New Wheels and Tires for our Mitsubishi Mirage

Well, here we are, 16 days into 2019 and The Rage, our 2017 Mitsubishi Mirage, has new shoes.

The Mitsubishi Mirage's Tiny Tires and Wheels

It almost goes without saying, but our 2017 Mitsubishi Mirage has tiny wheels and tires. Our ES model has skinny 165/65/14 low rolling resistance Dunlop Enasave tires mounted on narrow 14x5.5 steel wheels with hubcaps (gasp!). Twenty years ago, many cars came with 14s. Nowadays, not so much. In fact, I believe only the Mirage and the Hyundai Accent still come 14s from the factory.

Our WRX Gets New Wheels and Tires

While the stock wheels and tires on a 2011-2014 WRX aren't bad looking, they aren't my cup-o-tea. I'd long been wanting to change up the rolling stock on our 2013 Subaru Impreza WRX, and recently the stars aligned and I ended up with the setup you see above. These are 17x8 (+35) ESM 001 wheels wrapped in 235/45/17 Continental ExtremeContact DW tires. When it comes to buying wheels and tires I can get minorly obsessive, so the choice wasn't easy.

Wheels and Tires: Which Way For Our WRX?

Nothing transforms a car's look more than a different set of wheels and tires. For most of my vehicles, it's been a cut-and-dry decision on which way to go with the car's shoes. The lowered vehicles get stickier rubber and lighter weight wheels. My 4x4 gets bigger tires that are better in the dirt. And then there'rs our '13 Subaru Impreza WRX. Which way do we go? Bigger wheels and sticker on-road rubber, or smaller wheels and meatier all-terrain tires?

Reaffirmation that driving a slow car can still be fun

Now that spring is allegedly on its way here in the Pacific Northwest, the winter tires are off both our Subaru WRX and our Toyota Yaris. Both vehicles were fitted with studded snow tires, which greatly increase traction in inclement weather. However, due to the tires' narrower footprints and flabbier sidewalls, both did not corner nearly as well. While that's sort of a given, you don't realize how much it affects handling until you get your sticky summer tires back on.

Snow tires or not, the WRX still had plenty of get-up-and-go due to its gusty turbocharged performance. Handling was diminished, but at least it still would scoot in a straight line. The Yaris, however, really doesn't scoot much in a straight line no matter what tires are on it. The handling, however, is its performance attribute. Keep in mind, our Yaris is lowered, has a wider rear stance, a rear sway bar, bigger wheels, and sticker tires than a stock Yaris, all greatly up the fun factor. No matter what springs, swaybars, or rear track with the car has, with narrow winter tires, the handling on dry pavement is going to be limited. Plus, the fact our Yaris as the TRD clutch meant easy wheelspin from the studded 185mm wide tires. Thankfully, the winter rolling stock has been put away for the year.

Now that I've got the grippy Yokohama S.Drive tires back on the lightweight 15" wheels, the car has come to life again. I was reminded how fun the Yaris can be to drive, even though now I own a car that has nearly 2.5 times the horsepower. While my Yaris will never come close to matching the performance characteristics of the WRX, it has its own unique set of variables that make it entertaining to drive, especially in the corners. Weighing in at a spry 2,300 lbs., the Yaris can be thrown into corners; it feels very nimble. Plus, our Yaris, with the orange wheels, lowered stance, and throaty exhaust note still gets more looks than our nearly stock (for now) WRX.

So yes, I still very much enjoy driving my 100 horsepower Toyota go-kart. And while the WRX is a screamin' hoot, the Yaris is still a barrel full of fun, plus it gets great mileage on 87 octane fuel. Yes, driving a slow car can still be very entertaining.

Our WRX in winter mode with Raceline wheels

I've posted a pic of our WRX when we first got it. However, here's a pic of our WRX in winter mode. Basically, all that means is it's on 16" Raceline 126 wheels with 205/60/16 studded Dean Wintercat tires (Dean tires are made by Cooper). I really like the wheels, a lot; subtle and classy. The tires, are a bit mushy, but they're narrow winter tires, right? In about two weeks, they'll be back on the 235/45/17 Dunlop rubber that came on the car.

FYI, we also installed the rear black bumper cover to protect the paint from damage loading and unloading the vehicle. We also added the much-needed Subcompact Culture sticker.

The virtures of a mountain car

If you live anywhere near a mountain, you're likely to encounter a "mountain car." (Also known as a winter beater in flatter ares of the world.) This is a vehicle that will get you up to your favorite ski/snowboarding area with little trouble and have at least some room for your gear.

There are a few criteria for owning a mountain car. It's got to be able to make it up the roads to get to the area. This means investing in snow tires, many of which are studded out here in Oregon. Many mountain cars are AWD or 4WD for obvious reasons. If you just thought of a Subaru Justy, then you get extra points.

Finding 5x100 and not going big

Stock 16" Forester wheel

We scored some snow tires for our 2012 Subaru Forester a couple of weeks ago. The plan is to mount those 16" Hankook Winter iPike tires on the stock alloy wheels pictured at right. These are a 16" wheel with a +48 offset, by the way. That means we'll need another set of wheels for some summer rolling stock.

While we originally wanted to upgrade to a 17 inch wheel and tire for our summer rolling stock, the more and more we think about it, the more and more we think we'll stick with the 16 inch wheels. Why? Well, we bought the Forester to be our go-anywhere "adventure" vehicle. You may be thinking, "Isn't that what your 4x4 lifted Suzuki Sidekick is for?" Yes and no. The Sidekick is more of our off-road toy; it isn't as comfortable on long trips and is limited on space. Great for weekend forays into the wilderness, the dirt, and the rocks.

Bye bye bling bling (well, almost), and the perils of buying used parts (sometimes)

Gone are the 15" chrome wheels the Teal Terror wore. In their place are four new 15x7 black steel wheels (Unique 297 wheels) purchased via America's Tire (and yes, it was another great buying experience from them). The new look is understated, simple, and functional—everything that I'm looking for. And the vibration should be 100% gone at 60 MPH+, too; something I'll verify tomorrow. However, I still have the one 15x7 chrome steel wheel on the spare. So, the bling isn't completely gone. I may try some Plasti Dip to make it black. 

Of small tires and economy cars

Recently, I posed the question to the Subcompact Culture Facebook page about who had the car with the smallest tires. I think the smallest was a 4.8-8" tires on a Messerschmitt mini car. Next smallest was 165/70/10 on the Micro Image Subaru 360.

The smallest tires I personally had were 145/80/12 on our 1979 Honda Civic 1200. That thing cut through the snow like a hot knife through butter, as evidenced by the video we shot of it in college. Other "small rollers" I remember having were the 175/70/13 tires on our Dodge Colts (yes, we were repeat offenders) growing up.

This got me to thinking: What's the smallest sized tire currently available on the U.S. market? Diameter wise, I believe that goes to the 14" wheels/tires available on the Hyundai Accent. In fact, I think it's the only 2012 to come with 14s wrapped in 175/70/14 tires.

Width wise, the Mitsubishi i has the narrowest rollers at 145/65/15 on the fronts.

It's amazing to me how 15s and 16s are now standard fare on the vast majority of small cars, when not that long ago (as late 1995)  you could still buy a Geo Metro with 145/80/12 tires, and in the '80s, there were plenty of cars on 13s.

'The Teal Terror' gets some new off-road tires

Out with the old, in with the new. I just picked up a set of 235/75/15 Kumho Road Venture MT KL71 tires to replace my very old BFGoodrich All-Terran T/A tires. The Kumhos are mud-terrain tires and should do quite well off road, especially when the trails get muddy around here in the winter. I honestly haven't even had them up past 40 mph yet, so no word on whether the vibration is better or not. We'll see.

Until then, I will say that I love the way they look. Can't wait to try them out in the dirt. 

Ordered new mud terrain tires for the Sidekick; hoping the 'bad vibes' will cease

Just a bit of an update on the bad vibes with the "Teal Terror," aka project '95 Suzuki Sidekick. Just to recap, there's a nasty vibration at 60+ MPH.

Last week we put the trucklet up on the rack at work, and noticed the wheels looked to be a bit out of round. Yes, all four of them (I have steel wheels, FYI). The driveline, however, looked good. What bugs me is that the last place I had the tires balanced (twice) never mentioned, even though I asked about the condition of the wheels/tires, that there were any issues. Frustrating.

New wheels and tires for the Yaris: Konigs and Yokohamas

I finally got a chance to put the new wheels on the Yaris this past weekend. As previously mentioned, they are 15"x6.5" Konig Daylites (+40 offset) wearing 195/55/15 Yokohama S.Drive tires. The wheels only weigh 12 lbs., which is great, and the S.Drives are decidedly stickier than the previous Falken Ziex 912 all-season tires I had on my last wheel. First impressions of the S.Drives are very good. They're quiet on the highway and grip nicely under spirited driving. I've probably got about 30 miles on the setup right now. I'll get some more photos when the car is clean!

New orange wheels, new black tires

New wheels/tires just arrived: Konig Daylite (15x6.5, +40) wrapped in Yokohama S.Drive (195/55/15) tires. Now when do I put them on? Still got the winter setup on, but it's supposed to be 60 Thursday! Have to get the studded tires off the car by April, 1 so perhaps they'll go on this weekend!

The Teal Terror gets muddy at Mud Fest

Mercedes and I headed out to the Santiam Four Wheel Drive Association's annual Mud Fest event outside of Sweet Home, Oregon today. I was out there to get some photos and video for my day job, but had to bring the Teal Terror, of course.

Mud Fest is basically a giant field with a mega-ton of sloppy, oozing mud nearly everywhere. Add a bunch of people and giant jacked up 4x4s that look like they're ready for a mud-based apocalypse, and you've got yourself a good time. There are mud pits, mud flats, mud holes, and rivers of mud slurry. I didn't dare take the Sidekick with its modest 2" lift and all-terrain tires into the main area, though. There were some places around the parking area that only had about 1'-2' of mud, so I decided, what the hell? While at Mud Fest, I'd better get the Teal Terror muddy.

The BFGoodrich All-Terrain tires did better than I expected, but a set of mud-terrain tires would've been optimal. It did get bogged down once, but I was able to back out of it, and make it through. Hey, at least I kept my foot into it. I even wore my muddin' shirt today. Yee haw!

Déjà Vu: New wheels and tires on the way ... again.

I'm switching things up a bit on the 'ol 2007 Toyota Yaris. However, it seems oddly familiar. Let's take a journey back in time, shall we?

In 2008 I ended up buying a set of used orange Speedmaster "Team Orange" wheels. I loved the distinctive color, however the +38 offset and 205/50/15 Kumhos rubbed a lot during cornering. Of course, being dumped on coilovers didn't help that. I sold them.

I decided to get another set of orange wheels: 15x6.5 Konig Daylites (+40 offset; pictured above) and narrower (but grippier) 195/55/15 Yokohama S.Drive tires (pictured below). However, this setup was on back order from DiscountTireDirect.com at the time, and I got impatient and canceled my order. I instead bought a set of black Speedy Race Mode wheels, which I didn't hang on to very long, as I missed my orange wheels. Out went the Speedys, and in came a set of Maxxim Assaults in orange with Falken Ziex 912 tires.

Fast forward to the present day. The Falkens are bald and need replacing. The Assaults, which I still like, have faded a bit. I considered refinishing them myself with paint, and looked into powder-coating them orange, too. I don't want to set aside the time to repaint the wheels, frankly. And after having the wheels powder-coated then buying tires, having them mounted and balanced, it was cheaper to buy new wheels and tires from Discount tire (plus I had a discount coupon that saved me some cash).

So history repeats itself. However, this time I won't be so impatient. Looking forward to the new wheels/tires in the next few weeks.

The Teal Terror gets a matching spare

Until last week, I had an old, bald-ass 205/75/15 spare tire on the original Suzuki 15x5 spare wheel. In addition to being bald and undersized (I now run 235/75/75 BFGoodrich All-Terrain tires), it also didn't match my other wheels. So I bit the bullet and bought a matching spare wheel from Summit Racing: A 15x7 U.S. Wheel Series 37 in all of its bling-blingness. I always figured once I got my wheel, I'd just buy a used 235/75/15 tire so it matched in size and so it had enough tread in case I actually needed to use it. However, I ended up with something much better.

Browsing Portland's craigslist ads, I found a brand-new 235/75/15 Goodyear Silent Armor tire—a very nice rubber doughnut, indeed. Not only that, but I picked it up for $55! Plus the dude was totally cool.

So the Teal Terror continues to evolve, and continues to prove you don't need to spend big bucks to have big fun.

Our cars in winter mode

Winter is almost here. It dropped into the 20s last night in Portland and we had some freezing fog.

This year I picked up a set of used 15" alloy wheels and shod them with a set of gently used 205/65/15 General Altimax studded tires. Coupled with all-wheel drive, the SX4 should be a snowmobile--just in time for ski/snowboard season. Speaking of, I need to put my ski rack on.

The Yaris uses the same setup as last year: 14" steel wheels (via our old Honda Civic) wrapped in 185/65/14 Hankook iPike studded snow tires. These proved themselves last year in the snow and ice last season. I hope the General tires are as good as these.

Bring on winter!

Snow tires for the Suzuki SX4

Bring on the winter. Earlier this year, I scored a set of free (yes, free) 15" alloy wheels off of craigslist so I could mount some snow tires. Not sure who makes the wheels and I don't really care. They look better than black steel wheels. Did I mention they were free?

Another recent visit to craigslist yielded a set of barley-used General Altimax studded snow tires. The price? $150. Not too shabby. In fact, this is the third set of snow tires I've bought used via craigslist. Maybe I'm just cheap, but I have a hard time spending the cash on new ones, since they only get used part of the year.

My SX4's stock tire size is a 205/60/16, which doesn't allow for many size options in snow tires, and even fewer if you're looking for used ones on craigslist. That's why I decided to move down to a 15" wheel size. I was looking for either a 195/65/15 or 205/65/15 tire. The Generals that I bought are the latter, and are actually closer to the OEM diameter.

I happened to have a spare set of TPMS sensors from the original steel wheels I had for the car, and had them installed during mounting and balancing. Hopefully they'll pair right up. Although, since TPMS is a PITA, I'm sure they won't. Regardless, I'm ready for the snow, ice and cold. The SX4, with its i-AWD system, should be a regular snowmobile with these tires, too.

The "Teal Terror" gets new tires, less decals

This weekend, I had the LT235/75/15 BF Goodrich All-Terrain T/A tires installed on the Teal Terror. They look good, and should perform admirably off road. I only had the chance to take them on gravel, so nothing too crazy to report yet.

I also took the time to remove the not-so-awesome two-foot long 1980s-looking "4x4" graphics from the doors. A heat gun and some Goo Gone made quick work of them. Overall, the look is much cleaner now. I also was able to fix a few rattles and squeaks, too. A good weekend for car stuff.