SO here it is, just 160 miles and one week old.

MB Weapon Gunmetal 17x8 +42 on 235 - 45 - R17 Yokohama YK520's

Id like to publicly apologise to wrczx3 who is also running these exact same spec wheels. Sorry man, I really wanted silver on gunmetal, and my shortlist, after months of looking, was these wheels, and the Tenzo DC6's. The lower price and the (relatively) more conservative looks of the MB Wheels won out.

I went 17's because of ride quality concerns.

The Good:

I think it looks great
Discount Tire - it took 2 days to get there

The Bad

Im an audio engineer, it seems one of my problems is that I obsess over ride noise and vibration.... I dont enjoy the noise / ride impact of these wheels over stock... Maybe Ill just get used to it, or maybe there is something wrong.

Please give me your thoughts on these...

The Power steering motor makes noise when turning the wheels hard when stationary, didnt happen with stock... Larger wheels I guess.

I get a light grinding sound when doing slow hard turn, such as into a parking space. It's a similar sound to what you get when your breaks grind naturally. Not sure why this is happening.. There is no obvious signs of rubbing anywhere.

Stability - the car seems less in the groove when driving around, particularly on highways, than when I had stocks.

I also have a harder, rougher and noisier ride in general.

Can I attribute all this naturally to larger wheels, or should I have the car checked out?

I didnt get an alignment after they where fitted, should I?
If my installer didnt fit the hub centric rings, would I have noticeable issues as above?

Cheers!

 

looks good... i almost got those in bronze...

 

Man, i've seen these on two xB2s and they look fantastic. You guys are making me want to swap my rims out for these already!

 

looks great...i've got the bronze weapons on my 05 xb.

 

If you drop it on NF210's, you and wrczx3 will be twins.

 

Hey Cionide.

Indeed, it would be true..

I was thinking about it, after pouring over your NF thread, but honestly, I dont mind the gap, gives it a bit of a Suv look, and also my driveway clearance is an issue.... couldn't get up it without scraping until I put the new wheels on.. its that close.

I'm actually more interested in handling rather than drop for drop's sake, must think about this a bit more, sway bars / shocks vs springs, etc.

But if I got springs, they'd have to be TRD so as not to mimic the man further, lol

 

You might try some sound deadening for the noise, beneath the rear quarter panels especially.

 

Where did you scrape? The 235/45's on 17" wheels only added about 1/4" of ground clearance.

Any drop will help handling, because it lowers the center of gravity. Additionally, having progressive springs instead of the linear stock springs will also help handling and ride quality. It sounds like any drop at all would put you back in "scrape" mode... I suggest regrading your driveway.

If you don't change your springs, probably your best handling bang for the buck would be a matched front & rear sway bar kit such as Hotchkis or Eibach. I know both companies make quality products, but I've only seen people with Hotchkis on ScionLife. Everybody (without exception) speaks very highly of them.

 

Hey R3k, it looks great. No need to apologize to me brother, I live 3500 miles away so I dought we'll be seeing each other around town. Plus, I take it as a compliment that you like mine so much you wanted yours to look similar. Good luck.

 

It would be sure to help, though it seems like a bit of work. I can feel the vibrations through the wheel as well, so i dont know how completely effective the sound deadening would be. Turning up my stereo accomplishes the same thing. Still, I'm probably going to do the audio in the next year, so ill explore deadening then.

Underneath the front bumper scrapes... there is a depression on the driveway where the road meets the actual driveway, so its not such as issue of steepness. I take it at an angle, and when the front wheels drop down into the depression, then underneath the front bumper comes down on the concrete. Its funny indeed that 1/4'' fixes this.

Thanks for the thoughts on the Hotchkins, I think Im going to have to do this in the future, especially since the install seems to be pretty easy.

Interestingly, We just found out that the landlords of our rented house just went into foreclosure... Seems that Ill have a new driveway sooner than I expected. I guess the only thing between me and a NF drop after we move, is my GF, heh

Cheers!

I agree its a great look, and thanks for your blessing! heh. Its not an uber ricey look at all, quite tasteful.. you've got a good eye... the whole look, even without the drop does turn heads sometimes even here in Hollywood, between the bling Chrysler's and escalades, and European sports cars.. I guess its because the xb is somewhat understated in a way, but with the wheels on, still quite special.

best

 

The NF's are safer (due to lower center of gravity), ride better (due to progressive instead of linear rear springs), and look better... WIN! WIN! WIN!

If the GF doesn't like it, drop her, then drop the box!

 

Ouch! That's kind of harsh! I'd just tell her, "you got legs..."

 

You know I was just kidding, don't try and get me in trouble.

 

Lol.. no problem

 

hey R3k you need to take more time to take your pics, for example that 5th picture has been better with the bentley at your side and not showing his nose only j/k

looks good just need springs but thats more cons, enjoy your ride

 

Thanks man.

for sure, more than 15% Bentley in any future sets, guaranteed, heheh

 

Looks clean.

 

dont like the 17's.