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[davesaddiction]

Got a set of OEM 18s (gunmetal) with Conti DWS for winter from fellow member Fakebreakr a while back, and figured it was time to mount them last night.

My wife had a meeting, so she took my car and I loaded the tires (and kids) into her CX-9 to run to a gas station with free air to get them ready to mount (maybe I'll ask for a compressor for Christmas). Kids are happy in the car, watching a video, and I pull into a QuikTrip and proceed to pull all four wheels out of the back and set them up on the curb close to the air. Popped off all the valve stem caps, grabbed the hose from the air pump, and... the valve is completely missing from the hose. Sonofa...

So I pile all the tires back in the car, drive to another QuikTrip, confirmed that their pump worked, and got all the tires up to pressure.

Ran home, pulled out the wheels and set them out in place along with the floor jack I'd picked up from Northern Tools. Pretty fun seeing my garage laid out ready for a "pit stop".

I'd picked up a couple hockey pucks (hard to find in Tulsa) and had cut one down to size and drilled a couple holes. I put the finishing touches on the adaptor while I waited for my wife to get home - sanded and scored (with a utility knife) both surfaces before applying Gorilla Glue and then sinking a couple screws:



My wife got home - she was a little surprised to see my "pit" - and we got the kids in bed and I got to work. The adaptor and jack worked great, as well as the lug wrench I'd picked up (it extends for extra leverage - came in handy).

Going from the polished 19s to the gunmetal 18s definitely changes the look of the car:



Once I got them all changed, I took the car out for a quick drive. There's a big parking lot near me that's usually empty that I can play around in. Was impressed with the feel of the car on the 18s! Now I can see why this is the stock setup and the size of choice for track work. Felt noticeably more "tossable".

I didn't think of getting the scale out to check the difference in weight - does anyone know the variance between the stock 18s and 19s (wheels and tires)?

Glad to get it done. No inclement weather in the forecast yet, but it's going to be a busy couple weeks with the F1 race in Austin and Thanksgiving coming up.

[anselmw]

I agree, i just swapped to my 18" OEM winter wheel setup and it seems to feel more tossable than the OEM 19".

[signes]

Great DIY with the pucks.

[Transfer]

What are your tire widths? I went from 255/275 to 245 all around for winter I and felt handling became more nimble. BTW those DWS have great grip but a terribly soft sidewall resulting in quite the lazy turn-in. I recommend slightly higher than your normal tire pressures.

[davesaddiction]

Originally Posted by Transfer

What are your tire widths? I went from 255/275 to 245 all around for winter I and felt handling became more nimble. BTW those DWS have great grip but a terribly soft sidewall resulting in quite the lazy turn-in. I recommend slightly higher than your normal tire pressures.

I'm running stock widths, not a square setup. Thinner is better for snow, too, not that we get that much in Tulsa.

On the DWS, how high would you go? I'm probably at 36-37 right now, should I go up to 38-39?

[M3PO]

That's a great idea on the hockey pucks. I've seen them used without the "block" on top but I didn't like the idea of all of the weight being on the thin plastic edges of the jack adapter. I use a small block of wood that fits inside. It works but your idea is much better. Well done!

[Transfer]

Originally Posted by davesaddiction

I'm running stock widths, not a square setup. Thinner is better for snow, too, not that we get that much in Tulsa.

On the DWS, how high would you go? I'm probably at 36-37 right now, should I go up to 38-39?

You'll have to experiment and of course it also depends on your air temps but I've done up to 38 with good results (on a VW).

[davesaddiction]

Originally Posted by M3PO

That's a great idea on the hockey pucks. I've seen them used without the "block" on top but I didn't like the idea of all of the weight being on the thin plastic edges of the jack adapter. I use a small block of wood that fits inside. It works but your idea is much better. Well done!

Thanks, but I have to give others here the credit for the idea. I did add the screws to the example I'd seen.

[monsta]

Did you remember to Torque the lugs to the proper lbs?

and I got myself one of these to make swapping tires easy & cuts the time in half especially at trackdays

[mdosu]

Originally Posted by Transfer

What are your tire widths? I went from 255/275 to 245 all around for winter I and felt handling became more nimble. BTW those DWS have great grip but a terribly soft sidewall resulting in quite the lazy turn-in. I recommend slightly higher than your normal tire pressures.

you also on OEM 18's wheels?

I also use square 245/40/18 tires on OEM 18's during the winter time. I get a wheel sealant issue every year in the rear tires however from the tire stretching...I just have to be mindful to check air pressure and refill every 2 weeks.

[Transfer]

I'm on ZCPs for summer and 18x8 square for winter.

[mdosu]

Originally Posted by monsta

Did you remember to Torque the lugs to the proper lbs?

and I got myself one of these to make swapping tires easy & cuts the time in half especially at trackdays

what drive do we have to buy for the torque wrench?

[davesaddiction]

Originally Posted by monsta

Did you remember to Torque the lugs to the proper lbs?

and I got myself one of these to make swapping tires easy & cuts the time in half especially at trackdays

Also on my Christmas wish list...

I don't yet have an impact or a torque wrench. I'm a pretty big guy (6'1",220) and I just tightened all the lugs nearly as tight as I could with my extended lug wrench - felt like similar effort related to loosing some of the tighter lugs when taking the wheels off. Should I be concerned that's not sufficient?

[apecush]

I'd be concerned it is too much. Too much torque is as bad as too little. You can deform the holes on the wheel and/or cause plastic deformation and fatigue cracking of the bolts, something you won't be able to detect until your bolts begin to randomly pop off. Get a torque wrench, they're not expensive. Use a rattle gun at your own expense - their use can lead to cracked bolts as well.

Breaker bar on a 1/2" socket wrench to loosen
1/2" socket wrench to tighten when the wheel is un-weighted
Torque wrench to tighten when the wheel is weighted, and after 100 miles of driving.

As far as the pucks go, that's a good solution by the OP. I just use a full puck between the plastic jack point and the jack. Distributes the weight evenly about the jack point and hasn't caused any deformation of the plastic jack points.

[davesaddiction]

Originally Posted by apecush

I'd be concerned it is too much. Too much torque is as bad as too little. You can deform the holes on the wheel and/or cause plastic deformation and fatigue cracking of the bolts, something you won't be able to detect until your bolts begin to randomly pop off. Get a torque wrench, they're not expensive. Use a rattle gun at your own expense - their use can lead to cracked bolts as well.

Breaker bar on a 1/2" socket wrench to loosen
1/2" socket wrench to tighten when the wheel is un-weighted
Torque wrench to tighten when the wheel is weighted, and after 100 miles of driving.

Thanks for the advice. I'll plan on picking one up and re-tightening them.

What's the recommended ft-lbs? In the manual, I assume.

[signes]

88 lbft

[apecush]

Originally Posted by signes

88 lbft

yep.

[anselmw]

Originally Posted by monsta

Did you remember to Torque the lugs to the proper lbs?

and I got myself one of these to make swapping tires easy & cuts the time in half especially at trackdays

I have this exact same impact wrench. Have used for over 6 years, one of the best cordless tools I have ever owned. Makes changing wheels at track and home a cynch.

In terms of wheel setup, I chose to use the stock setup due to using the oem 18" wheels which are different width. I did have to use a slightly smaller tire size as they do not make the exact ones in the PA3's

[e1000]

torque wrench is a must.

[TheDeliverator]

Any issues with the puck moving around when fixed to the jack?