Bubonic's 2007 Vibe Base

[Bubonic]

Hey all you Vibe enthusiasts! I decided to finally show face and post my car and goals. I love my 07' Vibe with a passion and I can't resist the urge to see what its capable of becoming. Feel free to tell me what you think of my vibe. Any help or suggestions are encouraged and appreciated.

General Specs/Info:

2007 Pontiac Vibe Base
Abyss Black with white pinstripes
Automatic FWD 1.8 L
60,000 Miles (family bought and owned, 2 previous owners being my grandmother and father)

Mods & Accessories:

- 15% Tint on all windows
- 16" black wheel covers/hubcaps
- Kenwood Excelon car stereo
- 4 8" Kenwood door speakers
- 12" Kicker CompVR subwoofer in ported enclosure
- 1000 watt Quantum Audio amplifier

Objectives/Goals:

New 17" glossy/wet black Rims w/ Wheels
The wheels I have right now are stock with some silly cheap wheel covers on them. They actually look 'ok' and didn't break my wallet. I wan't to get 17" or 18" glossy/wet black rims with new tires to go with them. Your car's contact with the road is important so I don't want to slack or be cheap in this area. They need to look good while maintaining their performance. I may also drop/slam my car. I have many questions about wheels, tires, and suspension so I made a separate thread here on GenVibe, link below.
viewtopic.php?p=489971#p489971

Custom Upper Billet Grille
I really don't care for Pontiac honeycomb upper grille design. I would prefer a completely black grille with horizontal lines/wires/rows if I can.

Roof Rack Cover/Cap
I wan't to get rid of the roof rack and make the top look slim and sleek. I'm not sure where I'll find the part and it absolutely has to be black. So far I have found a duraflex graphite roof cap kit but its kind of pricey and I'm not sure if it is black. Any feedback or experience on this would be great!

Short/Stubby Antenna
Black antenna that is considerably shorter than the stock one and it doesn't even have to function because I don't use the radio. Short and stubby would be acceptable.

Exhaust
I wan't some custom exhaust work done to improve my air flow and give the car a meaner purr. Not really sure what I'll end up doing in this area.

Cold Air Intake

Summary:

I'm pretty much aiming for a completely blacked out vibe that sounds good and has a mean look. Nothing too fancy just simple and elegant. My vibe is VIRGIN for the most part because I have all the parts to restore it back to its stock state. Nothing has been cut into, drilled, abraised, etc. Any experiences, advice, and recommendations are appreciated! Let me know what you think would compliment my car and what I can do to make some progress!

Before tint

After tint

[KITT222]

Welcome to GenVibe!

Great introduction. For rims, I suggest Craigslist as a good resource. I found my winter set and summer set (17" HotWheels Redline by KMC) through Craigslist, though the summer set were from a GV member... Anyway, I run 215/50/17 tires (I believe) and I'm happy. As someone who has had 205s, 215s, and 195s on his car, I suggest 205 as the thinnest tire size. 195s look ridiculous. And the extra unsprung weight might like a little more tire. The people over on Matrixowners.com will know more about slamming it to the ground than we would.

Billet grille: good luck for the upper. They still have some lower billets made for the 05-08 Vibe grille style. Check ebay.

Exhaust: Magnaflow makes a great exhaust that isn't raspy or buzzy.

Good luck on this! Keep us updated.

[thebarber]

Keep an eye put on discount tire ...they have lots of sales and good deals

Considering lowering it? Lots of used parts to be found on matrixowners.com

[Bubonic]

Thanks for checking out my garage guys! Didn't expect replies so quickly.

@KITT222: So you love your rim and tire size and have no complaints? I've been looking at these for quite some time... I'm pretty much set on 17 inch rims but I have no idea what to choose when it comes to the tire brand and size specifications.

@thebarber: I guess I'll have to go check out matrixowners.com if I decide to lower it. Do you have any idea around how much getting a car lowered costs?

[KITT222]

No complaints! It's a good size increase if you want a touch more tire without going to ridiculous (and super expensive) sizes. As for tires: good luck my friend. There are tires for every application. My NEXEN N5000 tires are... decent. Not the greatest, but a good touring tire. Very little road noise, cheap, with a squishy sidewall. For a good all-around tire I might suggest the Continental Extreme Contact DWS. Decent tire that isn't a racing one.

If you can do the job yourself, lowering your car only costs you your muscles for a period of 2 days following the operation. I'm a weak (removed) but I did my springs with my dad, and MAN was I sore. But it was a good type of sore. Because I had lowered my Vibe myself!

[thebarber]

Motegi makes a lightweight wheel that looks like that...the mr121 iirc...check on tirerack.com and sort by weight.

Someone installing lowering springs should be like $200.

[Bubonic]

Thanks guys, you have been most helpful! Here soon I'll add some new photos of what I do to her.