Red93sc400

Here's a few pics of RED93 SC400 with her new shoes...
Here is a before picture. Note I just replaced the old bent
front lip spoiler with a new one (used)....
Got the wheels and tires from TireRack and the fitment is perfect, nothing rubs and they all fit inside the wells! Could not be happier. They are off again now until April.

Red93sc400

Here she is with the new wheels and tires...

Red93sc400

Here is a close up of the fronts...

Red93sc400

Here is a close up of the rears...

Red93sc400

Angular view of rear

Red93sc400

Tank treads... they are wide...

machinegt

i was thinking about getting poleposition s03's too, tell me how they ride.

Red93sc400

Well, here's what I can tell ya. I put all four on this afternoon. Drove around town for about 20 miles. The car really handles totally differently with the 18's vs the stock 16's. The S-03s are uni-directional like the GS-D's were on SC400 original equipment. There are two left side tires and two right side tires.

Overall, my opinion is that with the S-03, the ride quality is firmer. If you take a stock SC400 and put Tokicos on it, the ride frims up. Well, the addition of thin wall 18's is just about like that. The ride is firm for sure. Not bone crushing, but you feel the road well. It is not a negative thing. In fact my son did not feel this aspect much, so I recon that much of the feedback comes thru the steering wheel which is a good thing.

The cornering abiltiy is greatly enhanced. The car appears to not lean or roll. I took some corners really hot and the tires do not even squeal. Like you are on rails. Very impressive.

There is no road rumble or noise. They are very quiet tires. This is a good thing.

The stock 16's are back on now and the 18's are in the barn awaiting the arrival of the tulips and dafodils. The S-03's are not inexpensive so these are not tires to abuse.

I do not have enough time on them to give you a true estended report.

lex400sc

Those are some sweet wheels (AND tires!). I've always wondered what those wheels looked like on an SC. Probably set you back a pretty penny... Are you going to get RED93 lowered? SCs on 18s look nice lowered an inch.

Red93sc400

Well, for now, no. Here in Connecticut, we have hills and road and driveway transitions that are less than gradual. As it stands now, even with carefull attention, I scrape my front lip spoiler about twice a month or so. If I lowered the car it would just make a bad thing even worse.

So, perhaps next time I change the shocks would be the most advantageous time to lower the car. Then I would think about coliovers that could alow me to dial in the amount of lowering I desired. I just put the new Tokicos on about 6K miles ago so I have plenty of time for that.

However, I will be putting on the Rod Millen big front brakes and calipers after I switch to the new wheels. I do not think the Millen calipers will fit the OEM 16" wheels at all.

howiedoit

iTrader: (9)

Purty! I know you've posted this before, but what offset are those wheels?

How much?

Red93sc400

The offsets are 41 on the 18x10 and 37 on the 18x8.5.

The current prices are on TireRack but in general you are talking a wee bit above $2.1K for the 4 wheels and close to $900 for the tires.

hoops_24

Sweet ride.
I am riding on the same size tire, but my wheel gaps seem to be alot tighter than yours. The funny thing is, everybody asks me if my car is lowered?? After viewing your pics, I wonder if the previous owner dropped it some. My rears have no gap at all. How can i find out if it is lowered??

Those rims look really nice. How deep is the lip on the rear? It looks to be about 3-4 inches deep. I was hooked on the OZ Vela 3 pc. but now I'm reconsidering. The SSR's look very clean. Our cars would be exactly alike though...same color and everything.


A little more on the S03's. I've had them about 6 months now and they are simply amazing. They are as quiet as touring tires and they corner like they are on rails. The tread rating is low so they may need replaced quicker than lesser tires, but they are still worth the money. Also, the treads look very aggressive which to me alters the look of the car from the rear. The wear so far is even so no problems there. I HIGHLY recommend them.

Red93sc400

That is a good question, how to tell if your car is lowered? I think I remember in the SC shop manual that you measure clearance from two body part members to the ground. I cannot recall which page of the shop manual contain this data. Sadly, it is not indexed.

Ok, (added later), on page SA-4 of Volume 1 of the SC 93 Repair Manual it defines the process for determining Suspension preliminary checks....

You measure from the mid bolt suspension lower arm to the ground, front being 7.6" and rear being 9.9". However that measurment is referential to the height of the suspension. The body is lowered... so in the diagram the rearmost area of the front lip spoiler (according to the diagram) should be about 7.6" above the ground and the rear quarter panel just behind the rear wheel should be greater than 9.9" by perhaps 1" maybe. If you car were lowered then the front would be less than 7.6" and the rear less than 10.5" or so. I suppose that is the only way to tell if the BODY were lowered.

The rear polished lip on the GS-3 is 2" on the 10" wheel.

Glad to hear your S-03s are working well for you. How are they in the rain?

The Garnet Red color has always been my favorite in the SC. We seem to be of like mind.

hoops_24

Good info, thanks.
The S03's in the rain are dangerous! But here's why. There is so much grip that you have the confidence to drive normally, which for me is 80+. This shouldn't be done in the wet, but these tires give you that much confidence. To make a long story short, they are awesome in rain. Snow is different. They are as slick as a wet cat. Proceed with caution!

Hey, since we're of like mind. what are your thoughts on the OZ Vela 3 pc.? I just can't pul the trigger on the purchase. I want to get the right wheel this time and the GT3 and Vela are the finalists. I might go 19" though.

Will a 19X10 fit in the rear?