At this point, I think I am done trying to work on my car. No more aftermarket parts, and probably going to return to stock as much as possible. I am just so frustrated at this point. I will try and keep this story as short as possible:
First, my OZ Ultraleggera's came with 225/35-18 tires on them. I took them to Quality Automotive in Medina to have them removed. They could not do it, claiming the sidewall was too low-profile. I took them to Motomotion, who removed them without issue. Total cost: $36
I purchased 4 used Kumho Ecsta SPTs in 225/45-18. I performed some cosmetic repair to curb damage on the OZs and prepped them for paint. I put them in primer, thinking I could have the tires mounted and then shoot paint (to avoid chipping / scratching). Total cost: $100 tires, $10 primer
I took the Kumhos and my OZs back to Quality Automotive. They had been able to put 2 new Cooper Zeon ZPT tires in 215/45-18 on my OEM wheels when I first purchased the car. I figured they could do 225/45-18 on an 8 inch wide wheel. I was wrong. They could not. Off the wheel / tire combo goes to MotoMotion, to get mounted and balanced.
Motomotion calls me first thing this morning. Here is somewhat what the conversation consisted of:
Motomotion: "It looks like someone tried mounting one of these tires. Did you take these somewhere else first?"
Me: "Yes, I tried a different shop first, they told me they couldn't do it."
Motomotion: "They ripped the inside tire bead on the machine."
Me: "That doesn't sound good. Is the tire useless?"
Motomotion: "Yeah, the tire is no good. If you can get another, we can still mount these. Let me know what you want to do."
I picked the wheels and tires up tonight, still not mounted. Now I only have three good tires. Motomotion quoted me at $152 a tire for Hankook Ventus V12 and $10 a tire for mounting. Total cost would be $648 + tax. I've already spent $146 and gotten nowhere. What a waste.
Changing pace, SU still does not have BC Coilovers in stock. They keep telling me "the end of this week." That being said, I am out of time to order those.
I'm not so sure what my options are. I have no money to spend, and currently do have a set of OEM wheels with All-Season tires that still roll, thankfully. I have a lot of maintenance coming up and no money to perform it. If you've read this far, I commend your reading habits. Here is what I am thinking:
1. Sell the OZs. What is nice is I can paint them any color you'd like!
2. Purchase two new OEM rear shocks to replace my leaking ones. Pray the fronts are still good.
3. Paint my stock wheels a more 'normal' color and continue running the all season tires
4. Maybe purchase FD RX-7 wheels with snow tires for the winter, just as a safety precaution. This can wait until half a year from now when I can afford it.
I mean, let's face the facts. My car has 71,000 freaking miles on it and I still owe a lot of money on the loan. I don't need to be doing anything but focusing on paying it off and making sure it gets me from point A to point B everyday. That being said, it looks like track days and fun road trips are out of the question for this summer. I will do my best to keep updated on here. If you have suggestions for me, let me know. But right now this feels a lot like my old Mustang--too much trouble for what it's worth! Sorry about the raging post. Thanks for taking the time to read it.
