GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

I got lucky, on Craigslist and picked up a set of 15" Chrysler Cirrus wheels with usable rubber, wheel covers and lug nuts for $50.00! I've ordered hub spacers off EBAY, but I have no vibration without them. The color of the wheel covers even matches my Vibe! Divine intervention?
Overall wheel circumference is nearly identical, 78.156" vs 78.477", 195-65-15's being slightly larger than the stock 205-55-16's. My GPS and tachometer show no difference at 50MPH indicated, I checked. The differences I've noted with the 15's are all positive, the Vibe now coasts better and the ride is more comfortable and quieter. Which of these effects is from going to Kuhmo's from Uniroyals, I don't know. Yippee!!!
Tire circumference calculator: http://www.csgnetwork.com/tiresizescalc.html

Nice! I wish I could run 15's but there's no way with the big brakes for the 2.4l.

That's cool Chiadog!
I just put new Michelin tires on the 16" wheels. These are great tires and accordingly pricey. But the old tires were so bad I had to replace them right away.
I am looking for 15" rims too, at least for the winter tires.

They look a little small, but not too bad. You'll notice an increase in fuel economy possibly, too, as they are easier for the wheel to turn than the 16s.

Vbirologist - I have a 15" set of winters. It's a love/hate relationship. Love the traction, decent alloy style, and lower weight. Not so much the size, as it looks funny on my lowered Vibe.

Chiadog wrote:I got lucky, on Craigslist and picked up a set of 15" Chrysler Cirrus wheels with usable rubber, wheel covers and lug nuts for $50.00!

Nice find !!! They look REAL good especially since your Vibe is Silver!

Rayven01 wrote:Nice! I wish I could run 15's but there's no way with the big brakes for the 2.4l.

That's unfortunate!

vibrologist wrote:That's cool Chiadog!
I just put new Michelin tires on the 16" wheels. These are great tires and accordingly pricey.

That is one of the reasons I wanted 15's!

KITT222 wrote:They look a little small, but not too bad. You'll notice an increase in fuel economy possibly, too, as they are easier for the wheel to turn than the 16s.

They look better than I expected, but the seem to be a little more offset "In" that the OEM's. The overall circumference of the 15's is nearly identical to the 16's, so there won't be any mechanical advantage MPG bonus. But the 15" Kuhmo's that came with the rims coast a ton better than the 16" Uniroyals I had been running. I'll post any MPG change I record. And I just can't say enough about the improvement in ride comfort and quieter operation of the Kumho's, maybe just because the Uniroyals were crappy or damaged - but they looked OK and still had some tread left.
Thanks for all the input Guy's! long Live GenVibe!

Another good thing about the Kuhmo Solus KR21's that came on my cheap 15" wheels. They stick like glue in the rain! I am very impressed with these Kuhmo's. They stick great in the rain in spite of the fact that the fronts are essentially at the wear bars. Had I not just bought a set of my favorite Hankook 727's to eventually put on these wheels, I may have opted to get a new set of Solus KR21's instead. I had to purchase the Hankook's quickly to qualify for the rebate!

They look good.

The last Cirrus I saw was towed in due to no-start condition. The intake duct was held together with duct (!) tape and the paint and interior were destroyed. The problem was a bad PCM. Cost the lady over $900 to replace; she said she was trading it in. If she had said so beforehand, I probably would have blurted HAVE IT SCRAPPED INSTEAD THE REPAIR COSTS MORE THAN THE CAR'S VALUE.