Baby Got New Shoes

The O.Z. wheel tags (taken out to 4 decimal places!) average 15.088, so Tire Rack's 15 lbs. per wheel was spot-on.  The lightest wheel weighs 14.848 lbs.; the other three are 15.167 lbs.   This is according to Sergio, who's employee number is 74.  I like that: reminds me of when each Porsche engine had its assembler's initials stamped on the crankcase.  That's a 2.2% (5 ounce) difference, for those of you keeping score at home, with 3 of the 4 wheels identical.  (No, I have no idea why the O.Z. website claims 13.9 lbs. per wheel.  But, as previously mentioned, I couldn't find a lighter 17 X 7 wheel.)

Dealing with Tire Rack was painless.  What I wanted was in stock, the tires were mounted and balanced before shipment, arrived overnight in damage-resistent packaging, with no missing ancillary parts (like lug nuts and centering rings).  You can probably buy cheaper, but you can't buy more hassle-free.  And Tire Rack has a broad enough inventory that you can get relatively candid advice from their phone sales people.

I asked my salesman what kind of tire pressures their people run on their own street cars.  He said "4 to 7 pounds higher than the car manufacturer's recommendation on the door jam.  But if you do, your wear may increase."  The tires were delivered inflated to 40 lbs.  I took them down to 37 front, 33 rear for baseline experimentation.  This compares with the 35/33 I was running before, and Honda's recommended 33/33.  So far, cruising around town, the ride seems more supple over joint strips and manhole covers.  The car has not been driven aggressively yet.

The O.Z.'s will be easy to clean.  No sharp ridges or corners.  Thanks to friends & relations who weighed in on the color choice between Anthracite and Black.  The vote was 2 to 1, with 2 abstentions, including me.  So when the sales rep. asked "What color," I said "...um...Anthracite...?"  Hadn't changed my mind by the time we rang off.  I think I prefer it.  Although the wheels are painted, they  look like aluminum, which is what they're made of.  That satisfies my taste for authenticity and minimalism.

Before: as delivered.

After: O.Z. Alleggerita HLT alloys, same size as the o.e.m. wheels.  The offset is unchanged, so hub bearing life should not be a problem.  Easy to see why they're 6-7 lbs. lighter: lots less metal.

 Ego self-stroke shot: closeup with my Dragon sticker in the frame.  The rust on the discs and hubs complements the body color.    ;-)    It would be pleasant but wrong to say that I thought ahead about open-spoke wheels when choosing the body color.  It's a daily driver, so what I see is what I get.