Agreed...that's why as much as I would love 19's, I am forcing myself to stick with 18's...

 

shark, an engineer from Honda told me that. Maybe what he meant was that they can't read low... so to be safe they make them read artificially high. As far as the actual wording or a requirement, or something like that, well I guess the lawyer will have do what he's paid for and get in touch with NHTSA to get their official statement. I just did a quick google search for you and found this rather unofficial piece... http://www.caranddriver.com/features...ometer-scandal

Shoof - I've never used a GPS in a customer's car at work so I'm not sure about how it compares. All I know is what I posted before; that when the computer is showing speed of 60 the speedo reads 62. I think that in most, if not all, of the cases it is a Civic Hybrid because that is the one I need to drive while monitoring functions.

Ok, what's with the white CM? Suspension? Exhaust tips?

 

Thanks Greg. We are familiar with the SAE and European industry guidelines, but you had mentioned there was a "law", which we assumed meant there was some sort of new government regulation on the subject. So far as we can determine, there is not. Thanks again for taking the time to explain.

 

See more here: http://www.duell.jp/

And photo gallery of theirs: http://www.flickr.com/photos/duell_ag/

That R60 has a lot of custom on it...Me likes, but not for the $7,500-$8,000 they want for the bumpers and side sills!

 

Instead of "law", I guess a better word would probably be "regulation". In hindsight, that's probably a better choice of wording. This wouldn't be something new, it was something a Honda engineer told me probably 10 years ago when I asked why speedos always read high.

I didn't want to spend more than a few minutes researching it, but I did a real quick google search, where I found that Car & Driver article, and I saw somewhere where it said speedos were required to be accurate to within 10% plus 2.4mph... is that the SAE standard that you mentioned?

Thanks Shoof. Tons of photos of some really nice stuff on there.

They have an R60 with what looks like the wheels I have, but painted black.

They look good in black!

And some nice 7-spoke wheels.

Looking at those photos makes me want to lower ours another inch, but I guess that would require an expensive adjustable coilover kit they sell.

 

Wow this is amazing!

 

Let's keep this clean! Post only info about helping him find 19" wheels. These Japan countrymans are sweet!

 

FWIW, this was NM-Eng's reply to the building process of the RSe14:

 

Flyer (assuming you are following this thread), how have your NM's held up to potholes? If I recall correctly he was in Fairfield County CT.

 

I know I posted this somewhere else.. But I have no problems with + 35 wheels and 245/40/19 with the NM springs!

 

Thought I'd update this thread:

I went ahead and bought the rims (Beyern Bavaria) and tires (Michelin PSS) from my local Discount Tire this morning.

They offered me $260 and free shipping per wheel, and $287 for the tires. (I still find it crazy that the tires cost more than the wheels on which they sit, but what do I know?)

Anyway, the tires are there already, and the rims should be in on Tuesday. So hopefully by the Fourth of July, Hujan should be sitting pretty on new shoes.

I'll of course post up some pics with the new wheels.

 

Hujan, what size and offset wheel did you go with? And what size tires?

 

Wheel: 19 x 8.5" with +40 offset

Tire: 245/40/19

 

what s was the ttotal wt. savings per corner? (wheel+tire)

 

Great to hear about your upgrade!

I have the Elbrus I08's... But so far I haven't seen a 19" wheel that doesn't look good on our Countryman's.

 

Not sure.

Tire rack lists my OEM runflats at 29 lbs. per tire and the Michelin PSS in 245/40/19 at 25 lbs. (Though Michelin's website puts the PSS at 26.7 in that size.)

Beyern lists the Bavaria 19 x 8.5 wheel at 21 lbs. I don't know how much the OEM 18" turbofans weigh. My guess is anywhere from 24-29 lbs.

So depending on whose numbers you use and the assumptions you make, I saved as little as 5.5 lbs. per corner and as much as 12 lbs.

 

I am desperately trying to find white wheels in 19 for my countryman!! She's pure red with white trim pieces and roof... I can't find anything besides DPE and their wheels are insanely expensive (a friend of mine works there but even with the discount I don't have enough ********* and kidneys to sell). Any one else do a search for these?!

 

Here are some photos of Hujan's new shoes. As you can see, the wheels (seeing as how they are black) are somewhat difficult to photograph. I tried to get some shots in different light conditions.

The very "open" wheel design will take some getting used to for me; I'm not used to being able to see the rotor, calipers, and suspension components!

I love the look of the wider tires and am glad MotoGreg pushed me to get the 245s rather than the 235s. I like how the tires stick out from the sides a bit and I'm sure I'll really like the way it looks when it's lowered. And lowered it must definitely be; I've got a 2" gap between fender and tire surface.

In terms of ride quality, even with 19s the ride is a lot smoother and more forgiving with non-runflat tires. It is quieter, too. The grip is insane and the car definitely corners better. I can't wait to see what it will do when it's lowered and has a rear sway bar.

My only gripe so far is the car feels ever so slightly more sluggish. It's hard to explain, but it feels like it takes a bit more to get (and stay) rolling than before. Almost like the wheels are heavier than the OEMs. At worst, these tires are 26 lbs. and the wheels are 21, so you're looking at 47 per corner. Since the OEM run flats are 29 lbs. per tire, I doubt that the OEM wheels weigh less than 18 lbs. per corner, and thus I doubt the wheels/tires are heavier than the OEM setup. Therefore, the increased "sluggishness" has to be do to the larger contact patch, both in length (due to the 2.7% taller diameter) and width (due to 20 mm of extra tread). Since I am going to tune this thing (and might throw on an aftermarket downpipe), I'm sure any true "sluggishness" from the new shoes will be taken care of.

A big thanks to MotoGreg, Shoof, frstrtdmac, and everyone else who offered suggestions and patiently answered my questions. Thanks guys!

 

Not sure what to tell you, my friend. If you want white, you may have to consider painting a set of wheels.

Otherwise, maybe consider some gunmetal or black wheels? I know your roof is white, but a set of black shoes might look tight with some of the blacking out you've done.

 

The "sluggishness" you feel is because of the height of new set up. Changing the height/diameter you changed the actual gear ratio. Had the same experience w/a land rover. Went from stock 28" tall tires to 33" inch and it seemed really doggy from a standing start.

 

Car looks sweet!! Making me jealous! Now take pics during the day

 

Yeah, that may have something to do with it, though this is on the order of a 2.7% increase in diameter, far less than the 15% you did! Still, this along with the larger contact patch has to be what I'm feeling.

 

Thanks, man! But nothing to be jealous about; I love your ride! I'll try to get some daylight shots soon.

 

Looking good Hujan!

I haven't decided myself, but I may end up getting the same wheels, or the TSW equivalent. I'm still torn and trying to decide, but I think I'll ultimately have to stick with an 18" wheel in hopes that it will be more forgiving on NY roads.

And the sluggishness could be either from extra total weight on each corner ( you were unsure about it, so who knows), the fact that you went with a size which the OD is bigger than stock, or both!

 

Thanks, man. If you're going TSW, I really like the Mallory's in addition to the ones I considered in this thread. Just a good looking wheel, in my opinion.

I would be shocked if the wheels were significantly lighter per corner than this setup. To be even a pound lighter per corner, the OEM wheels would have to weigh 17 lbs. each. For comparison, the TSW Interlagos rotary forged wheels in 18 x 7.5 are 18 lbs. each.

So I'm going to go with the slightly larger OD. That or I got cheap Chinese knockoffs of the Beyern Bavarias that are made from chromoly steel.

But I don't want to overstate the "sluggishness." It is definitely there, but it is not significant at all. To me, the Countryman has always felt sluggish when accelerating from a dead stop, whether due to "turbo lag," the electronic throttle control, or both. So a tune is a must have for me anyway.