Project (Way Too) Big Boots Resurfaces!

MadBill · Post by **MadBill** » Tue May 20, 2003 8:27 am

For anyone who has been off the planet the last couple of months, I built a set of adaptors for my Vibe to bolt up a set of 275/40 x 17" Firestone Firehawks on 10" wide Corvette rims. To everyone's amazement including mine, they fit, didn't hit and looked great!Well, now the other shoe has dropped! About 2" worth, via Tein Sport springs. The car looks teriffic; the tires really fill up the wheel wells without crosssing into that ricer "no springs" look, but ... they scrub on bumps and hard corners, even with just me on board! I think I could trim the rear fender lips a bit and maybe get by, but there is no way for the fronts! So, on to plan B: I could just get a set of more modest drop springs, but instead I'm first trying a trim on the stock springs. As soon as it stops raining, I'll finish bolting them in with a 1/2 turn cut off and see how that works. If nothing else, I'm getting pretty good at the re & re process...I've got some film photos which I will try to scan in when developed...

MadBill · Post by **MadBill** » Tue May 20, 2003 10:19 am

Nothing serious, just a snip off the open end of each spring!Stay tuned....

redtrdmatrix · Post by **redtrdmatrix** » Tue May 20, 2003 2:02 pm

If you were planning on going with a wheel that wide you should've gotten some Eibach Pro Kit or TRD springs

MadBill · Post by **MadBill** » Wed May 21, 2003 12:00 am

Well, I was looking for a challenge; you never know how far you can go until you go too far! I figured if I was going to all the trouble of a spring change, I wanted it to be noticeable. If I was buying new wheels and tires instead of recycling ones I already had, I would have gone with something more modest, say a 235/40 x 18", and stuck with the 2" drop. If I ever get my '70 Z 28 back on the road, I'll likely shift these wheels to it and go for something more conventional.

MadBill · Post by **MadBill** » Thu May 22, 2003 10:30 am

OK, pix at last!(Assuming I can remember how to post them; will try just one for a start)

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millster · Post by **millster** » Thu May 22, 2003 10:34 am

Wow, those are some big ol' shoes! Kinda like the look though. Not to get too far off subject, but is that just a custom exhaust tip or a whole system?

MadBill · Post by **MadBill** » Thu May 22, 2003 10:37 am

I'm sure there's a way to post them all at once [Heck, Sputnik did with his (no, wait, that's "her" isn't it?) (Apologies if I got that wrong.)Toronto "postcards"!]Anyway:

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MadBill · Post by **MadBill** » Thu May 22, 2003 10:50 am

OK, one pic at a time it is! The exhaust is stock except for the tip, a stainless oval (2-1/8" x 5") megaphone. I plan to mount its mate on the right, plumbed in upstream of the muffler, with a throttle/damper plate so I can bypass the muffler on demand. If it sounds too grotty, it will just be a fake dual system...BTW, I forgot to measure the fender height before I took out my stock springs. After the Teins proved to be too low, I cut 1/2 turn off the stockers, giving the stance seen in the pix. It is 27 -1/2 to 27-3/4" inches to the top of all four fender wells, which I think is about 3/4 -1" lower than stock with 17" wheels. Can anyone give me a measurement? (My tires are within 1/10" of the diameter of a 215/50 x 17")Next pic:

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MadBill · Post by **MadBill** » Thu May 22, 2003 10:53 am

Next!

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MadBill · Post by **MadBill** » Thu May 22, 2003 10:56 am

(Only a couple more...)

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MadBill · Post by **MadBill** » Thu May 22, 2003 10:58 am

Last one (unless I find a couple that I've misplaced...)

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millster · Post by **millster** » Thu May 22, 2003 10:59 am

You're pretty much right on about the drop. Mine's about 28.5in with the stock 17's and stock springs. About the dual exhaust though, wont that look a bit funny with the semi-circle cutout for the factory and nothing around the other? I guess I'll wait to see the pictures.

MadBill · Post by **MadBill** » Thu May 22, 2003 11:12 am

Thanks for the fast feedback, millster! That's just what I was aiming for. I was hoping I wouldn't have to re & re those ^%@#$#$ springs too many more times to get it right! Re the duals: For symmetry the Sawsall will strike again*, forming a matching cut out on the right. (Also, I may trim the left one a bit squarer, to match the shape of the tip, and allow it to tuck up just a bit more.)Pix to follow when available...*(If you saw the wheel stud trimming job posted a couple of months ago in the original Project Big Boots thread.)

millster · Post by **millster** » Thu May 22, 2003 11:20 am

Hey, no problem. I probably have the neighbors wondering why I was measuring my car, but who cares. I somehow thought there might have been some fabrication work for the exhaust. Can't wait to see the results! The Vibe should look sharp with duals.

MadBill · Post by **MadBill** » Thu May 22, 2003 11:37 am

Yes, I've been a little slack in locating some 2-1/4" stainless exhaust pipe for the right side (only need about 6"), but I have the stainless 5/16" hardware for the shaft and 16 gage sheet for the blade; I just have to get on it...

millster · Post by **millster** » Thu May 22, 2003 11:40 am

Hey, I'm not one to talk about immediate completion of projects. I've had my CAI for about 4 months now and still don't have it in. That's cool. Good luck with it. Hope it turns out good.

ragingfish · Post by **ragingfish** » Thu Jul 21, 2005 2:44 am

Is that an alfa romeo in the background???http://forums.genvibe.com/zero...4.JPG

Mr. Poopypants · Post by **Mr. Poopypants** » Thu Jul 21, 2005 3:16 am

Quote, originally posted by silverawd26 Â»How is Project Big Boots doing?Yeah, I'm curious to see this too. It looks like a toy car with those huge tires on it.I like it though.

ragingfish · Post by **ragingfish** » Thu Jul 21, 2005 4:26 am

Quote, originally posted by silverawd26 Â»You asked him that like 2 years ago in another thread. Bill said 'good eye there Rangingfish" or something like that.Did I really?Wow. Eerie.Then again, I can't remember what I did last week, so I sure as hell won't remember what I asked 2 years ago.

MadBill · Post by **MadBill** » Thu Jul 21, 2005 4:44 am

Good memory there, silver! And yes, ragin: It's a 1969 Alfa Romeo Spider Jr., belonging to a pal of mine. He bought it as a total rust bucket about 10 years ago and has done a complete restoration. The original 1300 cc engine was pretty tired and it burned a valve last fall so we did up a modified 1750 cc over the winter, including bigger carb venturis, Total Seal gapless rings, full porting and a competition valve job, balanced rotating assembly and re-timed cams. Still to come are high lift cams, ram tubes and a full dyno tune. Runs a ton better now and should be ~160 HP when the new cams go in.Re Big Boots, it's just rolling along, nothing new of late. I don't recall if I posted a pic of my 'floater' hub caps that I built just to see if I could, but JIC here's a shot in prototype form. They run on a center bearing and are weighted to stay level. In this shot, the wheel is turning at 160 KPH...

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ragingfish · Post by **ragingfish** » Thu Jul 21, 2005 5:02 am

Any new projects on the horizon for BB?Looking forward to seeing you at a Toronto meet this September (hoping there IS one again! )

MadBill · Post by **MadBill** » Thu Jul 21, 2005 9:04 am

Nothing in the works at the moment, Mike.I haven't made it to any meets lately, so will make a special effort if there is a Fall one in TO.

vibolista · Post by **vibolista** » Thu Sep 04, 2008 2:28 pm

Is MadBill still humming along on his big boots. Loved the engineering! And the look of the finished product as well. This is an old post, but sure would like to know what long term lessons/opinions on the giant 275/40 17s that you managed to stuff into your Vibe's wheel wells.

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MadBill · Post by **MadBill** » Thu Sep 04, 2008 8:59 pm

Holy lost post, Batman!It's been more than a while, and I haven't been too active on the Forum of late, but Big Boots is still humming along [or perhaps I should say rumbling. The Firehawks continue to wear like iron (over 60,000 summer klicks and showing little sign of it)] but they are getting kinda noisy.Zero problems with the wheels, tires, wheel bearings, etc. (so much for the predictions of disaster when I cut the springs to lower it 1 -1/2") and I still get double-takes both for the size and the floating center caps For that matter, zero probs with the Vibe. Apart from having the locks changed as a precaution after some low life stole the ownership papers 5 years ago, it's been to the dealer only once, for the power window recall.

vibolista · Post by **vibolista** » Wed Sep 17, 2008 1:48 pm

Wow, I forgot where this post was, MadBill! Sorry, but I still think your Vibe ended up with the best mods in the forum. I finally measured out an aftermarket wheel and tire for my Vibe, but nothing close to your project, although fully inspired by the results of your work. I went with a 17" wheel and a 225/50 tire... pretty thin and sedate compared to your incredible 275/40 17s. No drop for mine, yet. I think I like the Cross/ Mini SUV look right now. All the Wheel/Tire people were not much help, so I built a simple template to add different tire widths, diameters and the 1mm difference in offset (the wheel I chose has a 38mm) to the OEMs and took a chance on the fit. Found out there's a lot of room under those Vibe wheel wells!Great to hear the bearings are managing the load. Good sign. 60,000 km is not too bad from the rubber... but most tires start to rumble a bit with time. The floating center caps are brilliant.

Project (Way Too) Big Boots Resurfaces!

Project (Way Too) Big Boots Resurfaces!

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