2", that's a 1/2" difference in height going to a 275/40/17.

That 1/2" might not seem like a lot, but those 285/40/17s sure help to fill out the wheel well!

YellowTA1

iTrader: (10)

I did nothing with my car today, or any other day for the last yr. and a half, it has been sitting at a body shop being repainted and it is not done. hopefully today, or by this weekend I can get it and take it elsewhere to be finished.

Decadence75

iTrader: (17)

Finally got around to painting the sail panel last night. Next up are the side mirrors to match it.

HeavyArms SS

iTrader: (4)

I'm not sure how far off the speedometer is. I don't think it came with 17" wheels from the factory looking at the RPO codes. It had the 16" stockers on it when I bought it. Honestly, I'm not worried about the speedo being off by a couple mph.

Kevin Lee 487

iTrader: (1)

Yea I read a few of the other responses and I think I'm going to just go ahead with the 18s. If I go with 275/35/18s, the speedo shouldn't change at all according to that tire size comparison calculator.

Mine came with 245/50/16s. You had the same rims I have! They're f****** ugly!

I DID drive a LT1 Camaro for a while that had 3.73s and the speedo read 60mph at 45.

Daniel Richards

iTrader: (1)

got the front rotors turned and new pads installed, turned out one of the slide pins was frozen which led to a warped rotor (took like 3 or 4 passes on the lathe), got the 19mm rear sway bar (upping from the v6 15mm) and polyurethane bushings and endlinks installed, finally, I did the front bar over a month ago. gonna pick up new rotors for the rear tomorrow, they where to far gone to turn again and need replacing.

speedwaystevie

Washed and took out for a spin! Decided it was time for a 12 bolt with 410s so I went and bought one! A good day