Lol, shouldn't really tease so shamelessly, but I find a wee bit of
frisson adds much to the mix
Anyway, the reality might prove slightly disappointing. Like finally bedding that glamour puss only to find that without seriously thick beergoggles and several hours in Photoshop she's actually got a face like a plasterer's radio and you have more fingers than she's got teeth
Anyway *ahem*. These is what we have, free from pretentious camera angles and that;
Bit of an unknown, except that they're genuine Watanabes I dunno much about them. They're 14" diameter, but no idea as to offset, width, etc. I guess from looking how they fit between the stock wheels and the Sharaks they're about offset +20-ish. The tyres on there are 185 profile and I'm not sure that anything much wider will fit without bulging out. Maybe a 195 might go so I guess they're like 5 1/2" rim or so.
De nada, what mattters is they fit, flsuh to the arch and look awesomes. Or will do with a refurb...
From this angle...
....they look like a gorgeous beautiful spider made from pure alloy sex jizoom. Well, in my world anyway
Can't resist a cheeky
Generations pic
and this is what they fit like. I'd pretty much decided that trying to fit the Sharaks manly +10 offset under the front arches would take too much butchery, so they are staying on the back. Which is good, cos the Watanabes fit the front perfectly...
....or will do once I get a less high-rise spring strategy sorted out
....and the money shot. This is what it's all about
This raises a few issues. One is that having driven and let the springs settle a bit, the ride height isn't too ludicrous to bear. But it'll definitely be better for lower. The second is that polishing up the Sharaks and re-refurbing the Watanabes isn't an option. I think they both have to be the same or it'll look a bit funny. Since I can't face the prospect of stripping back the Watanabes and polishing them all four will have to visit the powdercoaters, I think. Going to go for an anthracite colour like that on the Volks on the FD, which looks like this for anyone who's not seen my other rotorslag;
The third issue is that the car drives sooooooo much better on these than on the stock wheels. Dunno whether that's down to the wider track, the slightly smaller rolling radius, the slightly narrower tyres, the fact the wheels are a
LOT lighter than the stockers, or the dreadful state of the 15+year-old Bridgestone NCTs, but the steering is lighter at slow speeds, more responsive at higher speed, more direct, and it's even lost a bit of the "driving-through-an-American-movie" vagueness on-centre. Awesomes
The tyres on the Watanabes especially are utterly FUBAR, and they're none too clever on the Sharaks so I'm feeling cautiously optimistic that when I splurge on some decent brand newers it'll be happy days indeed.
Blimey, that went on a bit long, didn't it?
Thanks for reading, love in your face till next time
. Anyhoo, can't decide which is best, or whether to go for a polished rim too. Thought I'd throw it open to the vote, place your bets, which is best?
). I guess it may divide opinion a bit, but hopefully it'll at least keep Plod away
