Ok - I've had my new setup for about a month and a thousand miles or so, so it's time to tell the story...

Last fall, I went into Direct Tire to get some snows for the A6. I decided to keep the same wheels I had on during the summer (Mille Miglia 17x7.5 Spiders). Upon further review - the staff at Direct Tire asked my to come out to take a look at something they saw as they were mounting the tires. (That's never a good sign...) What they saw was very uneven tire wear on my SP9000's. "Who aligned this car?" asked the manager. "The dealer" I replied.

(Side note: I paid through the nose on the foolish assumption the dealer would "do it right").

It seems that the alignment that was done by the dealer was incorrect, and caused enough wear on the SP9000's that they were basically useless after a mere 12,000 miles. Ouch. Oh, and one of your wheels is bent. (Ouch again). Not severly damaged, but worth looking into getting fixed at some point.

So - I leave Direct Tire with 4 new snows (Pirellis) and one slightly damaged wheel. The seasons change. About a month ago, I returned to Tire Rack to get the following done:

1. Remove snows and replace with new summer tires (Pole Position S02's - from Tire Rack)
2. Install new Koni Shocks (from Tire Rack). I had been going with the stock shocks and the Eibach pro-kit springs, but I still wanted a litter firmer handling, and it seemed that the stock shocks were beginning to get a little rubbery..(21K miles).
3. Four wheel lowered alignment.
4. Replace dented wheel (purchased at Tire Rack)

Sooo - into Direct Tire I go. I get the dreaded "sir, can you come out to the shop to see something?"...

"We noticed a dented wheel"...

Oh - no problem - I brought a wheel to replace it.

"No - it's another one".

Oh.

"Ooops - it's actually *ALL* of them!"

Excuse me?

"Yes, all the wheels are bent"

So, I watch them balance each wheel, and sure enough, they are all out of round... a little. MERDE!

So, I leave Tire Rack with new tires (see "PS" below), new Konis, a 4 wheel alignment, and 3 damaged rims.

And, it's the best handling I've seen to date! The Koni's make a huge difference over the stock shocks - and combined with the Eibachs, make it a lot more fun to throw into corners. It corners a lot flatter and seem to stick to the road a lot better too! (The Pole Positions help there, too)

OK - so now I have 3 replacement wheels heading my way from...yes - Tire Rack.

So - the whole point of this is "lessons learned" - and here they are:

1. If you do the Eibach springs, get the Konis at the same time. You'll save a bunch in labor, and the ride is not that harsh.

2. Buy the Mille Miglia's if you live outside of the frost heave zone. The cheap cost comes with a caveat... I'm replacing the bent ones with Miglias - but just for the summer. I'll get some "tougher" wheels for winter - after I've paid off all the other stuff...BTW - to fix a bent wheel is $100 - a new one is about $130...

3. Using a dealer to do work on your car does not mean that it will always be done "right". I went back to the dealer and told them that their alignment was messed up - and they said "those lower springs will do that - we can't do an alignment for those...". Hmmm...then why did you agree to install them and do the alignment in the first place, if you know you can't do it right? Oh - so you could charge me $500..

4. This hobby is a huge, sucking money pit, which consumes wayyy to much of my time, because:

5. I'm thinking that I need upgraded brakes now....Hmmmm...should I do it before Lime Rock? Or before the Aftermarket Show, or at the show or...

PS - Tire Rack initially sent me 4 Bridgstone Potenzas instead of the Pole Positions. oops...at least they got it fixed quickly!

 

you should think about getting 4 BBS's instead of keep replacing the bent Mille's.

 

DMY 2.7T , you should read this thread.

 

How did they set your new Koni shocks? Mine were set in the softest position, and I don't know if it will make a difference to stiffen them a bit.

 

yeah, cheap wheels bent easily, and yeah, they are cheap to replace, but this is a chicken and egg question. bigger wheels are much easier to get damaged. don't know if it is a matter of the wheels or the road you are driving. get some tougher wheels for winter? well, the roads are usually filled with potholes in the spring and in the summer before they repair them, so i don't think summer wheels should be compromised. true, if you are putting snow tires on them and not doing a lot with the car, or you are planning on running the car in deep snow or ice, it make more sense to use less expensive wheels in winter.
btw, you guys are driving pretty decent cars already, why go cheap on wheels and tires? not saying you are, but i guess like you said, it is a money sucking pit. i would not compromise on something that is the only thing hanging on to the road.

 

I took it to a custom exhaust shop (Lou's Custom Exhaust in North Reading, MA). There's actually a custom exhaust from the cats back, but you could have a shop replace the "downpipe" that comes out of the stock muffler with a small piece of stainless tubing, then weld the tips on it.


The tips alone (installed) were about $60...

 

I actually really like the look of these wheels on the car - it's not the $$ issue. If I could find some very similar wheels that were stronger - I'd get 'em!

 

"In the middle" (according to the tech...)

 

Right on... BBSs are the way to go!

 

I know I've made several posts lately regarding PSK suspension retrofitting, but recently posted about a new Millie Miglia wheel (A1, I think), was questioned about the wheel strength, and couldn't say for sure. Sounds like the MM's are definitely not a very strong wheel. Kinda' what I suspected. I also heard from SP767 before he unloaded his 2.7T that he had bent three of his MM Spyders at the same time.

Assuming you were referring to the suspension - I've thought long and hard about the Eibachs and am probably going to look for an alternative that won't lower the ride height as much. I've got the 4.2 5-spoke sport wheels on my car and there is very little margin btwn. the wheels and fenderwalls. Some people have already examined this and said that I would probably encounter rubbing if I used the Eibach pro-kit. That was enough to deter me...

(Oh, and if you're reading this DLow - sorry to hear about the wheel problems/glad to hear that you're happy with the suspension results.)