Howdy,
When I mentioned that I had found these lightweight wheels and ordered
them at a very reasonable price from Victoria Tire, several people asked
"what do you think of them" before I even got them. So I thought I'd
offer up a critique.
I got the new wheels on the car today! They look really nice, much
better than the stock wheels (which I always liked, they were sort of a
take off of the classic GTI teardrop wheels), and even better than the
16's I had on the car earlier this year.
The P-Zeros I had ordered went back-order, so I cancelled them and went
with the old reliable P700Z. This is good in a way because now I can
say without a doubt that any change I feel is purely due to the change
in wheels (1/2" wider, about 1/2" less negative offset, and over 4 lbs
lighter than stock). And the change can definitely be felt! Throttle
response off the line is better, doesn't feel like it's going to bog
down as easily. Seems to take less throttle to maintain a given speed,
too. Oddly enough, I haven't noticed much difference in braking, which
was the MOST noticeable thing about the heavier 16" wheels. By far, the
biggest change was in steering feel. It feels very light and nimble.
Reminds me of a Miata.
For the record:
The Rota Circuit 8-spoke wheels appear to be of very good quality, they
look good, they do indeed weigh in at the advertised weight (11.5 lbs
for a 15x6.5), and the price is very good. I do not, however, have
anything good to say about Victoria Tire.
Victoria Tire's sales/service people suck. First I called (on my dime)
to make sure that the wheels came with all of the hardware and that the
wheels and tires that I wanted were in stock and to verify the pricing.
Everything was cool, I pondered the finances for a day, then ordered
them via their website. (did it that way for two reasons, to save a
"dime" and to eliminate any verbal misunderstandings as to exactly what
I wanted.) Cool.
Got a call the next day (answering machine message) and had to spend
another dime to call them because my phone number did not match what
Discover had on file. Not their fault, and I'm actually glad to see
that they do that sort of verification. Got that cleared up and
mentioned that I'd really like to have the wheels in two weeks (for the
WGP event), the guy said it wouldn't be a problem, they had everything
right there and I should have it within 5-7 days.
Two weeks later (the day after WGP) I get another call, spend another
dime calling them back to find out that my P-Zeros, which I was told
were in stock, are actually backordered. They have no other tires in
stock that interest me, so I told them to just send me the wheels and
forget the tires. Ordered the P700's from the Tire Rack.
The wheels finally showed up the following week, all boxed up in their
original boxes and undamaged... but where are the centering rings and
lug nuts that I was assured come with "all" of their wheels? Nope,
nothing in the box but wheels and center caps.
Spent yet another dime the next day to call and find out why I didn't
get my stuff. Was told that they don't normally include those items,
but if I had ordered from the person I spoke to on the phone the first
time I called that he'd have made note of the fact that I inquired about
them and they would have been included. He said, and I quote, "since
you ordered by e-mail, what you see is what you get". (which is exactly
why I called and made inquiry before I ordered in the first place!)
What kinda deal is that? I expressed my displeasure, but was greeted
with indifference. The guy said he would send the missing wheel
accessories to me... maybe he will.
I don't think he had any idea how quickly news of poor service can
travel via the internet.
--
Loren Williams | Homepage - http://www2.southwind.net/~lsw
'94 Saturn SC2 | Wichita Region SCCA - http://www2.southwind.net/~scca
|