| jywong |
| Officially joining the "dub club" ... |
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| jywong |
| Another shot, with a better view of the matching lower trim.. |
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| EXCALIBUR |
jywong,
Looking good! What kind of wheels and tires are you running?:4: |
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| jywong |
Excalibur,
The wheels are 20x8.5 Spazios by Katana Racing with a 35mm offset, and the tires are 295/40-20 Pirelli Scorpion Zeros.
By the way, many thanks to DubbedSSMDX's old posts! Helped out a lot getting the right fitting.
Joey |
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| BaldEagle |
Very nice jywong.:29:
Just imagine how it would look with SS Side Steps, a real compliment to the grill, door handles and those great looking rims.
How is the ride with those 20's? |
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| EXCALIBUR |
jywong,
Outstanding! The chrome wheels look real nice with your MDX.:4: |
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| TheWorm |
| Nice choice of wheels - they look great! |
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| mdxxxx |
The X looks nice, jywong... I like the dubs!
:4: |
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| DubbedSSmdx |
very nice! great wheel and tire combination. i'd like to know what you think of the zero's at that size. my friend has them but uses a 255/55/18.... zero's are great looking tires! i've order myself a set and hope that they do well on the mdx. btw, don't you love your mdx that much more! i'm sure you'll have a ton of story's to tell from people giving you the thumbs up driving by you to X5's pulling up to you and staring the MDX up and down thinking - "that's a MDX??!!?!?!" welcome to the MDX dubCLUB!
~dubbedSSmdx |
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| xcel |
Hi Jywong:
___I think you should have felt a nice improvement in handling according to some of those older threads DubbedSSmdx was involved in. My wife’s stock X feels like it’s on a rail in comparison to my fathers Yukon but with the low profile Scorpion’s on 20’s, you are probably approaching CL/TL – R type feel and handling. It may never prove itself on the skid pad but I can just imagine how nice your X handles now … I also like the tint and body colored Lower Trim.
___In any case, nice ride!
___Good Luck
___Wayne R. Gerdes
___Hunt Club Farms Landscaping Ltd.
___Waynegerdes@earthlink.net |
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| jywong |
DubbedSSmdx: I honestly have nothing to compare the Scorpions to.. But the handling and wet and dry traction are much, much better than stock with the new fat tires.
I saw some of your old posts, and decided that I wanted the 295's, which pretty much limited me to the GoodYear HP Ultra (that's what you had, right?) and the Pirelli Scorpion Zeros. I don't know if I'm falling into the whole "it's expensive, it must be good" trap, but I feel a lot safer driving on $300 Pirellis versus $160 GoodYears.
As far as loving my MDX more.... hell yeah!! I've always loved the features, interior, and body style of the MDX, but it's always looked like a minivan on steriods to me. I never think that anymore! I think once you put 20's on, you HAVE to get the front windows tinted... otherwise other drivers will wonder, "what the hell is he grinning about??"
The only thing I am unhappy about is I have slight shimmy in the steering wheel at about 78mph. Did you have this problem? I got them balanced and rebalanced three times using a road force balancer at the shop I bought the tires, but they've been unable to correct it. There's some place in town that charges $25/wheel to do an on-car balancing (no idea how this is done), but I haven't had the time to take it in...
xcel: You are right on comparing the handling between the stock tires and 295's. The other major differences I've noticed are acceleration, braking, and cruise speed.
With my heavier wheels, you can feel the decrease in off the line acceleration, but no noticeable change in higher speed acceleration. Braking is markedly improved, especially in wet conditions. My stock MDX wanted to cruise (you know, that happy point when you're driving down the highway, and your foot is just resting on the gas pedal) at about 80mph. With the new wheels, it wants to cruise at around 72mph... which is fine by me. Less tickets, hopefully! |
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| EXCALIBUR |
jywong,
Just out of curiousity, would you mind sharing with us how much your set of "dubs" cost? They really do look nice. :29: |
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| jliveMDX |
yeah id be interested in how much this setup ran you.... id like to dub my X but im not sure how much a full install will run me... whats the range?? im assuming anywhere between 1000 for lowend to god knows how much i f went with some high end rims, etc...
thanks in adv,.. |
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| DubbedSSmdx |
with the never ending quest to go bigger with 23's, 24's, and now even 26's and 28's - the prices of 20's are comparativly cheaper than ever!
from what i've scene, the cheapest i've scene 20's for the MDX is app $1900 give or take $100 or so (this is pricee is with tires). An average set is around app $2500 and the super high-end brands like the ever popular Lowenhart LD1's (everyone loves these) ringing in at about $5700. However, these LD1's have been imitated by many manufacturers that offer the same look for nearly half the price. Case in point, one of our dubCLUB memeber's JYWONG went with Spazios by Katana wrapped with Pirelli Scorpion Zero's that go for about $2600.
another thing to remember is that price can change substantially depending on finish and choice of tires. For example, let's just use JYWONG's Katana's for example. If you like a wheel like his but wanted to save money you could go with the same wheel but use a less expensive tire like a Goodyear HP Plus (295/40/20) or even even less expensive tire the Goodyear GT II (275/45/20) for about $2000. And just to show how much prices have gone down; I payed $3400 for my 20's in July 2001; and now they're only $2400! However, don't think that they're going to get much cheaper; they'll stay within this price range until they make cars that don't use wheels!
a couple of things to keep in mind if one decides to outfit there mdx with 20's is the growing number of tire sizes that you can go with. For example up until now one could choose from 295/40/20, 275/45/20, 275/40/20, and 265/50/20. However, now they just made a 265/45/20 which i think will fit the MDX the best so far. In my opinion the perfect tire size for the MDX would be 255/45/20 but tire companies haven't made it!
also i would suggest online shops like superbuytires.com to get the best price, unless you have a good relationship with a local tire/wheel shop. Best believe there is heavy markup on these! Just shop smarter and you can get twenty's for a great price! BTW, how much do they charge for chrome OEM wheels with tires? bet it's not that much different from a inexpensive set of 20's!
Hope this helps out for everyone considering blessing their MDX with twenty's.
~ dubbed
attached is a pic of the ever famous Lowenhart LD1's! Compare them to JYWONG's Katana's and remember that they're app $3000 cheaper! |
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| jywong |
Yep, that just about covers everything!
If you like the Lowenhart LD1 style, Diablo also makes a nice looking knockoff called the Vienna. It's closer to $500/wheel though. LD1's are $1100/wheel or more. I paid $350/wheel for my Katana Spazios.
As I was shopping for wheels, I asked around to some retailers, what they thought of the Lowenharts. The response I got was pretty similar from place to place, and went something like: "They're nice, but the chrome chips just like any other wheel. Whether the name is worth the money is up to you."
Other things you might consider: You will be able to get a pretty good deal on common tire sizes, like 275/45-20, but if you want to go to 295/40-20, you will some times spend more getting them as a package deal than if you were to buy them separately.
I purchased my wheels online and took them to Kauffman Tire (if you're in Atlanta, go see Lee at the Cheshire Bridge store!) to purchase tires. While you end up paying sales tax, this is usually offset by the added increase in shipping cost. Plus, buying locally usually means an included Road Hazard program of some sort, as well as lifetime balancing and rotation.
In the end, for me, buying wheels and tires separately ended up costing me exactly the lowest price I could find online.
Also note that I was told I needed "wheel centering rings" (Lee didn't charge me for these, since their whole crew had fun mounting my new wheels) that kept the wheel centered on the axle, and distributed load off of the lugs. If you order online, don't just bolt them on and go.
And one other thing, if you buy from www.superbuytires.com (that's where I got my wheels), "air" shipping does NOT mean next day. It means "three day air", which was not worth the extra $150 in shipping I paid. Just do ground and be patient.
Also, keep an eye on www.wheelmax.com and call in. A month or so ago, I called in and spoke with Juan, and he was running some clearance deal where I could have gotten my exact same setup, shipped to my door, for $2160. The tires alone are $1200!!
Joey |
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| jywong |
Just thought I'd add that my statements above are in no way endorsing www.superbuytires.com.
While they did deliver what I ordered, they have some weird practices that would cause me to never do business with them again:
1. They ship DHL but don't give out tracking numbers. You're saying, "what do you mean they don't give out tracking numbers?" Exactly. They don't give out tracking numbers.
2. Their "customer support" consists of putting you on hold long enough to hope you'll hang up. I actually spent 45 minutes on hold (on the speakerphone) while trying to track down my shipment.
3. You are required to fax a copy of the front and back of the credit card you are using, as well as picture ID.
4. I think someone in their "credit card authorization department" is stealing the information in #3, as I received a flurry of fraudulent charges the day after I placed my order.
Luckily, the crook is as dumb as he is greedy... He ships to a Bellflower, CA address (which is practically around the corner from the address listed for superbuytires.com), I guess to an empty lot. I have the local law enforcement looking into it, and hopefully they'll resolve it soon.
Joey |
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| DubbedSSmdx |
jywong!
man, i'm sorry your had to go through that! well, that does it for me, i've never dealt with superbuy no more than on the phone... i will not be doing business with them.
there are a handfull of online shops, but now i doubt each and everyone of them. like they say, to good to be true; it usually is.
~dubbed |
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| DubbedSSmdx |
Joey,
what are these centering rings? what do they look like? are they spacers? i don't have anything like that on my set up.... very curious now. maybe i should have them put on when i get my new tires. can i get them at a pep boys and/or is there a specific type of centering ring to use?
thanks in advance |
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| jliveMDX |
thanks for the info guys, im definitely looking into getting some 20's for the car... quick question tho, if you have em shipped to your door, did you take them to a local auto shop for installation or do it yourself?? how much did it run you???
thanks again... |
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| DUBYA123 |
I too did business with superbuytires, being from around the block, there located in the hood of bellflower bordering paramount not good, there warehouse is a two car garage, one side used to store wheels.
the wheel dealer is nice but has no time to bull with anyone if your not bringing the cash, the recipsionists are hot,
I really should of waited for the vienna, and spazios to come out alot cheaper, so I went ahead and bought the LD1s, and yes the chrome comes off
Superbuytires has an awesome website with Shaq on the cover sitting on a bentley, of course Shaq gets his stuff from WestCoast Customs
Word of caution to you Jwong, since we both have billet screws, I am now missing four of them, yours come off too, there just screws, you could take them off with an allen wrench, I ll take some pix and post them later, |
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| laborlitigator |
| Absolutely beautiful |
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| EXCALIBUR |
DubbedSSmdx and jywong,
Thanks for all the information on "dubs". With respect to tire size, you list several different sizes. Why are there so many choices? If you use a 20" rim, shouldn't there be one ideal tire size that would approximate the same diameter as the OEM tire and rim?:confused: |
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| jywong |
DubbedSSmdx, Here's the story on the centering rings...
They mounted and balanced the tires to my wheels, and then were in the process of putting one of the wheels on the car. The Spazio wheel is drilled for two lug types, 5x114.3 and 6xSomething. So to mount it, you pretty much just rotate the wheel around until it lines up with the lug bolts.
Even after they line up though, there's apparently still some play where you can move the whole wheel up and down a tiny little bit while still on the lugs. The centering ring was just some little piece of plastic that went in the middle of the bolt pattern and I guess centered up the wheel. It was measured in millimeters, and I think the last number I heard him try (they had to try different sizes) was 48mm.
When I asked what they were for, he said it was to balance the load between the lug bolts more evenly. Then, when he said he wasn't going to charge me for them, I stopped asking questions. But, they're little pieces of plastic. Even if he did charge me, they couldn't have been more than $5 a piece.
There is a very good possibility that your current wheels don't need it, especially if they have holes only for 5x114.3.
And on www.superbuytires.com ... I did actually receive the merchandise, and it did actually ship when they said it would ship. So other than the other unfortunate things that happened, it was a good transaction. Just don't expect good customer service, and don't expect a tracking number. I was, by the way, able to call up DHL and sweet talk one of the girls working there to look up the tracking number for me. If you have the originating and destination address, they'll give it to you.
If I were a more patient man, I think I would try www.wheelmax.com. They're a little more high pressure (i.e. "this price is good for this phone call only!"), but as I said in an earlier message, sometimes they have a great deal. They also have multiple sales guys, all who seem to know what they are talking about, and I've actually heard the phrase "that's not in stock" from them, which is reassuring that they have a handle on their stocked items.
jliveMDX, if you buy just the wheels online, and have the tires done locally, whoever sells you your tires should:
- put the tires on the wheels and balance them
- put the wheels on the car
- give you some sort of road hazard and balancing/rotating program
all included in the price of the tire. If they don't, go somewhere else. I went to Kauffman, but I know NTB will do it too. My tires were a little over $1200.
DUBYA123, your LD1s look sweet.. I remember seeing a picture of your ride somewhere on this board, before I knew what LD1s were, but I've yet to be able to find that thread again.
I agree, I did most of my research on www.superbuytires.com, so I decided to give them my business. They have the most complete catalog of wheels I've seen online!
Thanks for the heads up on the screws. Do they just loosen after time? I checked mine and they're all there for now.
Joey |
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| jywong |
Excalibur,
Here's how to decode a tire size, using mine as an example:
295/40-20 means that the tread width is 29.5cm wide, that the sidewall (distance between the edge of the rim and the edge of the tire) is 40% of 29.5cm, and that it fits a 20" wheel.
And before you ask, I have no idea why metric and English units are combined...
The stock size for the MDX is 235/65-17. There are many "equivalent" tires that can give you a wider tread but maintain the same rolling diameter (important for keeping your speedometer reading correct).
Here's a website that will help:
http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html
Put in the 235/65-17 to start, then you can start playing with different tread widths and percentages to get the correct resulting "equivalent" tire size!
Joey |
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| jywong |
| Here's a before and after for those wondering... |
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| DUBYA123 |
Jwong,
, alot of the rims have the billet screws, its starts off as a chain, one person takes anothers, wheel companies dont sell the screws seperately, so you would have to buy them from a hardware store, chrome paint it and screw it back in, Some people think its easier taking it from another car. Im just going to leave them missing until, all of them are gone, it really isnt noticeable, Yours look way sweet, like Dubbed said, you get the X5 people saying whoa, had an FX45 park next to me, looked at them both, even thought the FX45 is the brand new hotness, the X is still hunkier, the 45 is pretty, if you know what I mean,
DUBBED should be our president, and founder of the DUBBED CLUB, although I took my MDX for service, |
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| DUBYA123 |
| cont" and saw an X on 22 s, with cut springs, I wonder if that guys on the forum, |
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| EXCALIBUR |
quote:
Originally posted by jywong
Excalibur,
Here's how to decode a tire size, using mine as an example:
295/40-20 means that the tread width is 29.5cm wide, that the sidewall (distance between the edge of the rim and the edge of the tire) is 40% of 29.5cm, and that it fits a 20" wheel.
And before you ask, I have no idea why metric and English units are combined...
The stock size for the MDX is 235/65-17. There are many "equivalent" tires that can give you a wider tread but maintain the same rolling diameter (important for keeping your speedometer reading correct).
Here's a website that will help:
http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html
Put in the 235/65-17 to start, then you can start playing with different tread widths and percentages to get the correct resulting "equivalent" tire size!
Joey
Thanks for the information.:4: |
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| jywong |
DUBYA,
22's and lowered!! That's a little extreme for me... I wouldn't want to give up the nice high ride height, either!
Hopefully I won't have as much of a problem with billet screw theft in the ATL, but thanks again for the heads-up. Most of the rims I see around here are the Matrix, BR5, or LD5 styles.
That sucks you can't get the screws separately from wheel companies. Any luck contacting Lowenhart directly?
I definitely prefer the look of our setup over the X5 4.4i with the factory 20's.. although that is hands down the sharpest looking OEM setup on the market I've seen. There's something that I don't care for in the FX45, although I can't put my finger on it. Kinda reminds me of a Subaru Outback.
Joey |
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| jywong |
| If you like the look, but want more rubber or less flash, I found this picture somewhere on this forum. I believe this is the silver version (non-chrome) of the Lowenhart LD1s, in an 18" or 19" wheel. I believe Katana Racing also makes a 18" silver version of the Spazios for around $225 a wheel. |
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| MK23666 |
| I like the satin finish over the shiny finish myself. Seems easier to keep clean. |
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| Big Gorilla |
| Just got my 20`s |
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| Big Gorilla |
Just got my 20`s
Went with Lexani Krystals and Goodyear Eagle 275/45/20`s
We tried on the 295`s and just couldn`t get them to fit, rubbing on the inside. These are just fine they ride so nice I can`t believe I waited so long to get new wider rubber on the ground! The ride is solid and feels so much better. The MDX suspension makes the ride feel just as good as when I was on the factory tires. When I pull the SeaDoos the feel is very solid. Get alot of looks with the new Bling Blings as well. |
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| Big Gorilla |
| sorry about the size of the 1st pic I am just learning about pic posting from my Kodak digital camera. Hope this is better I tried resizing the pic from my Windows XP Photo Editor |
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| Big Gorilla |
| Not the Gorilla |
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| Big Gorilla |
| Where`s the beef? |
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| Big Gorilla |
| not your bro wheels |
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| Big Gorilla |
| final one sorry the pics aren`t that great maybe I can get better ones on a sunny So Cal day sometime. |
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| greatscot |
Big Gorilla,
Your X looks very nice. Thanks for the pics :29: |
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| jywong |
Gorilla,
Very nice! Sorry you couldn't get the 295's to fit, but the 275's still give it a much more aggressive stance, especially compared to the factory 235's. The offset on the wheel must be too high if your 295's were rubbing.
Joey |
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| rvehock |
| Can you say, BLING BLING!!!! Very nice wheels, not my taste, but very nice:4: |
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| scargk |
Has anyone had any problems with centering rings and driving at higher speeds?
Also, does anyone know if the centering rings wear over time?
thx |
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| jywong |
| I still am not certain what the centering ring is or does. On my 15K service though, I took it into the dealership, but forgot to tell them not to rotate or balance the tires..... and they did a great job. So I have no idea. |
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| scargk |
When wheels are mounted to the car, the are 'centered' onto the car by either the lugs (the lugs, when tighted center the wheel on to the car so they spin perfectly) or are 'centered' by the hub. When centered by the hub, the wheel bore must be the perfect size of the car hub.
If they are not, and there is a gap, the wheel will wobble, and eventually, could do serious damage to your car.
A centering ring (which are pieces of polyurethane (sp?) or some other sort of plastic) mount slip on to the hub and 'fill the gap' between the open space and the wheel bore.
It is VERY important that when you upgrade your wheels, that one of two things occur on X's:
1. The wheel bore matches the hub exactly for a 'centered' wheel.
or
2. You have the right size centering rings to center your new wheels onto the hub.
I have had MAJOR issues with getting the right centering rings for my new dubs... I purchased my wheels on line....and was not sent the hubs...and didn't know to ask for them.
I went to have the new wheels mounted...and the tire place told me what I needed to do. I spoke with my online dealer...and they sent out the centering rings....but wrong size. After nearly a month, I still don't have the centering rings and my new dubs are sitting in my garage!! Be aware of this if you choose to go with www.discountedwheelwarehouse.com. But the rings are on their way!...they were supposed to be here yesterday...no dice. :3:
Two KEY measurements to be aware of:
1. The MDX hub size...64.15 mm
2. The wheel bore - whatever your manufacturer tells you
I hope I will be able to report that my new 20" Verzio Veloche wheels w/ the Pirelli PZero Scorpian tires will be on my X!
Best of luck... |
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| jywong |
Excellent info! Looks like the guys that mounted mine knew what they were doing after all.
I got mine mounted at a Kauffman Tire (just a big high volume tire shop here in Georgia) that happens to be next door to a high end upgrade and performance shop, so I guess they have a bit of experience. They also gave me the centering rings for "free" after they found them in another one of their stores a couple miles away. One of the side benefits of spending $1500 on tires, I guess. |
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| scargk |
My centering rings finally came in on Thursday....AND THEY SENT ME THE RIGHT SIZE! They are on the car and looking hard.
:2:
They only sent me FOUR SETS of centering rings to get them right!!!
:3:
For anyone who buys "Verzio" Veloche 20"...
Wheel Bore = 74mm
BTW, the manufacturer of the wheels sent me the wrong centering rings and couldn't figure out their correct wheel bore for over a month. Not a good sign about their operations....and incredibly BAD customer service. |
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