EK Hatch Wheels and Suspension Parts ordered: How I decided on what to buy

Major Update on the EK Hatch!!!
Wheels are ordered! errr....wheels have arrived!
Instead of Konig Hypergram or Dekagram I went with 949Racing 6UL 15x7 +36mm in Ti02 Titanium Oxide (aka white)!!! After I found this picture of a red EK Hatch DX just like mine with the stock black side molding and side skirt with white Rays Gram Light 57DRs in 15x8 I was hooked. I spent a couple days trying to figure out how I could make those wheels, which are $1200 for a set happen. I was in love with that look (the red with white and that wheel design). I knew I wanted to spend money on quality suspension (which I get into below) and so I needed to find a more affordable white wheel I loved. The Konig Dial In was the first one I looked at but I didn't like the spoke and wheel design. It's cool, just wasn't loving it. I had trouble finding 6UL wheels, 949Racing.com was basically almost sold out in any color.

949Racing 6UL wheels in 15x7 +36mm 10.6lbs have arrived at the Hechtspeed "shop"

I found FlyinMiata.com had 15x7 in white. I texted my wife right then a picture of the red and white EK hatch with the Gram Lights and then a picture of a blue EG hatch with white 15" 6UL and asked if she could photoshop the 6UL onto the red EK. She's so talented!!! Check it out!

Roma Red EK Hatch with white Gram Light 57DR

Blue EG Hatch with Ti02 Titanium white 949Racing 6UL 15"

949Racing 6UL Titanium white (Ti02) photoshop onto a Roma Red EK Hatch DX

I just ordered up suspension parts! I'll put the details below...
As I said in my previous post I have been doing a bunch of research on what coilovers to buy. I narrowed my final 3 down to Buddy Club Sport Spec, K-Tuned K1 and Ksport Kontrol Pro. These were all about $900 for the set. See below for my comparison spreadsheet I put together to help me in my decision:

The Hechtspeed EK Hatch coilover comparison

In my research I tried to boil down the descriptions on the many websites into a couple key metrics so I could compare my options. I wanted to know spring rates, dampening adjustment, twintube or monotube, price and any other key features. The Ksport Kontrol Pro was the cheapest. I found it for $740. But, it has the softest spring rates (not by ton mind you, they were 9.8k / 5k) and the most dampening adjustment (36-way). I don't necessarily consider more "clicks" better. Ksport is a decent company that has been around for probably 10 years. But, nothing stands out here except the price and I was not wanting to make my decision based purely on that.

The second option and the one I was leaning toward the most was the K-Tuned K1. The K1's have 10k/6k spring rates and probably the most YouTube video reviews out of the 3. K1's have 32-way adjustment. As I mentioned in my previous post, the Speed Academy guys did a nice series on the black EK coupe K swapped track/street project and they had good things to say about this one. They ended up swapping to K2's (20k/16k spring rates) I guess because the car ended up more a track car than a street car.

The third option was Buddy Club Sport Specs. Spring rates for the Buddy Clubs are 10k/7k and 20-20-way adjustment. The Buddy Clubs are "Made in Japan" and have the longest history as a company. Initially I found these for $925 on deftmotion.com. I had already chosen Skunk2 UCAs from jhpusa.com and asked jhpusa if they would price match. I was happy to get an email the next morning saying they would price them at $898 for me. If you look on their site now they are priced at $898 for everyone! Your welcome! Go check them out JHPUSA Buddy Club SPORT SPECS

All 3 systems use Monotube shock design. This was one of the final details I found a few days ago. I google searched "monotube vs twintube" after I started noticing some kits with the two different optioons and learned some helpful information. I learned that monotube shocks are better suited for performance driving while twin tube are better for ride quality. The reasons are responsiveness to bumps, fade of the performance of the shock as it performs over time and long term consistency of that performance.

strutmasters.com Monotube vs Twin tube shock article was super helpful

The Strutmasters.com article is short and sweet (unlike my blogs)! CLICK HERE The last comment on mono vs twin tube is it appears some of the cheaper coilovers utilize twin tube as a way to give very lowered cars a more comfortable ride and save on cost. Neither of which are what I'm looking for.

I found a really helpful article from the Speed Academy guys called "Track Alignment Specs: EG/EK Honda Civic & DC2 Integra". Not only does it give some good pointers on setup but helps explain what the Honda unequal length double wishbone suspension is doing when you're pushing your Honda hard in corners.

Speed Academy EG/EK/DC2 Track Alignment article

One of the helpful tidbits was that my hatch does not need a lot of initial static camber because as the unequal length double wishbone suspension compresses, it gains negative camber naturally. Give the article a look and CLICK HERE

So, what did I choose? I went with the Buddy Club Sport Specs from jhpusa.com!!! So excited!!!

Buddy Club Sport Spec coilover kit for 92-00 Civic and 92-97 Del Sol

I think the blue springs and red shock body color scheme is cool!

I went with Skunk2 Pro Series Plus UCAs (Upper Control Arms) for camber adjustability as well as the benefits of having more direct and solid mounts and bushings. I ended up getting the rears from jhpusa.com along with the Buddy Clubs. They were not offering (even though I asked and they said they couldn't) free shipping for the front arms so I ended up finding those on kseriesparts.com for the same price with free shipping. No biggy. The internet now allows me to drop $1271 in a matter of minutes with no hassle.

Skunk2 rear Pro Series Plus camber kit

The Skunk2's have a great racing heritage with the Honda/Acura crowd. The Skunk2 rear control arm is different than all the other 88-00 Civic choices. The difference is in the construction and design of the ends of the arm. All the other designs are a "butt-welded" bushing case to the adjustable middle section at a 90 deg angle. But, these Skunk2's have a beefier and smoother transition. The butt-welded variety just looked weaker and a potential crack point.

The Skunk2 fronts have camber adjustment from the bottom for easier access. Here is the blurb from Skunk2: Each Pro Series Plus Camber Kit includes three-piece, low-deflection, polyurethane bushings that eliminate the pre-load typically associated with rubber bushings, allowing the arms to pivot freely, dramatically improving handling performance. Pro Series Plus Camber Kits also feature Skunk2s all-new, one-piece, forged Pro Series Ball Joints, which feature low-profile top plates for additional clearance between themselves and the shock towers, higher clamping loads for no-slip performance, and a unique design that allows for maximum adjustability. 

So, there you have it. I'm super excited to get all this stuff installed! Can't wait for how the car is going to look and how its going to handle.

EK hatch = the Daily Racecar

Blogging 2 nights in a row? Are you feeling alright?  ;)

Might as well keep going while I'm motivated to write.

So, what is it like to drive a 90's commuter car? LOL It's slow! I've never owned super fast or powerful cars. But, going from 230hp in 3300lbs (330ci bimmer) to a 106hp in 2300lbs ('99 EK hatchback) is a big change. The bimmer was also lowered and BMW also has the "Ultimate Driving Machine" going for it. Did you see the weight difference? 1000 lbs!!! This is one of the big factors in my decision to get back into a Honda.  Add lightness! Weight kills driving feel. Also #slowcarfast! It's more enjoyable to drive a car closer to its maximum effort than to hold back on a faster car.
I'm having so much fun driving this Civic around town. It takes more thought and planning to pass people on the freeway. It's fun to take corners. The light nimbleness is just fun!
The other detail is the Honda transmission and its shifter feel. My bimmer had a $300 nice quality shifter. This stock 20 year old SUPER light feel shifter is soooooo much fun!!! I can't really explain it. It's so light weight. You can flick it around. It's like this musical instrument that you can precisely and carefully maneuver around from gear to gear. The engine is so quick to rev that you can rev match so easily and quickly with the flick of the wrist. It puts a smile on my face.

The post needed a picture up towards the top. Here is the range of colors that Konig has for the Hypergram! I've already done Matte Grey on my bimmer. Maybe its on to Race Bronze next for my "daily racecar"?

The other thing I realized as I was thinking about what car to get next and as I test drove the Civic and then got back in the bimmer and then began driving the Civic is I'm not the right type of driver or personality to own a Mustang or any of the more powerful cars. My bro is a 'Stang guy. He loves getting aggressive in canyons and letting the tail hang out. He is less cautious you could say LOL. That kind of driving and mentality is rewarded by cars like Mustangs, rwd, torquey, higher power, heavier chassis, bigger and wider chassis. I just plain don't have the guts to hang the tail out. I'm a scaredy cat! I seriously owned a rwd car with over 200hp for 3 years and never got it sideways! I never did a burnout! Heresy, I know! I did like less than 10 drag launches in those 3 years. The traction control was annoying. But you can turn it off and I hardly ever turned it off.
I'm more of a "grip" driver. I like to stay in the lines. I like the details, I like to be precise. I feel like light FF (front engine, front wheel drive) cars fit that personality. I also like the "David and Goliath" ethos, the "Giant killer"(If you're wondering what Giants any Hondas have killed, just go review how the Hondas have done in Global Time Attack events in Australia!). I like to do more with less. I like efficiency. Light cars like Civics are known as "momentum" cars. You can't rely on your right foot to make up for mistakes. You have to nail the apex to carry your speed through to the next turn. I like the planning and thinking behind getting it right.
The first thing to address with the Civic then is not the engine. I could spend $1000 on the D16 single cam 4 pot and it would maybe make 140-150hp. It's simply not worth investing in. A turbo kit on the stock block would probably get it up to 175hp or so for like $3000 or so. Honestly not a horrible option, but now I've just added weight (turbo, intercooler, piping) and its all on the nose of the car. For the same cost, I could swap in a B series engine and get the same power level and have 1000 more rpm to play with.
No, the engine is not where I'll be focusing. The suspension and wheels and tires are "Stage 1".
Let's start with wheels. I'll definitely be going with 15". These are the most plentiful and cost effective. I personally prefer the look of 15" with 205/50/15 tires over 16" with 205/40/16. This second 16" option is exactly what I had on my first Civic (aka Jackie Chan). It looks good, don't get me wrong. Over time its not the look I like.

"Jackie Chan" was my first Japanese car, first Civic. It's a '95 EX Coupe. These were 16x7 +40mm Nippon wheels I bought off of eBay for like $400. The tires were 205/40/16 Sumitomo HTR's I believe. I bought this car in 2001. This picture was 2003 in Glendora, Calif. The suspension was Eibach Sportlines with KYB AGX adjustable shocks. This was a really good setup.  I loved this car. Hhhhhh....

I'm definitely a fan of the "JDM style" of build for Hondas. I'm also a huge track and autox fan. I like the "meaty tire" look. It looks purposeful and mean! It also makes the most practical sense for drivability and makes the most functional sense in that its the best way to build a car to be driven hard and for cornering. I can appreciate the "stance" look just like I dig super low hot rods and customs and even lowriders. I can appreciate the look and work that is involved. But, my personal style (and budget) is the functional, meaty stance.
So, first things first, I need to get some wheels. The black 14x5 steelies with plastic 90's hubcaps are not doing it for me. They're ugly obviously and they are hard, balloony all-season tires and they have no feel or grip. 185/65/14 tires have a tall sidewall.

Ugly 14" steelies with hubcaps!

Originally when I began my search, I really wanted to do 15x8 or even 15x8.5. For tires I really wanted to do 225/50 or 225/45 for that extra meaty look and Kanjo style with white lettering. Like this...

Kanjo style EK Civic with "Advan Yokohama" tire lettering

So, both my Civics had knockoff wheels. Nippon F5 are Desmond Regamaster copies. Those were on my '95 EG coupe. Then I had Rota Grids which are Volk TE37 copies on my '98 EK sedan.

My '98 EK Sedan with 16x7 Rota Grids with 215/40/16 tires on stock suspension.  Dig the pinstripe? Nope, me neither!! Don't ever buy from a ghetto used car dealer like First Class Cars. :(

After owning some knockoff Chinese wheels, (my WRX also had Rota Grids) I wanted to try and get some quality wheels. I bought Konig Hypergrams for my bimmer after watching the Speed Academy Civic track build vlog series. The Speed Academy guys explained that the Konigs are light, strong and affordable. That's my perfect combination. Sure, I'd love some rare Japanese wheels. I'd love some real Volks TE37s or Enkei RPF1s, but I simply can't afford those. In my search for Civic wheels, I started with Konigs again. I also really like the 949 Racing 6UL wheels. After looking around, they seem to be backordered everywhere I searched. They're also more expensive than Konigs. Not by a ton but they're more. As I said, I was first wanting to go aggressive. I wanted 15x8 or 15x8.5. But again, I pulled up the Speed Academy vlog series on the black EK coupe and saw that they had a blast on track and a nice meaty tire look with the Konig Hypergram in 15x7.5 +35mm and some sticky 205/50/15's (looks like they did go to a 225/45/15 on front later). THe 15x8/8.5 options from Konig have +25mm offset. That's a little aggressive. Not a ton. You can roll fenders. There are wide fender options. But, like the Speed Academy hosers (they're from Canada eh, take off eh hosehead) they wanted a bolt on wheel. Check it out. Looks great!!

Here's a screenshot from the Speed Academy YouTube vid when they installed the Konig Hypergrams.

 Here is the same wheel on an EG, the Konig Hypergram in Bronze. Love!

Ebay has been my source for wheels all these years. Here is the 15x7.5 +35mm Konig Hypergram in Matte Grey.

...and here is the same wheel in Race Bronze. 

I've purchased 4 sets of wheels/tires from eBay Speed Shop since 2003. I've had great success and great prices! It will be no different here. Discount Tire eBay store sells these Konig Hypergrams for $468 with free shipping. Steal of a deal!!
Now its just deciding if I want Matte Grey or Race Bronze. Hmm... decisions!
For tire, I see 2 paths I can take. I can take the approach I've always taken. Go cheap! For example, on my bimmer I bought Accelera PHI-R tires off eBay. I found 205/50/15 Accelera PHI-R tires for $243 for a set. So cheap!
For this setup (Konig Hypergram + Accelera PHI-R in 15") it will cost $711 plus $60 to mount and balance at Burt Bros. The same setup in 18" for my bimmer was $850 + $400 +$60 = $1310. About double!
The 2nd path would be to pay a little more and get a sticky 200 treadwear tire in 205/50/15. Like the EG picture above running BFG Rivals. There is the Nitto NT01/NT05s, the Federal RSR, the Toyo R888, and so forth. I found the Federal RSR for $350 for a set. Awesome deal! I might have to try that. They won't last as long as other options. The Dunlop Direzza is kind of a middle ground option at 280 treadwear and decent price. That might be my best option actually.

A few inspirational pictures to finish the post...

One of the few EK Hatches I could find with Hypergrams. Here it is in bronze. Very clean EK right here. 

This red EK Hatch is one I found on Instagram Speed Shop owned by "@jdmek7669". This looks like it runs 16" Konig Hypergrams. Those tires are pretty low profile. I have a hard time finding wheel/tire specs online. Nobody posts their setups openly. It's annoying.

Konig Dekagram, my second choice.

The Konig Dekagram was right up there. But, at the same size, this wheel is $100. Not sure why. Great looking wheel. I think a black Dekagram would look great on my red Hatch. Hmm.... should I reconsider?
That's it for tonight. Dream of 15" wheels and 200 tread track tires on your daily! I know I will!

Bye bye Bimmer!

Soooo, I sold the bimmer lol!!! It was almost 3 years, almost! I bought it for $6500, sold it for $3900. I always like to evaluate how I came out on the financial side of things with my cars. I have a very tight budget and so I'm conscious of where my money goes. I have typically lost about $2000/year on all my cars. Let’s see how the bimmer fared.
I replaced the radiator fan for $200, control arms and poly bushings for like $350, Konig Hypergram wheels and Acellera (who?haha) tires for like $1200. I did sell the BMW wheels for $450 so that makes the wheels/tires about $750.

The bimmus 330ci at work with the "winter mode" wheel/tire setup. Doesn't look half bad but its much more sedate than the Konig Hypergrams

$6500 - $1300 (major maintenance and mods) + $3900 = $3900. Divide $3900 by 3 years and that's about $1300 cost of ownership per year. That's really good actually. Huh...All said I really enjoyed BMW ownership. The car was a ton of fun to drive and own. When washed up it was good lookin' fo sure.

I was originally going to write about the new car I bought (1999 Honda Civic DX Hatchback in Roma Red) but I have too many things to say to close out the ownership of the bimmer including why I sold it. So, the new car post will be a separate one.
So, after reading my December 2017 update, there isn't a whole lot to update on. :) 2 main things I did with the bimmer was take it to Bonneville Speedweek in August 2018. I drove out to the Salt Flats on the Friday night, camped out at Lands End and enjoyed checking out the hot rods and racecars on the Great White Dyno on Saturday.

BMW 330ci at the Bonneville Salt Flats next to the SCTA trailer!

Here are the pics I put up on my KSL.com classifieds ad. Didn't end up needing the ksl as Pantera Corey's brother/niece ended up buying it! Very happy its staying in the family! Hope to see it out autocrossing soon!

Konig Hypergram 18" wheels on Accelera PHI-R tires and H&R Cup Kit

Tan Leather Premium Package, it grew on me. I love the heated seats in the winder. 

UUC short shifter an knob. Loved this set up. Very direct and had a quality feel.

Tan leather was easy to keep clean an stayed much cooler in the summer heat than black

Then a couple months later I was invited by Pantera Corey to try AutoX with him and his brother/sis-n-law/niece/nephew here in Farmington at the Legacy Events Center.

Utah SCCA Legacy Events Center OktoberFast Event-330ci and my first AutoX. Pantera Corey's Mazda6 is in the background 

 The Utah SCCA makes it very affordable (was like $35 for your first time) and lets you borrow a helmet. Had to go with lucky #78!

Can't remember who took the photos and shared them on Facebook but thank you bro! Here's the 330ci dodging cones!

I've done multiple longer trips in the bimmer. I went to St. George twice this year for baseball tournaments plus last fall for an Electric R/C flyin with my dad and bro. Heading out to Bonneville is fairly quick and easy. Not much to see though.  I took a cool picture of the bimmer in front of the SCTA trailer. I love the flats!

The AutoX event was so much fun! It was super helpful to have a friend who knew what they were doing as well. I think I had 6 runs between 2 sessions. I got faster on each run as I learned the course and as I pushed the car harder. One of the most interesting things was I learned from an experience driver guiding me along that I as I went slower in I was able to go faster out. The bimmer and the Accelera tires performed great. It was late October in Utah so it was like 60 degrees, perfect for not stressing out my equipment.
I really enjoyed seeing a ton of cool cars go hard at the cones. I loved hearing the engines and screeching tires. There was a white EG civic sedan that was gutted with some 15" meats and it was FAST. The Miatas were also fun to watch. They were able to carry so much speed through the turns.

OK, so the bimmer was #goodtimes but I was itching to move on. It has been about 3 years anyway. :) The reason I sold it was to get into a car that I could afford to modify. Modifying is the part of this hobby that I enjoy the most. I hit the limit with the BMW. There was really nothing I could have done to the engine to really boost power significantly. Sure, I could have spent a $100+ on an intake kit and gotten another 5hp. There are no headers that are smog legal since the catalytic converter is in the exhaust manifold. I could have done coilovers but it already had H&R springs and shocks. Plus it had 157k miles with some minor things that were bugging me. The car is heavy per my specifications. It's 3300+ lbs and only 225hp stock. Its a great cruiser. I just wasn't inspired by it anymore.
Every time I start getting the itch to sell and buy something different, I always start looking at 90's Hondas and Mustangs. In my past I've already had 2 Civics and a Fit. I just enjoy the lightweight, nimble character of Hondas. I enjoy the practicality and affordability. I commute 72 miles per day (20k/year) so having a commuter that I can call my project is also the best use of my dollars, the best fun per dollar.
The problem with Honda is the only ones I like are from 1988-2000. These are the lightest best handling Civics with the biggest aftermarket. The 2000 and newer Civics are heavier, bigger and they lost their 4 wheel double-wishbone suspension design. :( Booooo! Progress is not always better.

Blog post for 2017 Bimmer mini-update

Ok, so I am slacking big time here.  I just read my "2016 blog post" and it started out just how this one could start off.  That is, by saying, its winter in Utah, it's too cold outside, I'm feeling couped up, I feel like writing. The kids are not busy with any sports and I'm on the tail-end of a long Christmas/New Years vacation from work.

So, Hello 2017...and Good bye 2017.  Hello 2018!!! LOL!!!

I am never not a car guy. I might be in some kind of hibernation, but its because life has it's higher priorities.  I am about a week away from my 40th birthday, so I'm smack dab in the middle of my life. Any funds that might go to a 2nd car, a project car, or to my daily driver "fun" car (yes, its currently still the 2001 BMW 330ci) are going towards the family, the mortgage (only 9 years left until its paid off, hmm, seems close, yet so far away), food to feed 4 boys, competitive sports for those 4 hosers, etc. etc. I just read some inspiring car guy blogs recently (lots of down time during this Holiday vacation) that talk about how car guys are always car guys, they might just take some time off, but that you can and will always come back. I'm trying to stick to the "Rich dad, poor dad" mantra of "live like no one else now, so you can live like no one else later". Meaning, be wise with your money now, so you'll have some later in life when you can enjoy retirement, enjoy your grandkids, etc. Ok, so didn't mean for this to become a financial advise blog but the point is, my car writing is almost non-existent, but I'm still that car guy at heart. I still spend way too much time watching youtube car videos, surfing my usual car related websites, etc.

I do have some minor updates to share though, so here goes...

The bimmer daily now has 129,000 miles.  Here's the quic....err long update on where the car is at today. During the summer, I took the car in for the annual safety inspection and smog test.  I was pretty confident it was all good, which means of course, I was set up for failure.  LOL The smog passed no problem, but my rear Michelin Pilot Super Sports were showing chords on the inside due to -2 degrees of camber and the front control arm bushings were toast, err... I mean marshmallows.  The quote for parts and labor from the local tire/mechanic shop was right around $1000. Being 100% honest with you, I drove home thinking to myself, "$1000?  Ah crap!  Welp, I wonder how much I can get for the bimmer? Maybe $5000, $4500?" I was seriously mentally done with the car.  I was doing calculations like "$1000 bucks?  That's like a quarter of the value of the entire car?  For front control arms/bushings and labor?  Ahhh nahhh!"

After texting my dad, bro, cousin, and the local neighborhood car buddies, I calmed down enough to start youtub'ing the removal and replacement for e46 front control arms, as well as how to remove ball joints.  It looked doable with hand tools. Then started shopping for polyurethane front control arm bushings. My other thought was "well shoot, if I have to get new tires, I might as well get some new wheels right?"  Isn't that how car guys think?  How can I switch things up?  How can I upgrade this part or that part?

I ordered new control arms ($90 per side, not bad) and a ball joint removal fork tool off of "Amazon Speed Shop". Found the best price on some poly front control arm bushings from one of the tried-and-true aftermarket bimmer parts shops online.  For new wheel ideas, I remember watching the "Speed Academy" YouTube channel, the episodes where they built Peter Tarach's brother's daily driver Civic into a track car and used the new Konig Hypergram flow formed aluminum wheels.  They talked about how they were strong, light, and affordable. I had previously bought aftermarket wheels off eBay 3 other times.  My '95 Civic got 16x7" silver Nippon 5 spoke wheels (looks like a Rota Slipstream), my '98 Civic got 16x7 bronze Rota Grids and my '02 WRX got 17x9 white Rota Grids.  I'm all about buying quality parts (can't you tell from my previous wheel purchases? :\), especially if they're affordable. The current wheels were black VMR 18x8.5 +35mm for the front and 18x9.5 +45mm for the rears. Konig made the same front size and fitment and for the rear the same size but with +35mm offset in a nice gunmetal grey color.  I paid $840 shipped I think.  Really nice price I think! For tires, my history has shown that I have gone on the cheaper side. Shocker!  I went with Acellera PHI in 245/35/18 front, 265/35/18 rear.  Had to go wider didn't I!  I figured the Michelin's run wider than a cheaper brand.  I did some rudimentary measuring of the current set up and figured if I had to I could roll the rear fenders.  After busting out the install of the front control arms and bushings and getting a new alignment on the new wheel and tire setup, the first drive to work that morning proved that, although not horrible rubbing in the rear, I would need to roll the rear fender lips.  I ordered the best cheap fender roller and heat gun I could find ("Amazon Speed Shop" baby!!!) and took about 5 hours one weekend night.  The job would have been much easier if BMW hadn't put that rubber seal inside the fender lip in the rear.  Thanks German engineering!  I had to use a box knife to cut up the seal so the fender would move.  That was the hardest part.  I did have to watch a youtube video on fender rolling to figure out how to configure the roller.  The heat gun worked well to keep the 16 year old paint from cracking!  I've gone about 10k miles on this setup and it only rubs on the big freeway bumps!  Those dad taxi runs to baseball practice with 3 teenagers in the back with all their baseball gear in the trunk does make it rub on the big street bumps too but hey, dad car guy life wasn't gonna be easy!!! Here's a pic of the new setup!

Konig Hypergram 5x120 BMW E46 Fitment (18x8.5 +35mm front, 18x9.5 +35mm rear)

I really like the look of the car with the Konig's compared to the old VMR (CSL/M3 style). The fronts could have handled 18x9.5 with 255/35/18 I think. I think I could have gone with a square setup.  This car cleans up nicely though eh?!  Black is a love/hate.  I should have bought an actual legit all-season tire.  The ebay add said these Acellera PHI's were "all season" but I think it was a lie.  So, the week after Thanksgiving, I put the stock 17x7 wheels with Kumho all-seasons on again.  Sighhhhh...:(

I thought I'd feel more difference with the poly bushings up front, but the difference was very minimal. Could be that the difference between Michelin tires/worn out bushing vs Acellera tires/poly bushing is very small.  If I had a high quality tire with the poly bushings maybe it'd be more noticable?  Who knows. I had the car aligned at the same shop and it ended up -2 rear camber, -1 front camber with the toe put to stock specs. Drives nice and straight and very little wear on the tires after 10k miles.  The tread wear on these Acelleras is 320, so kind of a middle of the road number for a performance tire. I'm happy with the setup for a daily driver. I paid like $430 for the set. Not bad for wide 18's eh. I sold the VMR wheels for $460 to a local Utah 1 series owner.

Acellera PHI 265/35/18 compared to stock sized 205/50/17 Kumho

Let's see, the other thing I did in the summer was replace the cooling fan. I was in the local In-N-Out drive through on a 90 degree day and I just happened to see the water temp guage past normal. I ordered up a new, well reviewed, fan from "Amazon Speed Shop" for like $200. I youtube'd the install videos and it was the easiest repair I think I've ever done.  It took like 5 minutes to slide the fan in and connect up the electrical connection.

I think that's about it for the bimmus. It's knocking down 28mpg on the daily commute.  It's on the 20k/year plan.  It's also recently become a new driver training vehicle.  LOL  My oldest son just turned 15 and passed the Utah Drivers Permit exam 2 days after his birthday.  Pretty cool actually. Growing up in California in the 90's, I had to be 15 and a half to get my permit. So, the day after Christmas, on the way back from the Sporting Goods store, we dropped in at the Church parking lot and did some stick shift driving practice in the bimmer.  I think its actually a good car for a new driver to learn on.  It's not a Honda, so the clutch is not feather light.  It's actually pretty resilient to teenage new driver inputs.  haha  The torquey 3.0L engine helps it lug around at low rpms and not do the bucking bronco motions.  It's also made driving the family minivan (2007 Honda Oydssey) feel way easier. So, the next generation Hechtspeed'er is now on its way to driving. Time will tell if the car passion hits any of them.