EDIT - That should say "Which WHEELS to buy?" Thanks Harris.

Hey there folks,
I sent this to bnzsport too, so sorry for the repeat, but I figured that since I did all this typing, I might as well pick your brains too!I can't make a decision to save my life here, I need help! Thanks!

Since y'all are way more knowledgeable about wheels than I am, I thought I would come here for some advice. Well, my S0-3 fronts are wearing out about the same time as my oem Conti's, so this may be an opportune time for some wheels.
I want to go 255's in back, but want to stay with 17's for the ride. Is the ride appreciably better with 17's? I saw some posts where people went back to 17's after being on 18's. Of course, I should do something about that gap, but that is another story...
I just haven't seen any that I am excited enough about to spend 2g's on, and that were better looking than the monoblocks, which I think look pretty cool. My 1st priority is weight/performance, with looks secondary. Well, maybe I should be honest and say that looks DO matter... I was looking at the SSR comp's, like Jeff has, but I just don't like the "spider leg" look of the spokes. How they come up from the center, then go back down to the rim. I saw different pix of the GT1's, GT3's and now notice they do that too.
(From the Wheel Experts site)
SSR pix

It seems that most all of the spoker wheels (of most all of the brands) are either flat or bow out in the middle like the SSR's. I don't know if that is neccessary for fitment, or just style.
I would ideally like to get a 5 spoke wheel, deeper in the middle, coming out to the rims, not these, but similar in style to these MVR wheels:

I think that split spokes would be OK too (?), since it looks like that is what most are these days...

My other option is to just get 9.5 Monoblocks in the back and be done with it...
Anyway, thanks for reading, and open to suggestions.

 

Isnt that your topic should be "which WHEELS to buy"?? I think the Monoblocks look really good on a C43. Although they have been out for a while already, you should be glad that only a few MB can be fitted with Monoblocks!!

As far as tires are concern, I will not recommend any other tires other than Toyo T1-S. You will be VERY happy about them!!

 

amg rims for the slk may look good, or u can even try the new double 5-spoke that are for the c32...

 

Oops, thanks Harris...

I must confess I don't know much about Toyo's. Always been a Michelin-Bridgestone-Pirelli guy. I'll check it out, thanks.
Steve, I am considering the double spoke C32's, the 2 piece Sl wheels looks sweet too, but $$ (don't think they would fit anyway...

Thanks.

 

The C32 double spoke and the SL two piece will fit yr car, no problem.

 

Harris... why do u like the toyo T1-S so much?

 

Cool, thanks for the info.
Yeah, since I'm gonna need tires too, I would be interested in hearing your case for the Toyos.
Thanks

 

I've driven on the following max. performance tires and here are my comments on each of them:

1) PZero Assimetrical and Directionale - Stick like a glue in the dry but like ice-skating on wet. VERY poor tread wear. You need to change tires every 6000 miles or so.
2) PZero Rosso - similar performance as PZero Original (only better). Slightly better on wet. But I found the tramlining problem pretty serious. Wear out pretty much the same as PZero original. And I dont like the rough ride vs. other tires.
3) P7000 & P7000 Supersport - the worse high performance tires money can buy (Supersport is A/S). Like a pice of ^&**. The only good thing about them is price. Other than that, I dont know why people would buy them!!
4) ContiSport - okay tires, you seldom hear people get a second set of Continental, they usually come as stock tires.
5) Michelin Pilot Sport - the most expensive tires around, very quiet, gives a very smooth ride, treadwear not as bad as PZeros. Excellent in dry and wet. A great tire, the only set back is price. I think they're overpriced.
6) S-02 - I havent tried S-03 yet, but I was told the S-02 seems better in dry than S-03 but the S-03 is better on wet than S-02. Overall, S-02 are good tires. If T1-S doesnt exist, I would recommend it.
6) Toyo T1-S - has all the good things and none of the bad things that I've mentioned above. Smooth, pretty quiet, excellent on wet and dry, very durable, and not very expensive. With all these goodies, what else can you ask for a maximum performance tire?

 

Well I am basically looking for the quietest high performance tire for my IS300. I was looking at the continental extreme contact and dunlop SP9000. Do you think the toyo t1-s is better than either of those. Mind you I never take my car on the track, I drive moderately and would like stability at high speeds and around corners. My current bridgestone potenza RE040 are loud, have a choppy ride, follow every groove in the pavement, unsteady at high speed, etc. My michelin pilot alpin (snow tires) were so much quieter! and rode 10x better than the bridgestones (same size, 215/45 R17).

 

I do not have any experience with Extreme Contact, I dont want to comment on anything that I dont know, sorry. I have driven on SP9000 for half a day, they are okay, not bad, but noiser than T1-S.

I still prefer T1-S than anything else. They are in the different class, I believe SP9000 is one class lower.

 

If you want to get a price quote on wheels and tires, please feel free to shoot me an e-mail.

 

Cool man, thanks! Will do when I have figured it out.

 

Hey, does anyone know where I could actually see some SSR GT3's in real life in the SF Bay area? Those are a possible contender.

No monoblocks avail in 17 X 9, so that option is out. It looks like all or nothing at this point. I'm so sick of looking, and since I haven't seen anything better than the monoblocks that I just have to have, heading more to the nothing side...

Thanks.