Hi everyone,

I finally put on my Chrome Zenetti Five wheels (245/40/18 on 18x8.5 fronts and 275/40/18 on 18x9.5 rears) over the weekend. I'll post pics when it stops raining here....I ordered them from Street Dreams, in TX. (i'm up here in cleveland, OH) anyway -- 3 questions:

1) I was putting these rims on and in the front, there was 5 usual lugs, and a sixth screw between the lugs (both front wheels, no backs) ... It didnt look like it was holding anything on, just screwed in there. It was out about 2 inches out so obviously my new rims wouldn't fit without taking it out. I've never seen this before and I'm wondering what this could have been for? Did anyone else have these on their front when switching out wheels? I honestly have no clue. I checked to make sure it wasn't really holding anything on, and to my knowledge it didnt seem to....

2) I'm liking the ride quality up until about 60-65+ mph where my steering wheel begins to vibrate pretty noticeably. I like to cruise around 80 and its so annoying to have this rattling my hands as I drive. Is this because the tires are out of balance? Balancing was part of the package, but I'm thinking they either did a really crappy job or they just fell out of balance being shipped so far....Any diagnoses? If i need a balance, I was hoping they'd at least reimburse me ya know?

3) I upgraded from 17" Stock wheels. My chrome ones weighed in at 67 lbs a piece...I've noticed a bit of a decrease in performance - but it might be in my head - I'm not sure how much old stocks weigh, but i'm guessing 35-40 lbs? Anyone got a guesstimate on how many ponies I'm sacrificing by keeping these rims on here?

Thanks anyone for your input!!

 

With the vibration you are feeling, you are probably out of balance.

the new wheels are probably heavier. 67lbs a piece is quite heavy. you pretty much doubled the weight on all 4 corners according to your estimates = slow!

the screw is interesting. it would probably be helpful if you could post a pic of it, but on one of my car, i also have a screw between the lugs, and it is to hold the disk on when the wheels are off. they never stick out 2" though, so i could be wrong.

 

1) That screw is there so you won't mount the rears wheels on the front wheels. For aftermarket wheels, you will need to remove this screw, no worries.

2) Looks like the balance is out on the wheels, take it to a shop and they can re-balance the wheels. Contact Street Dreams and see if they will cover the cost of re-balancing the wheels.

3) As for the lost of HP, I'm not sure what amount you would be losing. Because you got chrome, I'm assuming your not overly concerned with performance, it's more for the look and style.

Hope this helps.

 

Thanks for the quick responses. No i'm not too worried about performance -- i was just curious about the weight difference....I like the way the chrome looks against the black and would sacrifice some performance for the look definitely.

Yeah that screw was wierd - like i said before, I've never seen this and to me it didnt seem to have a purpose. I was about to throw a fit though at first because I didnt realize it could come off.

Hopefully street dreams will reimburse but I'm not too worried about it. Balancing is relatively cheap so either way I think I'll be ok but it'd still be nice to have actually gotten balanced rims considering that was the agreement. I've written an email to the manager telling him about it. I'll post back and let you know how they treat the situation. Thanks again for the responses...i feel much better (about that screw thing for sure! - I had visions of my brake pads falling off or something...)

 

It looks like you have most of your answers.

1. Take it off, already been explained.
2. The other possibility besides balancing is you need new hub centering rings.
3. I think the stock 18's with tires weigh in around 55 lbs and I doubt the 17's are much lighter. I would guess you are gaining around 15 lbs on each corner. If your going for looks then I wouldn't worry about it, although that is rather heavy for an 18" wheel.