new 18" speedstars and tires

mywhite89

Registered User
Just bought 18" chrome Speedstars for the white car. Picked up some new Michelin Pilot Super Sports 275/40/18's in the rear and 245/45/18's up front. Heard great things about these tires, definitely were not cheap. Anyone run these before? They will be mostly for street use only, looks like you can get around 20-25k miles out of them which will last me about 4-5 years.

Chris
 
Post pics when you get them on! I am shopping for wheels right now, leaning towards 18" Speedstars as well.
 
Just bought 18" chrome Speedstars for the white car. Picked up some new Michelin Pilot Super Sports 275/40/18's in the rear and 245/45/18's up front. Heard great things about these tires, definitely were not cheap. Anyone run these before? They will be mostly for street use only, looks like you can get around 20-25k miles out of them which will last me about 4-5 years.

Chris

Nice choice Chris....same size wheels and tires I've got on my 91 SC.

garage_attachment.php


If you want some SC center caps you can order them from Todd Jelle at this site.

http://www.tj-d-signs.com/

David
 
I had Pilots on my 91 Tauras SHO and they cracked with in a year and a half. Worst tires Ive ever had. They were a rare size that's rarely sold, so maybe they sat unused for a long time.
 
I had Pilots on my 91 Tauras SHO and they cracked with in a year and a half. Worst tires Ive ever had. They were a rare size that's rarely sold, so maybe they sat unused for a long time.

We had the same experience on our Mustang - again though, a rare size and they might have been old.
 
Waiting for lug nuts then I will post some pics. The park brake cables hit the rear wheels when I test fitted. What have you done to prevent this?
 
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We had the same experience on our Mustang - again though, a rare size and they might have been old.

Interesting. I do know at work we have ran into this issue before a few times on high performance tires. With some tires, they are not made to be even moved in the winter months when it's below maybe 20 degrees or that will happen. When the ZL1 camaro's came out we had a few cracked tires due to moving the car when it is too cold. Never heard of that before it happened on us at work a few time on brand new cars. Otherwise, maybe an old tire like you said. There are several different Pilot tires that Michelin makes, the super sport tires are the very best rated tire out of all consumer reports.

Chris
 
Waiting for lug nuts then I will post some pics. The park brake cables hit the rear wheels when I test fitted. What have you done to prevent this?

I'm using big azz zip ties (1/2" x 24") to hold parking brake cables close to sway bar end links. Wasn't really necessary for the Cobra Rs or Saleen wheels, I did it to fit the 18" x 10" Boyd Coddington Smoothies that had valve stems on the inner lip of wheel.


David
 
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I'm using big azz zip ties (1/2" x 24") to hold parking brake cables close to sway bar end links. Wasn't really necessary for the Cobra Rs or Saleen wheels, I did it to fit the 18" x 10" Boyd Coddington Smoothies that had valve stems on the inner lip of wheel.


David

That was a thought I had, some police issue zip-ties! Do you have the cobra relocate brackets in the rear also? That makes things even worse.
 
I'm using big azz zip ties (1/2" x 24") to hold parking brake cables close to sway bar end links. Wasn't really necessary for the Cobra Rs or Saleen wheels, I did it to fit the 18" x 10" Boyd Coddington Smoothies that had valve stems on the inner lip of wheel.


David

I also did this for my SVE 18X10 wheels in the rear - just make sure not to over tighten the zip ties as it will pull the brake shut. When first installed mine with the zip ties it caused the breaks to stick until I adjusted.

-Tim
 
That was a thought I had, some police issue zip-ties! Do you have the cobra relocate brackets in the rear also? That makes things even worse.

No just stock rear calipers and stock diameter slotted rotors. Like Tim said the parking brakes will tighten up when cables are tied down. Mine only has half the amount of travel on the parking brake lever as it did before tying them down, so you probably want to check that the brakes aren't dragging with parking brake lever released.

David
 
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Thanks for the information guys. I just got the wheels on and took for a drive. It did feel like the rear brakes were dragging a bit. Just got home and checked and they are slightly hotter. I planned to re adjust them, or is it going to be an issue with them dragging now?

Chris
 
Thanks for the information guys. I just got the wheels on and took for a drive. It did feel like the rear brakes were dragging a bit. Just got home and checked and they are slightly hotter. I planned to re adjust them, or is it going to be an issue with them dragging now?

Chris

Mine don't drag.... well not as far as I know anyway.

David
 
Make sure your cable aren't hanging. If I use my ebrake they hang. Are these cables still available??
 
I keep my park brake adjusted pretty tight because I hate pulling the park brake way up before it engages. I just need to loosen the adjustment with what I did im pretty sure. Check sccoa on facebook for pictures.
 
Ok, so the park brake cables don't even touch when the car is on the ground without any zip ties. I lifted the car up a bit to simulate if you hit a good bump and how the rear suspension might rise and just tip tied away just barely from that point. So to clarify, when the car is up in the air, the cables hit the wheels, but as you put the car down they move away. The park brake cables were hanging up and applying the rear brakes due to the bend I put them on to get them away from the wheels with no load on the suspension. I might still have a slight issue with the left rear cable or retractor spring on the caliper hanging up but pulling up the parking brake is much easier now. Hopefully they don't rub, most importantly hopefully I don't catch air, otherwise it will rub! I hate these kind of repairs, there is just no great way to fix it without a lot of headache.

It's like eyeballing your wheel alignment, looks good until you drive it and it pulls left and the steering wheel is 90 degrees off.

Chris
 
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