Following a tire blowout on New Year’s Eve, I decided I needed a change in the tires. This car comes from the factory with wheels that are way too big and tires that are way too skinny. Not only are blowouts likely (esp in NYC), the ride quality suffers, and it makes suspension damage way more possible. Initially, I ordered tires from Costco to mount on the stock tires – just with a 5% taller aspect ratio for more cushion – but Costco declined to mount the tires, even after forcing me to drive down with a flat.

I think this was a blessing. I’m usually adamant about running stock wheels (see: Evo) but with the Costco rejection I decided to just go all in and get a set of wheels and tires, dropping down from 19″ to 18″. I went from 235/35-19s to 235/45-18s – an increase in height of about 3.3%. The total tire cushion goes from 6.5″ (25.5″ – 19″) to 8.3″ (26.3″ – 18″), so nearly 2 extra inches of tire cushion. The tires I opted for were Continental TrueContact Tour 54s, which I anticipate will last me a very long time. I may even go down a little to 225/45-18s for the next time – these tires are definitely a little tall, totally filling up the wheel well.

The good news is they ride great. Since these are daily/all-seasons, I wasn’t looking for do-it-all grip like the DWS06+’s. The wheels I chose were the Konig Ovesteers in Opal. In 18×8, they weight about 20lbs, and in addition with the tires at 27lbs, the total package is 47 lbs. This is a drop of about 3lbs per corner (stock: 29lb wheels + 21lb tires), so 12lbs total. When I get the summer set on, it should be a few more pounds on top of this. The wheels look great and fit perfectly, and look pretty good on the car. I removed the plastic centering ring from the wheel, as I’ve experienced them melting and getting stuck on the hub before, and had a spare set for the Evo which runs the same centering rings. I used the new Rays Duralugs as well with these, which drop a tiny bit of weight and also fit these wheels well. In any case, I’m really happy I went with 18s, as the ride is still not exactly Corolla levels of comfort – so I doubt the taller 19s would have made much difference.