Oh today was a terrible day at work, but I arrived home to find my four new 20x8.5 Breyton Race GTS wheels in Matte Grey sitting in the back yard with four fresh Sumitomo HTR Z III in 245/35/20's. After getting them out of their packaging from Tire Rack, I proceeded to do what any car nut would do.. swap them right in my work cloths! haha. Yeah the slacks are a little dirty, my shoe may have a scuff, but the G8 GT is looking mighty good, I must say myself. GEE ATE - thanks so much, you are the man for selecting these wheels, and MasterCard thanks you too.

I took a quick trip around the block and the feel good, and the tires ride nice. Perhaps just a tad firmer than stock, though they are currently a little bit over inflated. I'll adjust that tomorrow, but the steering feels better, and they do seem quieter than the stock 19" Bridgestones.

Enough talk, it's picture time:

http://www.dmwtech.com/gallery2/d/4258-2/CIMG0815.JPG
http://www.dmwtech.com/gallery2/d/4273-2/CIMG0810.JPG
http://www.dmwtech.com/gallery2/d/4249-2/CIMG0812.JPG
http://www.dmwtech.com/gallery2/d/4267-2/CIMG0818.JPG

More Pics here: http://www.dmwtech.com/gallery2/v/vehicles/g8gt/

Look sick!!!

Wheels look freakin awesome!

:)

I need to reset the TPMS, but I'll do that this weekend as I didn't want to drag the hose from the compressor out today to set them. It gives the car a very aggressive look IMO. It's almost if the stock wheels stood out a bit too much for my tastes. I'm going to paint the calipers red to give it some contrast, but that's not something I normally do.

Very, very nice!

Nice wheels, looks like the ones from the ZR1 vettes.

what is the weight difference between the stock rims and the new ones??

I never, EVER get tired of seeing this combination of wheel and car color.

If I felt like spending the mega-bucks to buy 20" wheels and tires, you can bet my MGM would be rocking the same combo. I don't care if 3 or 4 people have done it already -- it looks that freaking good. Those guys over at Breyton better send us a letter of recognition or something. I've honestly never heard of the brand before seeing the various MGMs on this site rocking the gray dubs.

Sorry about the tires though.

Sweeet..

Thank You for posting the pictures! Now I am sure I am getting those wheels!

--Mike

those wheels are perfect on G8's, especially on Gray.

Yup, I'm definately sold on these wheels now for my MGM. Next spring they'll be going on. I'm saving the stock 18's for winter tires, when I need to swap in the spring, I'll have brand new wheels/tires.

http://i279.photobucket.com/albums/kk125/GeeAte/Picture086.jpg

Sweet Ride! Looks like I've seen that car around somewhere?:thumbsup: Enjoy the G8 and the wheels, you'll get alot of questions and compliments.

I never, EVER get tired of seeing this combination of wheel and car color.

If I felt like spending the mega-bucks to buy 20" wheels and tires, you can bet my MGM would be rocking the same combo. I don't care if 3 or 4 people have done it already -- it looks that freaking good. Those guys over at Breyton better send us a letter of recognition or something. I've honestly never heard of the brand before seeing the various MGMs on this site rocking the gray dubs.

Sorry about the tires though.

The tires are cheapish, but they seem like very nice quality, and have a good look to them. They were reviewed quite well on Tire Rack in their tests. If there is a performance compromise, I can deal with that. They are roughly half the cost of the original RE050A's. I won't feel nearly as bad making some Sumitomo smoke. :)

I'll post a follow up tonight since I'm taking the car into the office today. I'll give it a good run and report back how the tires feel.

You guys are killing my wallet. I was fine with the stock sport 19"s but now you have me thinking about these wheels. Can one of you guys take a shot straight on from the side. Similar to what you see on the wheel/tire gallery thing on Tire rack. I want to photoshop them onto my white car.

best looking G8 with 20s so far...

best looking G8 with 20s so far...

X2

(by that i mean both MGM's with the Breyton's) :D

Those wheels were just made for a G8 especially MGM. If I was getting a MGM G8 I would definitely be joining the bandwagon.

Yep, the Sumi's are a great value, and I had a blast driving on them when we did our testing. Breyton has been a BMW tuner for many years, but up until the G8 came along there were no practical applications for their wheels beyond the BMW brand. Glad your happy !

very nice...wondering how chrome or silver would look on my black car.

After driving it into work today I did find a small wobble in the steering, so I'm working with Tire Rack to see what can be done. I didn't notice it last night, but I only put a few miles on the car. It's not bad, but it's bothersome enough that I want it fixed.

They asked me if I removed the stud clips to hold the rotor on. I didn't see any that I recall, but I'll pull a wheel tonight to check. Otherwise I've had a bunch of people out in the work parking lot drooling over the car today. It's the first time I brought it back since having the tint, clear mask, and wheels done.

Agree w/ Rustangs comments. I thought I liked my factory 19's. Now I DON'T know, these look awesome and my G8 is the same color. Will you call me a copycat? I added bluetouth first, or did I

I will say after only one day driving the car, the attention factor the car now gets has gone up about 4-5x. I was just sitting at a light and this guy pulls up next to me in a bucket and says... "that thing got a V8?". I said "Yeah, similar to the Corvette motor" and he's like "Cool. That thing is sick... how much was it?". I say "Around 30k". The light turns green and I let him know what model it was too.. cause all he saw was the ass end of the car! I even had a couple of the BMW guys at work yelling at me across the parking lot saying how much they liked the car.

Now if I can get the issue worked out with Tire Rack, I should be in good shape. I did a quick spin test of the front wheels on the car and found both fronts to be out of round. The drivers side is most likely causing my wobble problem because the out of round is quite noticeable, so I took videos and pictures and will now see if Tire Rack handles the problem professionally. I sure hope so, because it sucks to get a new part only to see that it's not right.

That is nice.

Now if I can get the issue worked out with Tire Rack, I should be in good shape. I did a quick spin test of the front wheels on the car and found both fronts to be out of round. The drivers side is most likely causing my wobble problem because the out of round is quite noticeable, so I took videos and pictures and will now see if Tire Rack handles the problem professionally. I sure hope so, because it sucks to get a new part only to see that it's not right.

Make sure the center hub isn't bottoming out inside the wheel. Had a friend get brand new wheels for his mustang, put them on, the front wheels seemed "out of round". We put it on a tire balancer, the wheels were perfect. When putting the wheels back on, we noticed they'd "wobble" before the lugs were put on. Little investigation, we noticed that the center hub was too long and bottoming out inside the wheel. 2 hub centeric spacers later, wheel fits perfect. I don't know if this is your problem, but its something to check out. If a wheel comes with hub centric rings, use them.

Make sure the center hub isn't bottoming out inside the wheel. Had a friend get brand new wheels for his mustang, put them on, the front wheels seemed "out of round". We put it on a tire balancer, the wheels were perfect. When putting the wheels back on, we noticed they'd "wobble" before the lugs were put on. Little investigation, we noticed that the center hub was too long and bottoming out inside the wheel. 2 hub centeric spacers later, wheel fits perfect. I don't know if this is your problem, but its something to check out. If a wheel comes with hub centric rings, use them.

They came with the hub-centric rings and seem to be engaging the center hubs correctly. I looked for contact marks between the centering ring and the hub, and it looked pretty good. When lifting the tire onto the hub, it sits there nice and solid without any lugs installed, not like a typical lug centric wheel that will rock freely. I checked everything over and can't seem to see anything wrong with the install itself, however I will let TR advise. They install the rings in the wheels at the time of mount and balancing and I verified all four wheels had them installed.

any way you could fit some 20x9s and 20x10s on the car with a wider tire?

any way you could fit some 20x9s and 20x10s on the car with a wider tire?

Yeah, if I was going to spend the kala (money) on new rims I would want to get some more rubber on the road.

They can be made to fit, but I did not want mixed sized wheels on my car. I'm perfectly happy with the width of the tires. It's all personal preference, but most of the wheels I saw in 20x10 stuck out too far IMO.

They can be made to fit, but I did not want mixed sized wheels on my car. I'm perfectly happy with the width of the tires. It's all personal preference, but most of the wheels I saw in 20x10 stuck out too far IMO.

Added bonus: You can rotate them :)

Well Houston we have a problem. For anyone considering this set up, I would not recommend the Sumitomo tires. All four wheels are out of round, but balanced properly. One is REALLY bad, and I'm not sure how Tire Rack missed these problems at the time of shipping. I sent some info back to Tire Rack, so now I'll wait and see what they'll do. If I get an option to switch tires, I'm going to try to Yokohama S.Drives. I don't want to drop a bunch of money on tires, but I think the Sumitomos are hit or miss, and I missed.

I will say the guys at the tire shop today were crowded around my car, at first just checking it out, later when the owner asked everyone to give the problem a good look.

I took the car to a local Big-O and they tested two of the four wheels on a Hunter GSP9700 Road Force balancing machine. The result? Both tires FAILED and I'm now really questioning how Tire Rack uses the same equipment according to their site and won't ship an out of tolerance wheel assembly. I'm willing to best all four fail the test. At $75 to test just two wheels and balance them, I left it at that. I'm now asking TR to provide me with a complete replacement set of wheels and tires shipped from a different warehouse. I spent $60 this morning and $75 just a bit ago, only to find out nothing can be done. I'm not a happy camper right now, at all. Everyone I dealt with today was cool, and I got a complete crash course on how to use a GSP9700.

All told the balance was way off, and the tires failed. I've had great results with TR in the past, so hopefully this was just a glitch. I have email into my sales rep and hopefully they can get the issue sorted out. However I don't want to be swapping tires and such and going through this hassle. Otherwise I would have just done the local thing in the first place with a different wheel.

Damn that sux man. Hope you get this resolved soon.

How did things turn out ?

No response yet from Tire Rack, but it's still early in the day. I sent them all the information I have, and now I'll wait and see what happens. I think most of the problem is with the tires, and one shop frowned heavily upon Sumitomo tires, Big-O was like "Oh you got the new HTR Z III's". But they didn't seem too impressed when both of the ones I paid to have tested failed.

I will say the tires ride nice, when inflated the same as the stock RE050A tires. They have a bit more hollow sounding road noise, but overall the handling is very nice. I really like the look of the tires too, and I'm disappointed that the quality does not seem to be there for this particular set. I'll keep everyone posted - I'm not trying to discourage anyone from purchasing these wheels or tires, but my luck with the tires it seems has not been very good.

Ok, I'm confused, what's wrong with the tires? And is there a problem with the wheels? I don't know much about tires.

Ok, I'm confused, what's wrong with the tires? And is there a problem with the wheels? I don't know much about tires.

Well here is what I know.

1. If you mount the wheels on the car or on a balancing machine and spin them slowly, you can see defects in the tire and/or wheel. They should spin nice and true when you use the horizon of the tire as a point of reference. On my wheels, you could see obvious dips in the tire while they were spinning. One wheel is especially bad, the other three are bad, but consistent.
2. I had two of the four wheels and tires tested on a Hunter GSP9700. This is probably the best balancing machine available and can detect runout in the wheel, and also all sorts of tire problems. The machine is smart enough to match the low and high spots in the wheel/tire to get a perfect balance, and/or recommend you swap the wheel/tire.
3. On the two tested wheel/tires, the wheels passed. The tires however failed, and the machine stated that "ForceMatching" could not be performed to bring the wheel package within specs. The only way to fix it, was to replace the tires.
4. The two wheels and tires I had tested were not balanced properly at the time of arrival. I stood right there while they spun them up initially with the weights still installed just to see. Then they removed the weights and performed the balancing since I paid for it. So even though they couldn't fix the problem, they did balance the wheels/tires to 0.0oz on both the inside and outside of the wheel.

The odd part of this is Tire Rack states they use a Hunter GSP9700 as part of their mounting and balancing process. If the machine was used by a competent operator, they should have detected these problems prior to shipping. It clearly states on their website that if a problem is found on a wheel/tire it will be discarded until a set of four in spec wheels/tires are configured for the customer. They didn't go bad in shipping, and all of the weights were attached properly. Items like one of the wheels being counter balanced makes the whole process suspect, because the wheels should never be counter balanced when too much weight is applied to one side of the wheel. In this case the operator applied .75oz too much on the inside of the wheel, spun it up and the machine now said you need to install .75oz directly opposite to balance out that added weight. So one wheel had 1.5oz of weight for no reason at all and by chance I got a picture of this very wheel showing that counter balancing.

Originally my order was supposed to ship from NV, but they contacted me and said they didn't have something in stock at the NV warehouse, so they split the additional shipping cost from LA and I got the wheels in about four business days. I can't really say why my wheels and tires were so far out of spec and I need to give TR some time to get a response to me. After the work I had done this weekend, the car drives a lot better. I have it parked now though waiting, because it's still not right, just better.

The only reason I'm commenting so much on this is I made a recommendation for the Sumitomo tires, and I don't want others to run out and buy the same package and experience the same problems. I'm not bashing Tire Rack, mistakes do happen. I just hope they handle the situation promptly with the customer in mind.

Thanks for the info, so it's the tires. But your car looks great. I'm thinking of buying it after I get my degree.

I received a call from Tire Rack customer service this afternoon. It went from me shipping the wheels back, testing them, and replacing them - to getting a new wheel package shipped out, and they'll issue a call tag to pick up the bad ones. It went pretty well, but I thought that was the right way to handle the situation from the get go considering the time and money I invested here. So I'll post again when I have two sets of Breytons, and I sure as heck hope to say "Everything is PERFECT".

I guess I just had to be a bit persistent and explain the reason I bought a tire and wheel package from them was to avoid problems like this. So at the end of the day, I should get the replacement wheels this week. I could not change tires though, so I'm going to get another set of Sumitomos. These ones are shipping from NV, so I'm hoping they'll be alright. I'm gonna be PISSED if they show up with the same problems though.

Looking forward to hear how it goes with the new tires. Sorry that you had problems, I went through the same thing with bfg tires on my old Nissan titan. I hope that you don't mind too much if I copy you. I just picked up my mgm gt today and I'm thinking you have the best possible rim to go with that car. I'm not sure what tires I'll get but those rims in 20's are just awesome!

Looking forward to hear how it goes with the new tires. Sorry that you had problems, I went through the same thing with bfg tires on my old Nissan titan. I hope that you don't mind too much if I copy you. I just picked up my mgm gt today and I'm thinking you have the best possible rim to go with that car. I'm not sure what tires I'll get but those rims in 20's are just awesome!

Such is life - if a BS problem can happen to someone, it usually happens to me. It's funny because I was specifically asking GEE ATE prior to buying them if he had any issues, which he reported none. So I order a set and I have problems. Go figure.

Congrats on the new MGM GT. I think I saw that one listed on Pontiac's site - it wasn't available when I bought my G8 GT a few weeks back. I believe it's the same configuration as mine.

As for copying me, I copied GEE ATE who I mentioned above. He's the original man behind all of this Breyton / SumitoNO BS! lol. Maybe I'll bump into you at a G8 get together some time and we'll have a pair of twins. That would make for some nice pics! Say a prayer on my behalf for tires that dont roll like something we all saw on the Flintstones.

I figure the new wheels and tires will be here for this weekend. The Magnaflow catback should be shipping today thru Wednesday if my source is accurate which would put it out for delivery on Friday at the latest. That is unless Oxidizr comes along and tells me its all a PIPE dream. Now if only I could afford a Magnacharger and a Pa... paaaa... Pedders suspension. Well I can afford it, but I'm buying my first home here in Elk Grove.

unixadm sorry you got a bad set up from Tirerack but mine are fine...no issues whatsoever, Still loving the Breytons and Sumos.
http://i279.photobucket.com/albums/kk125/GeeAte/Picture087.jpg

unixadm sorry you got a bad set up from Tirerack but mine are fine...no issues whatsoever, Still loving the Breytons and Sumos.


Cool man. That's why I asked you before I bought them, but I have that special 'luck' where something good turns to crap in a hurry! haha.

I'm just hoping the replacement set is 100%, not a faulty set like these. I'd be curious if you ever have your front end raised up in the air, spin your wheels and look across the top of the tire using the strut as a reference. All of mine are out of round when spun, and you can use your point of reference to see that easily. If you are interested, I have a video I can send for to show what I'm talking about on my car. It's interesting to see the defects in the tires.

unixadam;

Man I must in the same boat as you. If it wasn't for bad luck I wouldn't have any at all! Sounds like we are planning the same mods for the g8. I will probably go with nittos or a high end tire to try and avoid the same problem I had with the bfg's on the Nissan. I'm also thinking about waiting for the Corsa exhaust to come out. I want to hear that rumble badly but I want to avoid the drone. Best of luck, keep us posted.

I will say the tires ride nice, when inflated the same as the stock RE050A tires.

FYI:

You can not run those 20s at the same 36 psi as the stock 19s. The factory load index is a standard load 94. At 36 psi, they hold 1477 lbs each. That is the MINIMUM load carrying capacity you should have at each corner.

Your Sumitomos have a reinforced load 95 index. At 36 psi, they only carry 1356 lbs each. In order to match the 1477 lbs of the stock tires, you'll need to inflate your tires to a MINIMUM 41 psi. If you want to keep them at 36 because you like the ride, don't expect them to last very long.

They are running right around 42 PSI.

I emailed Tire Rack last night because I had not heard anything back after talking with them on Monday. Anyhow I received a call this morning from the CSR I worked with on Monday. Well now they have changed their tune and will not ship me another set of wheels and tires until they inspect these. They keep throwing around "Road Hazzard", like it hit something with all four tires. To say I'm pissed is an understatement, and I'm about ready to just ship the wheels and tires back and get my money back. This is NOT the level of customer service I expected from such a big company and I will NEVER recommend them to anyone. I believe I have gone over and beyond trying to help them determine the problem. I have been to two different tire shops, and have dropped $140 out of my pocket on problems I should not be having. I have proven that their installer did not even use the machine properly. All told, it's just a bad situtation that is impacting their customer. Some could say I'm fool hearty to thinking I should get another set, but when they tell you that on the phone and back out, it's not cool. I took pictures and videos of the tires and sent them detailed emails outlining what I have done, found, and provided shops as reference. But that does not matter.

You also cannot talk directly to their "Hardware Team", so you have to use customer service as a middle man to communicate between them and you, the customer. So I get "the hardware team said we could not ship you another set until we get the other ones back". Great, now I need to wait for their shipping supplies, call tags, then wait for UPS to pick them up, oh and they are going to Indiana from CA, so that's another 4 days. Well why was I told on Monday I would be getting another order. Today they also said that the fitment on the G8 might be wrong, so I said how the hell are you going to verify that if you don't have a G8 GT to test them? Overall I'm very disappointed - and this sort of screws up selling my stock wheels and tires. Tonight I get to swap the stock set back on and I'm going to write Tire Rack a very nice and clear letter, then fax it to them with all of my receipts. I used to toot Tire Rack's horn, but not any more.

Oh Man that brings back memories. I went through several sets of rims/tires (5 I think) before I found the problem. Best thing I can tell you is get you is get money back and end the head-ache. Go to a local dealer get the same rims (because they are just killer) and get different tires. I will never buy bfg's again (two sets from them out of round). Sorry to hear about the mess. I was so pissed off I could hardly look at my truck kind of ruined the who thing. Don't let it happen to you.

I think it's a fixable problem if they use the machines they talk about on their site correctly. It's apparent that they are trying to cover for their LA warehouse at my expense. What pisses me off the most is when they say ROAD HAZZARD - that just gets to me. I mean I emailed the sales rep the very next morning after getting the wheels. It wasn't until my trip in to work down Highway 99 that I felt the vibration in the car. I don't know about you guys, but had I jumped a median or ran over someones coffee table on the freeway, I probably would have posted something about that right? Then they had me do different things, go to tire shops, etc. I did all that, then they agree to ship me another set, and now back out.

The issue is getting these Breyton wheels is tricky, and Tire Rack is one of the only dealers available. In any event I received the shipping cardboard discs from them today, so I'll have to remove them this evening after it cools down a bit and spend more of my time packing the damn things up. I was hoping to negate having to perform TWO wheel swaps, as when the new set arrives I get to do this for the third time. Give me a HELL YA!

Prior to this, Tire Rack was a solid 8+ in my book. Now they are at about a 1. If you tell the customer something, then you should follow through with what you say. It's not worth the aggrevation - it really got my day off to a great start. But sometimes you gotta deal with BS to get what you want. This is the problem when you don't NEED something but WANT something.

Yeah, that's the worst part about it in my book... They agree to send a new set, but then decide not to and don't tell you about it until you contact them. That is BS!

I just had a couple of aluminum ATV ramps get recalled because possible weld cracking problems. They are sending out a new set and I'll package up the old set in the same boxes for UPS to pick up a couple of days later. Your tire problem should work the same way.

After they get the bad set of tires in hand to verify the problem, I wouldn't quit until they refunded the $140 you are out because of them.

Well that sucks! A buddy's 4x4 had bunch of out of round headaches with some monster tires. Not fun. Maybe the LA warehouse was too busy and they outsourced them to some yahoo tire shop? Who knows, hope you get it all sorted out soon!

Well guys check this out - I might feel kind of stupid, but here it goes.

We own a big heavy car right? These are softer performance tires. Weight + soft tire + parked = flat spot in a hurry. I came home from work, ran in the house, changed clothes, and was then outside jacking up the car to swap the OEM wheels on. However before I raised the car, I chalk lined each tire as it sat on the ground. I then raised the car, let it sit for 15 minutes and spun the tires. The defect seemed to match the chalk line on the tire.

Now that got me thinking, if the flat spot was being caused by the heavy car, then perhaps the tires are not defective. It's possible that each time parking at the tire shop for 10-15 minutes was long enough to deform the tire, causing it to fail on the balancing machine. I just sent a big email to Tire Rack asking them to find me a shop with a GSP9700 and providing that agree to pay for a full check of the wheels and tires, I'll leave them off the car until Saturday. I'll then load them up in my F250 and take them to the shop to all be road forced balanced. I have a hunch that they may not fail. I do know for a fact they arrived badly balanced, there is no question in that. However it might explain how the tires passed at Tire Rack, but keep failing for me while I'm driving around on them.

I have never had a car with this soft of a tire - so perhaps I'm as much to blame as the next person. However if the balancing was done correctly at the start, perhaps I would be nothing but all SMILES right now.

I'll let you guys know what they say. I'd prefer to get them fixed locally versus shipping, waiting, and hassling with this over and over again.

Well two of them did it exactly on the chalk line, so that's why I'm thinking it's the weight of the car. I'll do whatever they want, so I'll wait and see.

Well two of them did it exactly on the chalk line, so that's why I'm thinking it's the weight of the car. I'll do whatever they want, so I'll wait and see.

Your car with the wheels looks great. As for the tires flat spotting due to the weight of the car -- no way. Some of these lesser known tire brands, Falken for one, just pump out a lousy product.

When I bought a GTO, the first thing I did was put on a set of aftermarket wheels with Falken tires. Balancing them was a nightmare. I bought from Discount Tire Direct. They shipped them to my door -- whereupon I took them to my local DTD for mounting.

Those tires were so stinkin' bad they ended up going through a pile of 12 of them before they got 4 that were "sort of" round. I called Falken's "customer service" department in Southern California in order to get them to ship four round tires to me -- but they were complete jerks.

Since they were so rude, I had the Falkens pulled off and a set of General Exclaim UHPs put on. Balanced right up -- and they were round! Imagine that.

Just flush those **** tires.

Makes sense. I don't think the out of round is what's causing my issues though. Here's why - when I took the car to Big-O tires, the back had a seriously bad vibration. I thought it was due to the out of round condition I found. When I left, it seems like it's perfect in the back. The front which I have not had rebalanced is off, and vibrates some. However if you saw how the weights were applied to the wheels, then you'd understand my frustrations with Tire Rack. What I'm going to do is mount one of the Breyons back up tomorrow when I get home from work. I have them laying flat in the garage and I know what I saw when I pulled it off. I'll see if they are still deformed, but if they are consistent then I'll chalk what I'm seeing as weight deformation that quickly goes away once the car is moving. My '03 Mercury Marauder and my '06 Mustang GT would flat spot their OEM tires over night, but after a mile or two, they were gone. Those were BFG's though.

I will say the tires grip like crazy without complaint! I threw it into a turn today to see if I could upset the car, and it just hooked and threw me practically against the door. I considered the Generals, especially given the price of $110 or something a tire. Certainly wouldn't mind burning off a set of those! :)

Good luck. When I bought my GTO in '04 -- I really had some teething problems with out of round tires and tape weights either not applied in the right areas or falling off after a few miles.

Finally blew my stack and got a district manager involved. He came out, loved the car, and ended up doing the work himself. Car's been great ever since -- and the district manager and I are now friends.

Again, good luck. Crap like this can be totally aggravating to fix -- especially when it's not consistent. You end up feeling like you're chasing your tail. Just stay methodical and work the problem and it'll eventually get resolved.

http://i279.photobucket.com/albums/kk125/GeeAte/Picture086.jpg

Sweet Ride! Looks like I've seen that car around somewhere?:thumbsup: Enjoy the G8 and the wheels, you'll get alot of questions and compliments.
That looks DAMN good!!

UPDATE # 613 :judge:

I'm trying to convince Tire Rack that shipping the wheels back will probably not fix my problems. It turns out, even our stock Bridgestone RE050A tires will take a flat spot in a hurry. I don't believe there is anything wrong with the wheels or tires that I bought from Tire Rack, other than a shoddy balancing job being done at their warehouse. They want to pick them up with UPS, but I'm about to just say the hell with it and spend more money out of my pocket and get the other two road forced. I'm giving them a day to decide, if I don't hear anything by tomorrow morning I'm bringing them to work with me and will hit the local Goodyear shop on the way home for some GSP9700 lovin.

Spent another $106 on road force balancing. Two required force matching, another has .024 of lateral runout, and one was okay. Two tires are marked as marginal, but I'm gonna run it and see. What a f'in ordeal this has been. I'll report back after I put 30 miles on the car and see how they perform. I have spent about $240 now on balancing and services after receiving these wheels. The Goodyear shop I worked with that had a GSP9700 was cool, and the young man doing the work really seemed to care. He did his best, so now we'll wait and see.

If I had a Magnacharger, I think I could have sorted all of this out with one big burnout. :)

LOL You could have had square tires and a big burnout would have fixed that!!! :burnout::gears:

I buy my wheels at Tire Rack, but buy all my tires and get them mounted at Discount Tire. I walk into Discount Tire with a printout of the tires I am considering and their prices, and Discount Tire price matches the Tire Rack's prices, no questions asked. Then, I get free rotation and balancing, flat repair, etc. for the life of those tires. This way, I don't have to worry about what happens if there are problems.

With aftermarket wheels it's important to really use a shop that has and knows how to operate a Hunter GSP9700, because you can get runout of the wheel and the road force 'lbs' of the tire, and also the wheel package as a whole. Exceed 16 lbs, and no matter how balanced it is, the wheel package will be out of spec. I thought I was skipping a step in the process by using TR since they mount with Hunter equipment and balance with the Hunter GSP9700. However it's just like anything else, and human error can play a big factor. I have never known anyone else personally with more balancing issues than what I've had to go through. I believe part of my mission in life is to help keep the tire shops open and profitable.

what do you mean by exceed 16 lbs

what do you mean by exceed 16 lbs

On a GSP9700, it reads some sort of out of round condition which translates into pounds of road force. For example one of my wheels was tested at 25 lbs of road force (limit 17lbs), but the machine stated that ForceMatching could fix the problem. The machine can measure the wheel to know what it's lateral and radial runouts are, so whatever else it detects above and beyond those numbers, it knows that it's coming from the tire. So it measures both pieces individually, which it then uses to calculate if the wheel and tire assembly is in or out of spec, and also if it can bring the assembly into spec. What Forcematching does is bring the low point of the rim with the high point of the tire, thus reducing any sort of out of round condition between the tire and the wheel assembly. Sometimes simply unmounting and remounting the tire can fix an OOR condition. This accounts for small variations that a standard balancer cannot address or even detect, providing a MUCH better dynamic balance and ride consistency. So after the machine told the tech where to mark the wheel and the tire indivdually, the tire is dismounted, rotated so that the marks line up, and then it's reseated on the rim. After that it is road forced and dynamic balanced again. Sometimes the machine may ask that you swap tires from a totally different wheel to get a good match. Anyhow so that one wheel had 25lbs of road force to start, after ForceMatching it dropped to 10lbs which is within specs. My wheels measure 1lb, 6lbs, 10lbs, and 12lbs of road force. I will say I spun them on the car today after letting them sit to get the flat spots out, and they were more perfect than the stock Bridgestones.

After screwing around with this for a better part of two weeks, I believe I finally have the problem resolved. If anyone needs a good tire shop in the Sacramento / Elk Grove area, check out Goodyear on Orchard Loop Lane by Calvine and Power Inn. They did really good work and one of the technicians named Matt was very helpful. Anyhow all four wheels and tires have been road forced and are confirmed now within specification.

Key points here:

1. Tire Rack provided a tire and wheel package that was VERY badly put together. The balancing and road force variants were out of specification at the time of delivery.
2. I did not have to swap any wheels or tires.
3. Two my wheels required ForceMatching, which involves dismounting and remounting the tire on the wheel to line up the match marks that the machine told the technician to mark on the wheel and tire individually.
4. All four wheels were out of balance.
5. The Max Performance Summer tires are VERY soft and take a flat spot in the matter of minutes. If you do have balance issues, remove them from your car when hot very quickly, store them laying down flat on the ground for several days in a hot area to allow the flat spot to come out of the tire. Then take them in loose and have the road force balancing done on a Hunter GSP9700.

Based on my initial findings today, the car drives as good, if not smoother than the stock wheel package. Previous to this, the tires sort of had that 'whoop, whoop, whoop' noise to them, but not now. The vibrations I had, and wobble in the steering wheel are also gone. The GSP9700 is a god send for problems like this, just find a good shop that knows how to use it and always request the print outs from each wheel. Some shops will try to use a standard dynamic balancer while charging you for a road force. If you require a printout of each wheel before and after road forcing, they don't have a lot of choice. At the end of the day I do feel a minor wobble in the front end still tho.

Since I had been bitching about this at work and getting most of the calls from Tire Rack during the day while there, several of the guys who work for me all knew of my problems. So one of them modified one of the pictures from my website in like a minute or two and printed about 10 copies for my cube on our color laserjet. I didn't get pissed, I couldn't stop laughing. So I left one up on my wall, just to remind me of the fun I've had.

So for now, case is closed, but I leave you with this:

http://www.dmwtech.com/gallery2/d/4380-1/tiremod.jpg

I buy my wheels at Tire Rack, but buy all my tires and get them mounted at Discount Tire. I walk into Discount Tire with a printout of the tires I am considering and their prices, and Discount Tire price matches the Tire Rack's prices, no questions asked. Then, I get free rotation and balancing, flat repair, etc. for the life of those tires. This way, I don't have to worry about what happens if there are problems.


Same here, the reason is Tire Rack is one of Discount's suppliers, just ask for the manager when you call and tell them what you are looking for and the shipped price to you and they'll match it every time...

That is one vicious G8 Unixadm!!!! Nicely done! I thought the initial pics with the wheel were nice, then I saw the pic with the car lowered and BAM! Very nice.

That is one vicious G8 Unixadm!!!! Nicely done! I thought the initial pics with the wheel were nice, then I saw the pic with the car lowered and BAM! Very nice.

Actually, GEE ATE is gonna be pissed. GEE ATE has the Pedders Track II system on his car and it's lowered. Mine is still the stock ride height - but it still looks pretty good in person.

I took the car to Elk Grove Pontiac today to get the first oil change done at 940 miles. Ouch, mama that's not cheap at over $100. Anyhow I had two technicians come and find me, along with another guy who works in another part of the dealership. They could not stop talking about how good my car looks. They said man, that is one G8 done up right. I felt like the star of the show while I was there, all the guys were cool. Plus I got in good with one of the service writers who was really cool, so hopefully I can continue to build a good relationship with the dealer, even though I didn't buy the car there. They only had Liquid Red and Ignition Orange GT's when I went test driving.

Anyhow, toss props to GEE ATE - he's the original man behind these wheels on the G8, and his car looks better than mine. Hopefully that sucker has tints by now tho! :wink2:

What are the sizes you run and GEE ATE runs? Props to both. He can be the star in his city and you can be the star in yours!

What are the sizes you run and GEE ATE runs? Props to both. He can be the star in his city and you can be the star in yours!

Breyton Matte Gray Race GTS (20x8.5")
Sumitomo HTR Z III 245/35/20

Thank you sir! I wonder if people can get these rim in deep dish?

Unixadm, glad to hear you got your issues resolved with your rims and tires...mine have been fine, no issues. Enjoy your rockstar status!!! Had two guys gawk at the G8 as I drove by couple days ago...:thumbsup:
http://i279.photobucket.com/albums/kk125/GeeAte/Picture086.jpg

Thanks bud. I will say after I got the Magnaflow cat-back on, the car is now getting a lot more attention. The wheels, the exhaust, tint, and the color make for a very mean look. Now if I could just get rid of the chrome on the grille!

How close is the color of the rims to that of the car. In the pics it looks dead on but in person....? Am I correct that in another post you guys said that they don't have the 20" with the wider width like they offer in the 19's with the optional rear? Maybe it was just that it fit? I would love to have a 275 in the rear but on a 20". Any of the big chain local guys sell these yet, so far I have not seen them except on tire rack. I don't want to go mail order. If it's not right, I want to be able to turn around and say fix it now! They look awsome guys!

The color match is very good, but keep in mind that the car is glossy, the wheels are matte. So they are never going to be the same color. I am not bs'in in that I have not found a single person that has told me the wheels don't fit the car perfectly. Everyone loves them.

Breyton does make a 20x9.5 or 20x10 - I can't remember, but the offset won't work with the VE platform. These tires seem to stick better than the OEM Bridgestones, and they are a tad wider. I have no complaints now.

The mail order thing can be hit and miss. However Tire Rack is really the only game in town for these wheels. If you can get them shipped from the Nevada warehouse, you'll probably be just fine. Use the the knowledge I posted in this thread from my experience, and even if you do have problems, an hour or two will probably take care of it. I've had shoddly balance jobs locally too - and had to go back again. Tire Rack will cover the rebalance if they are out. I can't say they are the best company out there, but they have the product.

does anyone here have tire rubbing in the rear?? what offset is everyone using??

So Tire Rack still wants the wheels and tires back. I've shelled out over $240 of my own money thus far just after the fact, on a almost $2200 purchase. Who thinks they should send me another set PRIOR to picking up these ones, and perhaps these ones will be done up right from the start. They just want me to send them back and hope for the best with whatever they decided to do, which they won't tell me. I am supposed to talk with a Tire Rack manager tomorrow, but I cannot understand after over 8 hours of my time, $240, and who knows how much gas, plus swapping the wheels THREE times in 100+ degree weather, and the inconvenience or lost sale of my stock wheels - they don't want to send another set ahead of time without charging me, and also charging me for freight.

I am PISSED.

Two words: Discount Tire.

Unix, just out of curiosity, why did you go with the 20" rims at 8.5" width as opposed to the 19" that had the optional 9.5" width for the rear rims? I'm just curious. It doesn't look bad or anything I just want to know your thought process for that decision. For me I think I would rather have the wider tires on the rear. But that could be the redneck in me...

So Tire Rack still wants the wheels and tires back. I've shelled out over $240 of my own money thus far just after the fact, on a almost $2200 purchase. Who thinks they should send me another set PRIOR to picking up these ones, and perhaps these ones will be done up right from the start. They just want me to send them back and hope for the best with whatever they decided to do, which they won't tell me. I am supposed to talk with a Tire Rack manager tomorrow, but I cannot understand after over 8 hours of my time, $240, and who knows how much gas, plus swapping the wheels THREE times in 100+ degree weather, and the inconvenience or lost sale of my stock wheels - they don't want to send another set ahead of time without charging me, and also charging me for freight.

I am PISSED.

That sucks!

But, I can kind of see their point. For all they know you could get the extra set of wheels and tires and never pay for them and not send the old ones back. Hopefully you and the manager can get something worked out.

Two words: Discount Tire.

Amen!

Unix, just out of curiosity, why did you go with the 20" rims at 8.5" width as opposed to the 19" that had the optional 9.5" width for the rear rims? I'm just curious. It doesn't look bad or anything I just want to know your thought process for that decision. For me I think I would rather have the wider tires on the rear. But that could be the redneck in me...

I went with the 20" because I wanted a uniform tire size around all four corners. I like to rotate the tires and not have to buy two different tire sizes either. It's all personal preference, but I also liked how the 20" wheels filled out the wheel well just a bit better.

That sucks!

But, I can kind of see their point. For all they know you could get the extra set of wheels and tires and never pay for them and not send the old ones back. Hopefully you and the manager can get something worked out.

They have my credit card information already. It's not like they can't charge me if they don't get the set back - just don't charge me up front for their mistake. I can stake the same claim that I'm sending a set of wheels and tires to them with no securities or collateral. Let's not forget that they got their money, so it's now my property. I think an exchange of property suits the customer best, but that's just me. If I was going to scam them, then I would not have spent $240 out of my pocket trying to fix their mistake. The fact of the matter is, they agreed to send me a set, and then changed their mind two days later. That right there is just poor customer service.

I usually don't get too pissed on the phone, but today I let loose a bit.

I like the wheels a lot. I am almost set on the Breyton's on Tire Rack for my Red G8GT. Pretty sure on the Breyton Race GTS, 19s with the optional rear fitment. Staggered width with wider rear tires is just my personal taste. My questions for those of you out there are this: 1) The OEM tires are 245 40 R19. Tire Rack does not show on the website, that the rear tires (the Bridgestone RE050A) which should be 275 35 19, as coming in just R19. They only show as 275 35 ZR19. I want to keep the same tires on the front to save bucks and I DO KNOW that the Bridgestone's DO come in just regular 275 35R19. But Tire Rack just shows that they have the ZR version. So I want to know does it matter if you have just R on the front but Z-rated tires on the rear if they are the same brand and really the same tire?
2) I've never thought about painting the calipers, but I guess it is a subtle thing that adds style. What is involved? I wouldnt do it myself. Where can one take the car to have them painted and is it as simple as spraying them with red paint?

Thanks.

If you are happy with what you have keep them and let TR know you will tell everybody you know about their wonderful customer service.

Alright - I spoke with a supervisor and she was really nice and helpful. They are shipping me another set from Nevada, with a note to get them right this time. :)

Tire Rack backed out again and now said they want to send me another set of tires and have them mounted somewhere else. More time, more inconvenience, but hey it's only at my expense right? Going to go after a refund as soon as I figure out another option for some wheels. Awesome, they really know how to screw over a loyal and understanding customer. Those of you that are buying stuff from them, all I can say is I hope this does not happen to you. They don't know what customer service is.

Were you able to fix the wheels and tires they originally sent you?

Were you able to fix the wheels and tires they originally sent you?

There is still a minor wobble in the steering. Tire Rack called me back and the managers their seem to worry more about their dollars than helping a customer. The CS people seem to want to help, but are over ridden by upper management. Talk about some serious BS.

Now they want to swap out my tires with something other than Sumitomos. Oh boy, the fun continues.

There is still a minor wobble in the steering. Tire Rack called me back and the managers their seem to worry more about their dollars than helping a customer. The CS people seem to want to help, but are over ridden by upper management. Talk about some serious BS.

Now they want to swap out my tires with something other than Sumitomos. Oh boy, the fun continues.

Tell them they can swap them out for Michelin Pilot Sport PSII's. :driving:

Don't these people know that the internet exists? I would think they would not want to be jacking around with you right now, and having it be recorded for all posterity. :huh:

I honestly don't know man. I expected so much better out of Tire Rack. I've done more than they can reasonably ask of a customer without a complaint, but I'm damn sure complaining now! This situation is just stupid and in all honesty I don't know why I'm at the **** end of the stick. Oh wait, they got their money, that's why.

Still working with Tire Rack. Nothing really new to report other than I'm talking with a different manager now. I should know more Monday and hope that all of this is a distant memory come next Friday.

It looks like I may need to select a new tire. I'm considering the Michelin Pilot Sport PS2's or the Goodyear Eagle F1 GS-D3's. I may also consider the Continental ContiSportContact 3's. Tire Rack believes that the Sumitomo tires may be a bit soft for the car. The manager I'm working with now has provided me a couple of options. So I'm most likely going to go with a replacement set of wheels and a replacement set of tires that are not Sumitomos. I didn't really want to shell out any more money right now due to being in escrow on a new home, but what can you do. I'm jealous of the other guys who bought wheels and tires from TR and you don't have any issues. I was driving out to check on my new property yesterday and steering wheel was wobbling again between 50 and 70, and I just couldn't help but laugh. It was a lot better the day I went to Goodyear, but seems to be coming back. Two of the tires were flagged marginal, so that might have something to do with it. Hopefully, and I mean HOPEFULLY by the end of the week I'll have a new set and can report back that everything is A-OK. That would be nice considering I'm off the week after the 4th, and would like to take a trip up to Lake Tahoe just to cruise around. I'm more pleased now that they are stepping up to assist with the problem. I had to piss and moan, and write big emails just to get there. I'm sure my emails were at least entertaining, as are my phone calls. I explained that the issues that really ticked me off were the two occasions prior to this that I was promised a replacement set of wheels and tires, and they backed out a day or two later. Hopefully the roller coaster is almost done, but damn what a PITA. If they fix the problem without having me spend an arm and a leg, then I'll say I'm neutral about the company. I don't read enough bad stuff about them to think my situation is the norm, I'm probably a demanding customer, and they've had a lot of cases where there is nothing wrong with their wheels or tires. In any event, there was a problem on my vehicle. Alright it's almost 9am, time for a Redbull and Vodka! lol

anybody know how to get a discount on these wheels ?

sorry, no discounts available from us

At a custom car shop here is Dallas, Texas, I was told I should order custom made wheels to fit my G8GT because of its specs. The owner said wheels off the shelf/stock wheels would protrude out giving a not so good look as the factory offset. A buddy in Baton Rouge saw G8 there with aftermarket wheels and he said the wheels were nice but the offset was not pretty. Has anyone experienced this?

I have had good luck with the contisportcontact's a very good tire, though pricey.

Here's an update as to where I stand with Tire Rack. Once I made it to a manager level, the communication issues came to an end. I was able to work out what I believe to be an agreeable deal. I end up with a complete spare with TPMS to replace one of the wheels that had a bit more lateral runout than I would have liked to see. I'll use that wheel and tire as a spare. I also got a discount on a future tire purchase. In any event, I'm still waiting for the wheel and tire assembly to arrive, and hopefully that will cure the wobble up front. I also requested a replacement set of centering rings.

If Tire Rack would have kept their communication consistent with me, it would have saved them a lot of hassle and angry calls/emails. I've bought countless thousands of dollars worth of products online and if I did have a problem, it was taken care of. Amazon.com is like the best there is for something like that. However once I had a problem with my wheel package, the level of support was not there. I don't consider shipping tires and wheels across the US while the customer sits and waits a solution. As a customer, I tried to step up and go above what someone normally would do. At the end of the day all I can say is I settled on a compromise so that I can move on to something else.

So next week I need to work out getting my $240 back, and once that's settled and the new wheel is on, I'll post a final update.

Thanks for keeping us updated. It is unfortunate that you have had all of these issues with the Tire Rack. It sounds like you are an ideal customer...one who is willing to go over and above the call of duty...and you would think they would bend over backwards to accomodate someone like you, and make you happy. Looking forward to hearing how this is all resolved.