15" rims on Tercel

lesabre400 · Post by **lesabre400** » Wed Oct 20, 2004 7:49 am

Ok, I'm going to try posting this again. It seems that even though I can see the pic, some can't. Let me know if this works or not:

arbskynxnex · Post by **arbskynxnex** » Wed Oct 20, 2004 11:55 am

I can't see it, but I was able to download the image and there it is. Very nice. How wide are the wheels, they look about the same width as the 13's, or thats just me. Has it affected how much power you have?

GTSSportCoupe · Post by **GTSSportCoupe** » Wed Oct 20, 2004 12:08 pm

I downloaded the image as well. That is one beautiful tercel!! It's perfect; looks like it just rolled off the assembly line.

As a moderator I'm allowed to attach images to posts. I tried attaching your image to this post, but was unsuccessful. I really don't know why I couldn't make it work. Maybe it has something to do with the new server setup...

arbskynxnex · Post by **arbskynxnex** » Wed Oct 20, 2004 12:53 pm

There we go. The image was saved as CYMK, I converted it to RGB and it works just peachy keen now.

lesabre400 · Post by **lesabre400** » Wed Oct 20, 2004 1:28 pm

Hey thanks for setting that up!
We're a marketing/design agency and everything is cmyk around here, so I'd obviously forgotten to switch for web. Duh. :unsure:

The new 15" wheels are 6" wide, while the old 13s were only 4. The best thing is the way it drives - as good as ever. No perceivable loss in acceleration (not that there ever was much), no more difficult to steer (I have no power steering) and a lot more stable at highway speeds. Still need to work on the centrecaps and stick on some tercel4wd.com decals (in the mail, right GTS?). No idea how far off my speedo is, but I'm guessing about 5kph around 60, maybe 10kph at 100. I'll work it out on the weekend. If anyone's good with a slide rule, the new overall height of the tires is 24", versus the 22" tall 13s.

It's in very good shape but I must admit the pictures hide the bubbling paint quite well. The dark green sections had been repainted before I bought it and now the hack body work is starting to show around the fender lips. Nothing an afternoon with an angle grinder won't cure. The light (mint?) green is still original, though. Interior's perfect. Could use some detail work under the hood, but there's no rust. Pretty amazing for an Ontario car from 1986.

takza · Post by **takza** » Wed Oct 20, 2004 7:23 pm

Sharp looking car. Could you say what car the wheels were from? Are the tires 60 series?

Speedo off by 9%? Your gas mileage should improve......

lesabre400 · Post by **lesabre400** » Thu Oct 21, 2004 9:36 am

The wheels are steel rims from the TireRack sourced by a very helpful place here in Kitchener. They're for a Toyota something, I think it was the Echo, but I'm not sure. The tires are 60 series - 195s. If the gas mileage gets any better, I'll be making money!

russkiypenguin1 · Post by **russkiypenguin1** » Sat Oct 30, 2004 7:53 pm

I think you might experience different handling in the snow. Traditional advice for snow is to use narrow tires because the wider tires start acting kind of like a sled.

But our wagons are so light that I'm not sure that traditional advice sticks. Seems like we sort of climb up onto the snow whereas heavier vehicles squish down through to the road....but a wider tire means more snow to squish out of the way.

Anyhow, I really like how it looks. The way I drive I think that the tires would end up rubbing as I bump through an intersection. Did you beef up the shocks or something?

lesabre400 · Post by **lesabre400** » Mon Nov 01, 2004 7:47 am

I'm sure the new tires will have a different effect on the snow. The 13s cut down through it extremely well. But I got fixated on having 15s, and the tires I put on are the skinniest available. They actually turn out to be only 1.5" wider than the old ones anyway and the snow-tread combined with the 4wd, I'm sure I won't have any problems other than stopping. That will take some getting used to. Judging by the weather outside, I may get my first experience sometime soon - I'll keep you posted.
The only time I got it to rub was with a couple bags of water softener salt in the back along with my 10" sub box and some other tools and groceries. Otherwise, I haven't had a problem. I even took it down an old washed out access road by our place that creates some good articulation - narry a rub!
Once these shocks wear out (they still feel pretty good), I'll be getting some heavy duty ones for sure. But so far, bone stock 180,000km suspension.

russkiypenguin1 · Post by **russkiypenguin1** » Mon Nov 01, 2004 3:55 pm

I've got to replace my shocks now. They're so squishy you can lean on the car and it leans with you. It makes it pretty squirrely on the highway. I've got 165k on it so far.

I'm not really sure what shocks I'm going to go with. I definitely want something stiffer than stock.

takza · Post by **takza** » Mon Nov 01, 2004 4:08 pm

Bounce test for shocks:

On a corner of the car...you push down on something solid like the bumper and start to bounce the car...go thru several up/down cycles and at the BOTTOM of a cycle you let it go and watch what happens...

If it bounces up and then drops to about the center of travel...your shock/strut is OK(?)...if it keeps moving any more than that...you have problems.

If it continues to bounce and won't stop...PLEASE...step AWAY from the car..... B)

russkiypenguin1 · Post by **russkiypenguin1** » Mon Nov 01, 2004 4:28 pm

oh trust me brutha...my wagon bounces like a hoopdie with hydraulics. I wasn't planning on fixing my wagon up, I was just going to drive my truck and buy a new car. I have since decided to just fix what I got. It's cheaper than a new car.

Retroloc1 · Post by **Retroloc1** » Wed Dec 22, 2004 10:32 am

"Bounce test for shocks:

On a corner of the car...you push down on something solid like the bumper and start to bounce the car...go thru several up/down cycles and at the BOTTOM of a cycle you let it go and watch what happens...

If it bounces up and then drops to about the center of travel...your shock/strut is OK(?)...if it keeps moving any more than that...you have problems.

If it continues to bounce and won't stop...PLEASE...step AWAY from the car..... "

ARF!

If it continues to bounce, the shocks have been dead for a long time yet.