Opinions wanted...........

[Saadallah@ Sewell Pontiac]

First off let me introduce myself. My name is Saadallah El-Jundi. I work in sales at Sewell Pontiac in Dallas,TX. I have a Neptune Vibe GT on order for my demo, and I have been given permission to equip/accessorize it however I choose. I'm looking for some opinions/suggestions from the Vibe community. What I am planning on so far is: 18' Wheel/Tire Combo, exhaust, lowering springs, and leather interior(Grey w/Blue inserts). Any thoughts would be appreciated.Take Care,Saadallah[Modified by Saadallah@ Sewell Pontiac, 10:14 PM 6/15/2002][Modified by Saadallah@ Sewell Pontiac, 10:15 PM 6/15/2002]
[Modified by Saadallah@ Sewell Pontiac, 10:15 PM 6/15/2002]

[d_m_kolb]

Turbo or superchargerHeaders (with high temp coating to keep under hood temps down)High flow catPerformance pulliesCAI (Cold Air Induction)Phenolic Intake Manifold SpacerBBTB (Big bore throttle body)Intake manifold ported and polishedPerfomance camshaftsPerformance chip for the ECM180 degree thermostatAlso hope you ordered the monotone paint option. I really hate the cheap plastic grey look.

[aaa]

In case you hadn't noticed, he is ordering a dealer demo. I do believe that limits him to factory options.

[d_m_kolb]

He never said he could not put a certain item on his car. He asked for some options and what I said is what I want to do to mine. Hope that clears it up for you.

[Saadallah@ Sewell Pontiac]

Actually, they are allowing me to add some aftermarket stuff. Just not to the extent that dm suggested. The TPW got pushed back another week, so I may just take either a abyss or shadow GT we have on the lot currently. I'm trying to decide.Saadallah

[Frosty]

TPW?

[d_m_kolb]

What ever you decide make sure it has the monotone paint option. I really think this is one of the reason the Matrix is doing so well. I have heard numerous complaints about how cheap and ugly the Vibe is with the gray plastic look in the front, rear and sides. If you like this look sorry, but I think it's awful. The monotone Vibes look great. I have talked to several Matrix owners after showing them a pic of the monotone paint option they can't beleive it's the same vehicle. Most like it much more and some said they would have bought a Vibe instead of a Matrix if they knew this option was available.

[NSimkins]

I agree. I was also leaning more towards the Matrix until I found out you can get the Vibe with the monotone appearance package option.Definately makes a big difference!(...all in my opinion, of course!)

[d_m_kolb]

NSimkins Make sure to post pics and register you vehicle on here of that sweat monotone Vibe when you get it. I'll drool all over my screen. LOL

[NSimkins]

Don't worry I will!! I'm hoping to order my Vibe within a month or so. I want to get a down payment large enough to keep my payments low... so that's my only holdback at this time. Time will crawl until the day actually arrives when I own one.

[Saadallah@ Sewell Pontiac]

TPW=Target Production Week. This date has been pushed back 3 times now for the Neptune Vibe I ordered. So, I have picked an Abyss vibe with the monotone appearance pkg,moon and tunes,cd changer,pwr pkg, and cargo mat. I have ordered the 18x8 Mille Miglia evo 5 wheels with BFG g-force KDW 2 tires. I am also ordering the Bassani exhaust and eibach pro-kit springs. I am considering the black reflective decals for the emblems and putting some really dark tint on the vehicle as well. It should look pretty good.Saadallah

[Frosty]

Sounds nice! What a great employer you have By the way....see http://forums.genvibe.com/zerothread?id=140 Do you know why a neptune color would push your TPW out? Ken.

[d_m_kolb]

The 17 and 18 inch wheels look great but if you are going for more performance than looks you probably don't want to go over 16s. The reason I say this is because I have read a few articles on this, plus talking to other owners who race thier Vibes or Matrixs say that the gears are so high in the Vibes, Matrixs that adding a bigger wheel makes the problem worse and their performance deceases because of this. One of the Matrix guys on another forum was getting high to mid 15s in the 1/4 mile running on 15 inch wheels. The Matrix is also stock. That's a great time. When he ran his stock 17 inch wheels he was running high to mid 16s in the quarter.So running 18s is really going to hurt performance. I think I'm going to go with aftermarket 16s. If your never going to race against anyone then put whatever you like on your Vibe but if you want the performance I wouldn't go any bigger than 16sI have posted gear ratios in the Engine Tuning forum http://forums.genvibe.com/zeropost?cmd=newtopic&id=2

[Saadallah@ Sewell Pontiac]

i dont think it is the color that has caused the delay. there may be some sort of constraints on certain parts or options. Sewell is an excellent place to work, not just beacuse of the demo program(everyone thinks im nuts for picking a Vibe over a Yukon or something like that for a demo), but the company philosophy is quite a bit different from most dealers.In regards to the axle ratio being high, I dont know if I would classify4.53 gears as high, otherwise these cars would have very lackluster performance. What one has to keep in mind about wheel size and gear ratio change, is the size of the wheel really doesnt matter, it is the overall diameter of the tire wheel combo. What I am saying is you have to factor the sidewall height as well. Once I get the wheels/tires in I will measure the overall diameter against the 16' stock combo and post the results. Saadallah

[d_m_kolb]

The problem is the gears are way to spaced out and the rpms drop out of the power band way to much. Celica guys all ways talk about this. A smaller wheel tire combo will help when shifting through the gears, on both a stick and auto. Keeping the RPMs above the the max torque peak when shifting is a must when racing.

[Saadallah@ Sewell Pontiac]

I agree that the gear spacing leaves a little to be desired. However that spacing remains the same regardless of wheel tire size. The performance advantage of a smaller diameter tire is related to rear gear reduction. The tradeoff of a smaller tire is higher rpm at cruising/hwy speeds. It really depends on the inteded use for the vehicle, if every tenth of a second counts, little items like fractions of an inch in overall tire diameter will add up. Now these things may have a bigger impact on these small hi-rev motors as opposed to the cars I am used to racing. Plus one needs to decide what form of racing is most important AutoX/Drag/both.Saadallah

[QWIKGTA]

You can go with larger rims just get the correct size tires. As long as you maintain the same, or close, ratio, you can go larger. Its refered to as +1, +2 ect... Here is a good link for tire size. http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html It allows you to put in any size tire and see the effects of changing the tire to a new size, it even tells you the MPH diff for changing tires.I would suggest getting tires that have a similar overall diameter so that the MPH diff is very small.
[Modified by QWIKGTA, 12:54 AM 6/19/2002]

[aaa]

Actually, the difference in the smaller wheel size with equal outside tire diameter is in weight. The rim is made of metal which has more mass than air does. A 19" wheel weighs about 10 - 15 lbs heavier than a 15". Times 4 and you could be saving up to 60lbs total that you don't have to shove down the quarter mile. Also, if drag racing you can lower the air pressure to achieve a larger footprint (thus more traction).However, if you are not drag racing, then you may be better off with a larger wheel if you are lowering the car. The stiffer suspension combined with a softer (larger walled) tire could bounce over rougher surfaces since the tire itself would act like a ball instead of transferring the shock absorption to the suspension.

[misscera26]

I live in victoria canada. I just saw a brand new ford mustang with the gray cladding on the bottom and it looked horriblew but I think that the vibe looks great with it.