tr3ce

Ok, so I have had my 2002 Oz Lancer (automatic) since, well, 2002. I have made no mods to it whatsoever, with the exception of the taillights.

I have always wanted to buy a body kit, rims and tires. I was never able to afford them until now. I want to buy the rims and tires first. I still have the stock rims on. They have been beat so badly that they need to be replaced very soon!

Now, "where is the confusion?" You may ask. For one, I know NOTHING about cars and much less about good brands and appropriate sizes of both rims and tires for my car. Second, I don't know what would be a good price to pay for quality stuff. I have the coin now because I got a nice tax refund. Third, I have been reading some things and it seems that before I can buy rims/tires I have to do other things to my car, but before I do those other things, I have to do other things and so on.

Can I just buy rims and tires for my stock, unchanged 2002 OZ automatic Lancer???

What rim brands do you recommend, sizes???

What tire brands do you recommend, sizes???

I want something that looks nice, but that also won't affect my car's performance. I also would like to eventually put in a bodykit, so the rims/tires won't have to be an issue.

As you can tell, I really don't know anything about my car. PLEASE HELP!

blaze_125

iTrader: (8)

we need to know your budget for wheels and tires.
Cause you can get some really cheap, but you can also get something really expensive.

The kind of driving you do would help as well.
If you like to take corner, we'll suggest a cheaper wheel but more expensive tire.
If you drive like a grandpa, we'll suggest more expensive wheels and less expensive tires..

tr3ce

I guess my budget for both tires and rims would be at most $1,500. I use my car for work (social worker and drive to homes, schools, hospitals), but I like to drive fast and take the corners. I do some highway driving at least 4 times a month. Even in the city (Chicago) I drive fast.

WangMan

iTrader: (17)

I would suggest looking into springs or coilovers before/when you buy rims. I didn't drop my car when I put my first set of rims on and I hated the look. There is just such a big gap in the front wheel well. On the other hand, plenty of people run rims with no drop, so your call.

When it comes to rims, do your research. Make sure the size, width, offset, and lug pattern fit your car. In your position I wouldn't recommend anything bigger than 17x7 for wheel size.

As for tires, check out tirerack.com They've got performance ratings, tread life, and a bunch of reviews that will help you find the correct tire for your ride.

ambystom01

iTrader: (7)

1500$ is a big budget for wheels and tires. Check out http://www.tirerack.com/ for wheels and tires to give you a general idea of what sizes you like and what tires you like.
Use this calculator to determine what size tire you can use. Ideally you want a tire that is the same diameter as stock.
http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html
The stock size is 195/50/15.

Neal@tirerack

iTrader: (25)

We carry quite a large selection of tires and wheels for your car. Will need to decide what size you want and class of tire. Larger combos will handle better but ride a bit stiffer. Smaller will ride better but won't handle as well.

A/S tires tend to last longer and ride better, summer tires shorter life but handle better. Lots to decide before shopping. I'd start by looking at the wheels for your car here, Upgrade Garage, then move onto tires.

tr3ce

See??? This is what I mean when I say that before I can do something to the car I am told I must do something else.

What does everyone think? Should I go ahead with the coils? I don't really want a big gap between the tire and the car.

Thank you everyone for the suggestions and keep them coming. I don't want to buy something and then regret it.

turbolancer02

iTrader: (10)

these are what im runnin, my car is 1" from the tires via coil overs

sportmax xxr006 17's, they have many lip colors to choose from

tr3ce

I went to this place by my house and this guy offerred me a set of four rims and tires for $950. I can't remember the brand and I'm sorry I didn't take a picture, but the in the center (where the brand would normally be) there was a symbol that looked something like this Ɛ3 (Imagine the first symbol to be a 3 but turned the other way. Does anyone recognize that symbol? I looked in tirerack but didn't find it there.

Also, can I go for coils after the rims?

tr3ce

More like this symbol and another one just like it facing it. Є

blaze_125

iTrader: (8)

With a budget like that?
Wheels at 100$ a peice
Tires at 100$ a peice
and you got plenty left over for suspension.

tr3ce

So, what do you recommend? Can I go for the rims/tires and then for the suspension? or do I have to do the suspension first?

That brings another question. Does it matter what kind of coils I get?

ambystom01

iTrader: (7)

Here ya go, 16 x 7 Grids for 535.00$ for a set of 4.
http://www.wheeldude.com/catalog/pro...oducts_id=1199
Add 442.00$ for a set of 4 205/40/16 Toyo Proxes 4.
That brings the total for wheels and tires to 977.00$.
You then have 500$ to spend on springs.

ThePNO

iTrader: (1)

Are you sure about that? Tire Rack says it's 195/60-15. I'm not a Lancer guy, just visiting looking for info, so it could be TR is wrong, but generally they're on top of this stuff.

Some great advice there. Obviously you're very new at this, tr3ce. I highly encourage you to spend some time reading the Tech pages for wheels and tires on Tire Rack's website, and ask lots of questions before you make any decisions. Otherwise, you'll end up making a silly decision, like...

Like paying too much for used wheels and tires that you don't know the size, you don't the brand, and who knows what the tires are. Don't take that deal!

Yes, you can do suspension first, then wheels/tires, or wheels/tires first, then suspension. It doesn't really matter. Personally, I think a lowered car on little stock wheels/tires looks worse than a stock ride height car on larger wheels/tires, but that's just me.

Again, some good advice here, although (assuming Tire Rack is correct) I think a 205/50-16 would be the correct size rather than the 205/40. I have Rotas for two of my cars and they're hard to beat for "bang for the buck". The Grids are pretty sharp looking wheels.

The decision you need to make on tires is whether you want to go with summer tires or all-season tires. When you buy new wheels, what do you intend to do with your stock wheels? If you've got space to store them, you can keep those to use during the winter weather, and then put summer tires on your new wheels. If you don't intend to keep your stock wheels, then you'll almost certainly want to buy some sort of performance all-season tires to put on your new wheels, because summer tires would make it very hard to get around Chicago in the winter.

qaz003

iTrader: (1)

dont feel bad...im lost when it comes to do this
anyone know what rim is on the OZ roadracemotorsport lancer....i think those are pretty sweet