Decisions, decisions...
 

Hi, my name is Andrew, and I'm a wheel whore. This is my dilemma for my Winter set.

Keep 17" stockers with Winter tires.

https://visualechos.smugmug.com/Auto...EP_7681-X2.jpg


Change to perfect 18" Sparkle A-Spec's and destroy them with Winter salt (seems like such a waste).

https://visualechos.smugmug.com/Auto...EP_7682-X2.jpg


Change to imperfect 18" Hyper Silver A-Spec's.

https://visualechos.smugmug.com/Auto...EP_7685-X2.jpg

The cheapest solution is to keep what I have, of course, but 17's just look too damn small on this car IMO.

Current plan is to sell the Sparkle's and keep the Hyper's until I can score a set of 8.5 A-Specs, then get them refinished in custom Hyper and sell the current Hyper's.

Oh bother.

dont u live in arizona or something? why do u need a dedicated winter set? Even if you do need a winter set then def just beat the hell out of the 17s.

Sell the sparkles, keep the 18x8 hypers (for now), use the money from the sparkles to put towards 18x8.5 hypers, sell the 18x8 hypers, refinish the 18x8.5 hypers.

That would be the most logical IMO, or just sell them all and keep the 17s

I'm in Missouri, and there have been times when I really wished I had a dedicated Winter set (years ago), so I always have one.

I really should keep the stock 17's, but I'm going to sell the 18" Sparkle's, and keep the 18" hyper's for Winter and call it a day. I actually don't like the gunmetal finish on the 8.5's, so if I actually got a set I'd need to get them refinished in hyper, which means they'd be both expensive and beautiful, and I wouldn't want to use them as a Winter set.

Thanks for helping me think through that Jeff :D.

P.S. You're going to love the new hyper finish on my Miro's. Pix coming Monday.

yea man that hyper finish looks great on your car!

was always my favourite finish on the a specs

Id winter the miros, run the perfect aspecs the rest of the year, and sell the hyper aspecs and 17in wheels.

Then use that money to replace the miros with something like weds, advan, work, volk, etc in a wider spec than the aspecs... then make the aspecs my winter set up.

But thats just me. Then maybe use the 500-600 youll get from the miros toward some sweet tires.

OP, keep in mind that the 8.5" A-Specs weren't made to accommodate TPMS. You can either fandoogle the wheel into being able to fit them, or endure the yellow light on your dash. Personally, I'm not a fan of either option.

Also, if you regularly wash your wheels, even once a week, they shouldn't get destroyed. I've seen plenty of oem and aftermarket wheels get run year round without issue, just by keeping them clean. Judging by the cleanliness of your car in the pictures, it doesn't seem like you'd have problems.

I've been running my 8.5" A-Specs for about 8 years with TPMS and have had no issue. :shrug:

Did you have to modify the wheel at all to fit the TPMS, or was it straight plug and play? If that is the case, shit, I'm getting back to looking for a set again :rofl:

Plug and play.

*** Edit - there might have been a little finagling (it's been awhile since mounting) but really no big deal****

You just have a shop band the sensor. They wrap a steel band around the barrel and attach the sensor to that. Thats how i run my discontinued worls from the 90s/early 2000s.

Totally, mine too.


Oh I can't do that, the Miro's are the perfect size, and just got back from painting (pix tomorrow). The A-Spec wheel was never one of my favorites actually, I'm only running it for Winter because I like the OEM look.

Also, I've have plenty of 'real' wheels, Speedlines and LSS on my Exige, and there was a time when I had the only-set-in-the-country S203 BBS SE's on my STi, which is where I fell in love with the Hyper Black look.

https://visualechos.smugmug.com/Cars...O/DSC_0014.jpg

Already bought the straps for my Miro's because of the light, and would do the same with the A-Spec's if I had to. All TPMS started out with straps, before they were the way they are today, so it's no big deal to fit them.

i would run the stock 17's for winter mode - i know they look smaller, but i'm not a huge of the A-spec wheels either. In for seeing the Miro's painted - can't wait to see them!

Dude, they look so good, Detroit Wheel did an awesome job, just beautiful. I'm making a post about it tomorrow!

I learnt something new today!!

Thanks guys!!

Now about finding those pesky 8.5s... :ninja:

Stock for winter.

Totally jealous of how good your car looks with the A-spec's. Mine will never look that good, not as much pop.

The same as I am of yours.... Now let's see some pics of the freshened up wheels

Just a quick snap today, no time for real pix. I'll try to get some tomorrow.

https://visualechos.smugmug.com/Auto...EP_7744-X2.jpg

Looks good Andrew! i think that flow together nicely with the car!

I took some pix last night, but I was rushed, and the car wasn't so clean, so nothing turned out. I took a few shots this morning in the sunrise, just in my driveway, and I'll post those today. The wheels look great on the car, just a bit darker than I was originally wanting, but I'm getting used to the look. They're also incredibly hard to capture, they look so different depending on where the light source is located. They look positively stunning in bright light though.

Quick driveway shot at lunch.

https://visualechos.smugmug.com/Auto...O/VEP_7852.jpg

Nailed it

I run the stock type-s rims as my winter set...

Attachment 62921

Stock mini wheels as the dedicated winter set for the mini... I just like the OEM look for the Winter time... Beings that all of you wheels are OEM... I understand your struggles :whyme:

My vote is for the Hyper's :thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:

looks good! full wheel and tire specs? also what's the weight on those?

i looked at them for a bit but between their weight and lack of a wheel spec that cleared the brembos, it didn't work out for me.

i like the color contrast with your car

I can't remember the weight, but for their size they aren't bad. I don't think they play well with Brembo's though. My goal was to not run spacers on my Summer set, so I needed an exact size, and the Miro 112 fit the bill perfectly, as it's a very classic looking wheel IMO.

Wheel specs are:
Miro 112
18 x 9.5 +40

Tire specs are:
265/35/18
Goodyear F1

I'm rolled and camber adjusted in the back, and obviously dropped, but not slammed.

simply stunning homie! i think the color is spot on!

Thanks man! Brett at Detroit Wheel and Tire was really fantastic, matched the A-Spec wheels near spot-on, and the finish is fantastic. This is a quick shot from this morning.

https://visualechos.smugmug.com/Auto...32%20C1-X2.jpg