New to Del Sol

[germangs]

Hi,

 

A week ago while driving on one of the local roads I noticed a cool looking car sitting on someones front driveway with a sign for sale.

I stopped and walk around. It was a 1997 Honda DelSol with 70K miles. One original owner since new, always maintained with recent timing belt change at Autofair Honda dealership. They wanted $5500 and after negotiating I got it for $4200. This is basic model with automatic trany, without power windows or cruise control, but it does not matter because it has removable top and it is such a nice car to ride during this hot days.

 

Since I drive Mercedes S class as a daily car I feel some inconveniences but they all go away as soon as I get on highway and feel the joy of riding.

 

The only thing that I don't like is the tires size, they are 13". I am looking at the craigslist to see if I can get a 16" set, maybe 205/50 16. Any recommendations?

[Yankeezone25]

Congratulations on your Del Sol purchase. I am looking for one also. Sounds like you got a good deal. Enjoy.

[Stevotron5000]

The only thing that I don't like is the tires size, they are 13". I am looking at the craigslist to see if I can get a 16" set, maybe 205/50 16. Any recommendations?

 

If you're looking for performance go with 15".

 

Acura GSR model rims look great and can be had for a reasonable price (usually with tires) on craigslist.

[cmgogo]

fat fives ftw.

[MChester]

You guys and your 15"s... My 17"s are slightly lighter than the OEMs so I didn't hurt my performance at all with the 17"s. The tires are a few ounces heavier than OEM, which still totals just a bit less than stock weight at each corner while greatly improving contact patch, performance, and IMO, looks.

[Stevotron5000]

You guys and your 15"s... My 17"s are slightly lighter than the OEMs so I didn't hurt my performance at all with the 17"s. The tires are a few ounces heavier than OEM, which still totals just a bit less than stock weight at each corner while greatly improving contact patch, performance, and IMO, looks.

 

That's great if you have the money to buy lightweight 17"s and decent tires but I'm talking more about bang for the buck. For some reason every time I reply to a post I have cost in mind and I figure fat fives fit the bill. I can buy sets all day long for $250 or less with tires and I think they look great (personal preference of course.)

 

Seeing as how the OP drives an S class I have to assume money isn't an issue, lol.

[Xeryon]

Monte, not sure if you know this or not, but there is more to calculating the loss with larger wheels then just the weight. One of the dominant factors has to do with the mass being so far away from the center of rotation. Your 17's can actually weigh less then my 15's and still cause you to lose more power to the ground then what I do because of how the weight is dispersed.

 

As a side note, the del sol body has a larger wheel well (or appears to) then other civics and 16 and 17 inch wheels generally have a nicer visual appearance then other models.

[OSOLMIO]

Hi,

 

A week ago while driving on one of the local roads I noticed a cool looking car sitting on someones front driveway with a sign for sale.

I stopped and walk around. It was a 1997 Honda DelSol with 70K miles. One original owner since new, always maintained with recent timing belt change at Autofair Honda dealership. They wanted $5500 and after negotiating I got it for $4200. This is basic model with automatic trany, without power windows or cruise control, but it does not matter because it has removable top and it is such a nice car to ride during this hot days.

 

Since I drive Mercedes S class as a daily car I feel some inconveniences but they all go away as soon as I get on highway and feel the joy of riding.

 

The only thing that I don't like is the tires size, they are 13". I am looking at the craigslist to see if I can get a 16" set, maybe 205/50 16. Any recommendations?

 

I have 16's with 205/50/16's but not installed yet just sitting in the garage waiting for the car to come back from paint. The offset is +42 on a 7 inch rim so I am holding my breath.The aftermarket springs and shocks seemed to have only lowered the car 1". If they rub on the wheel wells I will never hear the end of it from my wife. Like Xeryon wrote they do seem to have a larger wheel well which is why I went with 50's to try to fill the gap when the suspension mods only lowered it an inch. I wanted 45's but then I would be back with enough room between the tire and the wheel well for cats to sit on the top of the tires in the winter.

[MChester]

Monte, not sure if you know this or not, but there is more to calculating the loss with larger wheels then just the weight. One of the dominant factors has to do with the mass being so far away from the center of rotation. Your 17's can actually weigh less then my 15's and still cause you to lose more power to the ground then what I do because of how the weight is dispersed.

 

As a side note, the del sol body has a larger wheel well (or appears to) then other civics and 16 and 17 inch wheels generally have a nicer visual appearance then other models.

 

 

Yup, I r an engineer... I r no'in bout centripetel acceleration and moment of inertia and how they apply to rotating objects of varying mass distribution being accelerated from at or near the center of rotation.

 

 

However, I submit said effect is minimally significant between a 15" tire/wheel assembly of similar diameter to my 17" tire/wheel combination.

 

If you can show otherwise via formulae, than you have far more free time than I do.

 

 

[Xeryon]

That I cannot. Whereas you are an engineer with facts and stuff I just have random general knowledges an stuff. I know of centripetal acceleration and rotational mass and what have you but I do not know specifics, nor do I know where to find specifics. I just know it affects it.

 

Provided a quality 17" wheel is purchased and not just pot metal with lug holes drilled in it the wheel would not be significantly more heavy then the 15" variety. As we all know every Honda owner buys only the highest quality wheels for their car when they put 17's on it. lol

[DelSolSweetie]

I personally love my 17's.. the smaller tires dont offer as much protection of course but i dont hit holes anyway so IDC LOL

 

I personally think my 17s look perfectly fine on my car.. i am trying to find a set of blades or something so i can possibly autocross the car sometimes.. but for everyday the 17s are perfectly fine.. i wouldnt put them on a civic though

[Velocifero]

17s on Del Sols look f*ckin ridiculous. Such a ricer wheel size for that car. It's like 19s for my car. Stock on the VTEC version is 195/60/14. 14 inches. Most dealer performance upgrades go one inch up, two max, three is just...FUGLY. If I had one, I'd go 15s, maybe 16s max.

[MChester]

I guess it's a good thing we don't all like the same look, ?

 

If you really want best all round performance, you'd probably have to go with a 14"-15" feather light weight wheel and high quality/light weight 50 series profile tires. This would likely give you close to ideal tradeoffs in all areas, but it would play hell with your speedometer/odometer, so that's why you don't see it done. The much smaller overall diameter would have you reading VERY high at highway speeds. At least you'd be less likely to get speeding tickets.

 

Less face it, most of the trend toward larger wheels in the last 15 years has been for looks, not performance. The worst offenders are the guys running around on 24"-26"s that raise his/her car 4-5"", ruin the suspension geometery, destroy dampers/bushings/bearings, cost a fortune, and IMO, make people ask if the circus is in town. I keep hoping that trend will reverse itself soon.

[airjordan223]

I like how real cars have rotors that are 15" not wheels

[germangs]

clear, but what is the best with? Is 205 fits fine?

[xd980]

Yup, I r an engineer... I r no'in bout centripetel acceleration and moment of inertia and how they apply to rotating objects of varying mass distribution being accelerated from at or near the center of rotation.

 

 

However, I submit said effect is minimally significant between a 15" tire/wheel assembly of similar diameter to my 17" tire/wheel combination.

 

If you can show otherwise via formulae, than you have far more free time than I do.

 

 

 

Wow ....Uncle Fester i must say i am rather impressed! I would have never thought such intellect would have been stored in that Mr. Potato head size cranium!... j/k I think tire size/wheel size should be decided by the owner...because when asking an opinion question you will not get one straight answer...because there isn't one, its more of you picking what you like and going with it...if you want more tire, go 15, if you want more wheel 17...

 

not to jump off of subject i may be out in left field but MChester didn't you mention in a previous post about having cancer? how are your treatments going if i am correct in my assumption?

[EH6TunerDaniel]

Fcuk that, 17's are huge on that chassis. Stick with 15's with a 205 40 for street driving.. The auto part sucks, but that can be changed. Really kinda seems like a big step down from an S class though. Swap it.

 

Edit: frack? really?

[DelSolSweetie]

your not allowed to come back after years of being MIA and talk crap

[MChester]

not to jump off of subject i may be out in left field but MChester didn't you mention in a previous post about having cancer? how are your treatments going if i am correct in my assumption?

 

Yup, colon cancer that had returned in the lungs and has since been removed this summer. Now on a brand new course of treatment as a preventative measure in case we didn't actually get it all with the 2 surgeries. The new treatments are no fun, but no worse than the last 4 courses of chemo over the last 4 1/2 years. Having Cancer is just very hard on many levels, but my wife and my God give me all the strength I need to beat it. I can't wait till I don't have to be on Chemo any longer and can get back to work for Honda, as well as riding, driving, and working on my cars and bikes again full time. Till then, I can hang out on these forums and talk about them for a while. BTW, ease up on the insults till I get to know you a bit.

[EH6TunerDaniel]

your not allowed to come back after years of being MIA and talk crap

 

 

Sure I am, but I am special. Besides, I was just stating fact...

[xd980]

Yup, colon cancer that had returned in the lungs and has since been removed this summer. Now on a brand new course of treatment as a preventative measure in case we didn't actually get it all with the 2 surgeries. The new treatments are no fun, but no worse than the last 4 courses of chemo over the last 4 1/2 years. Having Cancer is just very hard on many levels, but my wife and my God give me all the strength I need to beat it. I can't wait till I don't have to be on Chemo any longer and can get back to work for Honda, as well as riding, driving, and working on my cars and bikes again full time. Till then, I can hang out on these forums and talk about them for a while. BTW, ease up on the insults till I get to know you a bit.

 

Glad that everything is going well....keep your head up and let us know when you get finished with the treatments! Best wishes and God bless!

[BrIaN EG2]

Hi,

 

A week ago while driving on one of the local roads I noticed a cool looking car sitting on someones front driveway with a sign for sale.

I stopped and walk around. It was a 1997 Honda DelSol with 70K miles. One original owner since new, always maintained with recent timing belt change at Autofair Honda dealership. They wanted $5500 and after negotiating I got it for $4200. This is basic model with automatic trany, without power windows or cruise control, but it does not matter because it has removable top and it is such a nice car to ride during this hot days.

 

Since I drive Mercedes S class as a daily car I feel some inconveniences but they all go away as soon as I get on highway and feel the joy of riding.

 

The only thing that I don't like is the tires size, they are 13". I am looking at the craigslist to see if I can get a 16" set, maybe 205/50 16. Any recommendations?

uhhh... if im not mistaken.. all del sols came with power windows.. i mean how would you manually roll down the rear window?

 

did anybody else not notice this?

 

Fcuk that, 17's are huge on that chassis. Stick with 15's with a 205 40 for street driving.. The auto part sucks, but that can be changed. Really kinda seems like a big step down from an S class though. Swap it.

 

Edit: frack? really?

205/40's are too thin.. i have 195/45's on my zenders and theyre still too thin, at least for me. they add too much wheel gap and when i put the zenders on my car i cant even drive over a speed bump or i'll high center

 

i say 195/50 or 205/50's are best fit

[EH6TunerDaniel]

Yeah you are right. I'm used to getting sizes fr my s2k. 205 50 is what I meant to say. I have 225 40's on my 15's though on my civic. I want to go to some 245 wide though.

[airjordan223]

uhhh... if im not mistaken.. all del sols came with power windows.. i mean how would you manually roll down the rear window?

 

did anybody else not notice this?

 

 

205/40's are too thin.. i have 195/45's on my zenders and theyre still too thin, at least for me. they add too much wheel gap and when i put the zenders on my car i cant even drive over a speed bump or i'll high center

 

i say 195/50 or 205/50's are best fit

probably meant to say power door locks.

[MChester]

Yeah you are right. I'm used to getting sizes fr my s2k. 205 50 is what I meant to say. I have 225 40's on my 15's though on my civic. I want to go to some 245 wide though.

 

Soooooo, 17's are way too big for the Del Sol chassis, but you wanna put 245's on it? You running it full out on a track somewhere with big aero or are runing it with 2) 300 pounders in the cabin and another in the trunk? If not, I don't think there's any way you are putting enough corner weight on a 245 of any wheel size to need that much contact patch.