18" Enkei Raijin on 2009 Vibe GT

[shemp]

I slapped a new set of wheels on my GT yesterday. I went with the new Enkei Raijin's in black. Have a look and let me know what you think, good or bad.

[vibenvy]

Not bad. I'm personally not a fan of black wheels, but as long as you like them, that's all that matters .

I personally think the 2009-2010 Vibe GT OEM wheels are some of the nicest OEM wheels I've ever seen on any vehicle. They were one of the main things that initially drew me to the 2009-2010 Vibe GT.

[vit]

Those look very nice, well done!

[MrHatchWagon]

I like them! You seem to have a nice tire size on there as well. I for one love black wheels

[thebarber]

They look nice but emphasize how badly you need to lower your car...

[shemp]

Thanks all for the feedback.

I agree J, the OEM wheels are pretty nice looking. I liked the greyed-out look. Mine were corroding around the bead though, and I was ready for something new.

I put 235/40R18's on it, Mr.Hatch.

I agree lowering it would look sweet but that thing rides too rough as it is. If it was a WRX or something I'd lower it, but for the grocery-getter it is, I'd like to soften the ride some.

[thebarber]

Thanks all for the feedback.

I agree J, the OEM wheels are pretty nice looking. I liked the greyed-out look. Mine were corroding around the bead though, and I was ready for something new.

I put 235/40R18's on it, Mr.Hatch.

I agree lowering it would look sweet but that thing rides too rough as it is. If it was a WRX or something I'd lower it, but for the grocery-getter it is, I'd like to soften the ride some.

Its the 18's.....

I'm running tein h-tech's which are OEM comfy. Up until last week I was running 18's with 235-40-18's and noticed an agreeable change in ride quality going down to 17's and 225-45-17's

[A Psycho Martyr]

They look nice but emphasize how badly you need to lower your car...

That pretty much sums it up

SLAMMMMMITTTTT!!!!!!!

[star_deceiver]

Not bad. But might I suggest black lugs.

[MrHatchWagon]

I just noticed your calipers - Are you the one who painted them that way? They look good.

[shemp]

I just noticed your calipers - Are you the one who painted them that way? They look good.

Yes I did, thanks. They were starting to rust a little, so I painted them a few years ago. I was thinking of Painting them red or yellow, but they're sort of small, and I didn't want to rice up the car too much, so I went with a metallic navy blue to match the body.

[EPVibeGT]

I think they look awesome! Great Choice! Since you've had them for a month now, how do you like the ride?

[tpollauf]

Not bad. I'm personally not a fan of black wheels, but as long as you like them, that's all that matters .

X2 To me all black is too much. If the spokes were accented in the aluminum material then they would look a bit nicer. Plus it would highlight the seven 2-spoke pattern you have (very nice BTW)

Just curious why you really were replacing the original 18" GT rims. Are you in a part of the country here where the salt destroyed them during winter driving? How many winters did they see. Mileage on them? I just can't comprehend that they're that bad to where you had to replace them. Pics of the corroded rims if you still have them. Thanks

[shemp]

Thanks for the feedback guys.

EPVibeGT: I noticed a slight ride improvement on rough road surfaces, but not much. I was a little unsure of the all black when I first put them on, but after a month or so, I really dig them. I still think all black looks better on lighter colored cars, but I dig the look on my navy car too.

tpollauf: There were a couple reasons I replaced the stock wheels:
First, as you speculated, two of them were corroding on the inboard bead causing the tires to lose pressure. The car had 50K miles, and had been thru 3 Michigan winters.... IMHO that's unacceptable. The stock tires lasted as long as the wheels.
Second, when the tire shop was replacing the stock skins, the knuckle-head that took the old balancing weights off removed the tape residue with a die grinder leaving about a 1" x 2" area of scraped up bare aluminum With the large cutouts on the stock wheels, it looked terrible. I made some noise, and the tire shop worked out a deal to replace the wheels. I do have a pic of the corroded wheel... I'll try to post it tomorrow.

[vibenvy]

First, as you speculated, two of them were corroding on the inboard bead causing the tires to lose pressure. The car had 50K miles, and had been thru 3 Michigan winters.... IMHO that's unacceptable. The stock tires lasted as long as the wheels.

I started thinking about this issue yesterday while I was washing my mom's 2009 GT with factory wheels and tires. I wonder if the "rim protectors" on the factory Goodyear Eagle F1 AS/C tires had anything to do with the corrosion? It seems like it would be a good place for salt, dirt, etc. to build up and eat away at the wheels. Quite a few of us 2009-2010 GT owners have seperate wheels and tires for the winter which could explain why we haven't had issues, but since yours went through 3 winters, that could definitely be the cause. Just thought I'd share...

[shemp]

That is possible J, but I suspect it is something wrong with the protective clear-coat finish. I suspect that the finish either was not properly applied, or got damaged at some point during handling or assembly. I know that winters are harsh on cars but IMHO OEM wheels should last longer than 50K & 3 winters. They should hold air for the life of the car, winters or not.

I have had winter wheels for some of my cars in the past, but I bought this car to be a work horse so I just left them on. now that I have aftermarket wheels I might pick up a set of steelies. The thing that bums me out a little is that I chose the tires I have now partially for their all-weather capability. If I end up getting winter skins, I would like my summer tires to be more summery.

[mac99d]

Very NIce!

[vibenvy]

I was wondering if you could post some more pictures showing how far the wheels stick out of the wheel wells? I am considering getting some Enkei Falcon wheels (18"x7.5" +45 offset) for my 2009 GT and am curious to get an idea of how they will fit. I'm assuming your wheels are 18"x8" so that should give me a pretty good idea of how an 18"x7.5" wheel will fit on my Vibe. Thanks!

[erick44]

looks awesome! just think the wheels wells need to be covered just a tiny bit more?.. maybe those TRD springs brings it down by .5 of an inch