10000_lakes

Okay folks,

Here's a pic of my car after lowering it about an inch and installing the new ASA ST4 19" wheels with Michelin Pilot Sport PS2's. Got the package through Luke at Tire Rack. Thanks again, Luke.

Lowered the airmatic equipped car via the washer method in front. 2 washers plus the original washer found on the stud. Used a small rat-tail to elongate the holes on the rear sub frame to move the sensor bracket about a fat 1/8" or thin 3/16" (take your pick). I think it's a nice compromise height. Not slammed, but not 4X4. What do you think?

Hussain

Wheres the pic?

10000_lakes

any ideas? Have paint shop pro.....

10000_lakes

http://photos.yahoo.com/tcomptont

sf49ers79

10000_lakes

hey sf49ers79,

Thanks for the reply and feedback. Wasn't sure if anyone could see them through the link or not. Has anyone figured out how to post pictures without using a link? By the time I reduce a pic to 1 byte, there's nothing left to see. I would appreciate any info.

Brav

car looks good! right height its good. You could even go another .5 or .75 further. What price did you get on that package? How easy was the lowering job? Thinking of doing the same.

lig

I think it looks good!

10000_lakes

Brav,

Package cost with freight to the great north was $2356.xx (delivered). Included upgraded metal valve stems and caps - nice touch!

Effort was minimal. Anyone who can change their own tires can do this. For safety reasons, have a jackstand and place under the rear subframe to support the car should the jack fail when working on the rear sensor. Then, crawl under the car and remove the 2 x 10mm nuts that hold the sensor bracket on, which is located on the driver's side rear cross frame thingamajig. Push the bracket / sensor combo aside and grab your favorite rat tail file and start elongating the holes. A dremel would be nice, but I didn't have a bit small enough for the holes and I got the job done with the file in about 5 minutes per hole! The nuts left an impression much like that of a circle - washer shape where they were tightened down originally, and I used that impression on the mounting plate as a guide for how long to make the slots. I simply filed until the slot touched the edge of the impression. About a thick 1/8 inch each.
I cleaned up the area, replaced the bracket in the slots and positioned it as low as it would slide, and tightened down the 10mm nuts. Thats it. Slap on the wheels, remove jack stand, lower the car of the lift, reset the suspension height via the raise/lower button and admire your work!

The fronts were even easier. When you remove the front wheel in order to put on the new wheel, take this opportunity to reposition the front sensor bracket height. Simply take off the 10mm nut on top of the upper wishbone, pull the bracket with stud down and clear of the wishbone and start stacking small washers onto the stud. I found there was 1 washer already on the stud, so I added 2 more, for a total of 3. Replace the bracket in through the hole in the wishbone and replace the 10mm nut and tighten. Put your new wheel on and repeat exactly for the other side, and you're done! You might have to try different amounts of washers to get the desired height you want. Over 4 and the nut won't screw onto the stud.

Some notes: The front brackets can sometimes flex a bit when being pulled out of the upper wishbone hole. With the suspension fully extended (drooping) you have to work hard to get the bracket stud to clear the hole in the wishbone. Doing this can "flex" the bracket a bit. No problem. Just tweek it back into shape so it matches the other side. This happened to me. I put equal amount of washers on each side, but noticed the car was 3/8" higher on one side. Then I observed that I was a litte abusive to one bracket and it was tweeked abit out of shape. I simply inserted a flat blade screwdriver into the gap and tweeked it back into shape. After resetting the suspension height, both sides matched. Having a second jack to carefully lift the suspension arm would help alleviate this problem and provide the bracket with enough clearance to be removed without force.

Use the original thread with excellent pictures as a guide. (I did - and it helped a ton!) "lowered my car in 15 minutes" or something like it. I would post pics, but somebody else did, so just use those. ("epower" and "tbone", I think - pardon me if I failed to credit the proper person)

It's easy and it took just about what the other thread said in terms of time; 1.5 - 2.0 hrs.

Brav

Thanks a lot for the detailed response.. now I just have to decide on a set of 19's..

Taurusmerc

Great looking wheels!! They looked somewhat similar to the the AMG double spoke. What tire size did you go with? Any difference in the ride quality to the stock? Think about doing the upgrade myself but not sure if I should go with 18 or 19s.

10000_lakes

Yes, they do look a lot like AMG's. That's why I chose them. They are ASA brand (technology licensed by BBS) ST4 19" replicas of the AMG 19" twin spoke 2 piece wheel. Only thing missing is the AMG logo stamped into the wheel face. Otherwise, you'd be hard pressed to tell the difference. Got them from tire rack. Also, see the thread in the Wheels and Suspension category. Title is something like "is it AMG or memorex", moderated by Luke from TR. After following thread and researching the wheel, I took the chance and I'm pleased with the quality. Compared to any other aftermarket wheel, I'm sure these are just as good. Compared to the cost of the original the savings was THE motivator. about $1100 for the replicas vs. $3800 for the real things.

Ride quality: original wheels were the 17" ones. I stepped up to 19" because I felt that the difference between 17" - 18" was visually too small to go through the cost and effort, so I made the leap to 19" I had the same concerns you might have. Ride quality, curb rash potential, dentability. As far as the ride goes, yes it's a bit firmer, but not a lot. My wife didn't complain, so that's a good thing. Curb rash potential is the same as 17" for that matter. Any curb is high enough to ruin either one. Dentability issue was explained to me by Luke that either one would dent if I get swallowed up by a pot hole, but I watch out for them. Railroad tracks, manhole covers, etc., are no problem and the reduction in comfort is far offset by the increased responsiveness of the car. Besides, the 19's fill the wheel well perfectly.

Either way, I am sure you'll be happy with your decision. I lamented over the same 18 vs. 19 issue all winter long before taking the plunge to 19's. I look at it this way; it's an $1100 experiment. Although tires are about $50 bucks more each in 19" vs. 18", tires wear out eventually anyways and need to be replaced. So if the 19" package becomes too uncomfortable, or becomes damaged due to road hazards, I will just go back to 18" the next time I need to order tires, and get a new set of wheels then. All I'm out is the original $1100 for the first set of wheels.

Definitely plan on lowering your car before switching to 19". If your car sat anywhere near the height of my car, the gap from the top of the tire to edge of wheel well was huge! I dropped it a good inch, and it could easily go down another 1/2 inch to close the gap further and still not look "slammed".

Disclosure: I run these as 3 season sets only. I have Dunlop M2 Winter's on the OEM wheel. I wouldn't dare run this set up in a snowy winter.