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IWhich bring up the next question...anyone tried out adding any sound deading material aroung the engine ( inside the cab)...the new pipe is a bit louder than I was hopeing for. Not bad, but does have some drone to it.
I've heard that some of the exhaust noise can be dampened by putting some sort of sound deadening in the drop-gate, especially if it's empty. Being empty, it acts like a resonator.
Maybe a blanket or such might help out. And if you have a flat you can always use it while crawling around on the ground. Or if your girlfriend gets frisky. . .
Did that so as to be able to rotate all the tires. I hate to be so positive on this MOD, but the handling, on the freeway is so greatly improved, with most, if not all that buffeting gone. The cornering is also impressive, with much better ride quality. Very happy with around performance of the wheels and tires.
p1nball
You will like being able to rotate them. Just did my first rotation at 6600 miles with 175's all around. Piece of cake.
Like those wheels, too, and those tires fit in there better than I thought they would. No scrubbing on turns, huh? Looks like either the outside or inside corner may if you are turning and go thru a low spot in the road such that the suspension rebounds alittle and the wheel goes up into the well some.
Nice stance...really nice stance. Good job
First off I have gone through this many times and on many different vehilcles. This one for some unknown reason, I really have grown fond of. Call me crazy!!! I trolled around all the Smart sites and looked what everyone was trying for wheels and tires. For the wheels, I was going for all black at first, but when I saw the RIAL's on the web sites, and on Smart that were upfitted at South Charlotte Smart. The RIAL's looked the best, but there was a problem!! The dealer only replaced the wheel not the tire!! The wheel looked good but using those DoughNut tire that came with the Smart, well not for me. It missed the POINT. I did see some folks going for 195'sx15" or 16"x45 or even 17". For me 16" would have been the most I would have gone for. It just hit me that a 205 wide tire would be the right proportion on the wheel for the car!! As for the KUMO's, to be honest
Their were three other choices:
1. Falken Ziex
2. BF Goodrich g-Force Sport
3. Yokohoma S Drive
4. Kumo Kumho Ecsta AST
For the money and all the personal reviews,even the weak,or the very poor, almost all liked it or loved it. But all stated that for the money you would have to pay much more to find a tire as good or better!! Also looked at the type of vechile that this tire was placed on. Also what that person wrote about it on that vehicle. Seem this was the choice to make! It works well, looks good and does all I want of it, at a value price point!!Hope this explains it to you all!! pinball
ON my S-2000 and I love the way they ride!!! Seems to be a good tire.
I've heard that some of the exhaust noise can be dampened by putting some sort of sound deadening in the drop-gate, especially if it's empty. Being empty, it acts like a resonator.
Maybe a blanket or such might help out. And if you have a flat you can always use it while crawling around on the ground. Or if your girlfriend gets frisky. . .
P1nball, I took your advice and today I ordered from tirerack some Kumho AST tires, 16" wheels and H&R springs. The Customer service section is closed on sunday so I used a tire calculator to figure things out.
I saw that you ordered 15x6 wheels with 205/50/15 tires, but I did it a little different with 16x6.5 wheels all around and 205/45/16 tires. If it looks odd in back, I will add some 10mm wheel spacers to push out the rear wheels.
Thanks again for the advice of going with the same size tires/wheels and BEST of all the tires were on sale for only $40 each.
I will post pics next week after they arrive. But first I will paint the tri-wheel spokes in black for a more dramatic look and add red VHT to the brake calipers and VHT niteshades to the tail lights.
Everything cost $1k including springs - thanks again
I'm running the 15" Rials with Yokohama 195/50s and have settled on 35 psi rear and 28 psi front. TPMS doesn't seem to mind and the lower pressure and larger tire on the front makes a noticeable difference in ride quality. As always, YMMV.
Edit (3/24/09): Since the weather has warmed up, I've dropped the pressure to 27 front and 34 rear...
I'm running the Rials w/ 195/50 15 Kumho AST also. Set to the standard 28 ft 35 rear the car is great around semi's. It's definitely more fun to drive now.
Ditto on the 195/50's, but I got the General Exclaim UHP's (which I have used on another car with great results). The improvement is astounding in all ways - looks, handling, ride quality and wind stability. This setup should be standard equipment.
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