So I'm getting ready to get my new tires mounted to my summer wheels, and I wanted to make sure my wheels are protected since I'm not able to wash my car as frequently as I would like. Being that my wheels are also CE28N's, the spokes don't make them the easiest wheels to keep clean either. In my quest to clean and protect, I've settled on the following products.
Stoner Tarminator
Stoner Invisible Glass Cleaner with Rain Repellent
Extreme Simple Green Motorsports Cleaner & Degreaser
Meguiar's Gold Class Car Wash Shampoo & Conditioner
Clay Magic Blue Clay Kit*
Meguiar's Scratch X 2.0
Klasse All-In-One Polish
Klasse High Gloss Sealant Glaze
Finish Kare 1000P Hi-Temp Paste Wax
Vinylex by Lexol
Now, I've used Vinylex, Scratch X 2.0, Meguiar's Gold Class Car Wash Shampoo & Conditioner, and Stoner Invisible Glass Cleaner with Rain Repellent with great success in the past, and since they are tried and true I've continued to use them. The only item missing from this list is the Clay Magic Blue Clay Kit which I'll be picking up from AutoZone this weekend.
I purchased the Tarminator, the Klasse, and the FK all from Autogeek on Sunday night, and they were at my door today from Florida. The transaction was smooth, and their packaging was great! Their site also has great product descriptions and has tons of great tips on how to use the products they sell. The rest of the items were purchased locally from Pep Boys and Auto Zone.
I'll make another post once I actually detail the wheels and the car and break down the order in which these products were used.
Thanks to my buddy Chad over at CBRD Speed Factory in York, PA, I now have a "brand new" set of Dunlop SP Sport 600. These are the OEM tires on the GR STi and are only available in 245/40R18. According to the specs listed in Tire Rack, these tires can fit a rim from 8"-9.5" in width, so I'm right at the extreme with my wheels being 18x9.5". The reason why I said "brand new" is because these tires only have ~250 miles on them according to Chad. Honestly, they look like they have even less mileage on them than that! Score!
So I recently came into a little money at work in the form of a bonus... actually all the employees did. Of course, the gods knew this and prepared to make my life suck because of it. My girlfriend and I leave a bar, we had a few drinks, and no, I was not drunk, buzzed or anything of the sort. We literally go around the block to get onto the main road, and before I can even get out of 1st gear pulling onto the main road, I get pulled over. Not because I was speeding, or because I didn't stop completely at the stop sign. I got pulled over because my muffler is "to loud", and because the bulbs above my rear license plate were burned out. I have a feeling I would have been pulled over no matter what kind of car I was driving. The cops were definitely waiting for someone leaving the bar/restaurant.
I immediately put all my windows down even though it was the beginning of February, and put the heater vents on full blast. I wasn't drunk, but I wanted anything that even remotely resembled the scent of alcohol to air out. My girlfriend also had been drinking, so yeah. We went through the motions: License and Registration; where are you coming from; yadda yadda. I told him the truth, I had 3 beers, we just left the bar, we're on our way home. And of course, my insurance is expired. Doh! "I pulled you over because your bulbs are out and your muffler is loud." He goes back to his car, and comes back a few minutes later and asks me to get out. He wanted to give me a sobriety test. I perform all the tasks perfectly and he asks me to go back to my car. He comes back with 3 pieces of paper, obviously all summons'. First one for the burnt lights, $54; second for the loud muffler, $54; third is a court appearance for not having a valid insurance card. I pay the fines that week, and last night I went to court. I show the prosecutor my valid proof of insurance and let him know it was a complete accident and didn't have it with me. He tells me it happens and that the range of the fine is from $39-$300. $300??? WTF?!?!?! I ask what it normally is and he says it all depends on how the judge is feeling and how I plead my case. Judge calls me, and reads my ticket number and the offense, and before I could even get a word in, he says that my fine is $180 + $39 court fee/surcharge. $219 for failure to have valid proof of insurance on me. My car has full coverage and is and has always been insured. Such absolute BS. I left the court absolutely upset, and I couldn't sleep. I think and think and think. I'm feeling better now.... kinda.
This past Thursday, I noticed my steering getting all weird and the car pulling to the left as I was driving. My car always had a tiny bit of lean to the left, but this was definitely more pronounced and it felt numb and soft. I knew it had to be my tire. I get to work, and check it, and it's definitely low on air. I measured my pressure and it was 23psi! During lunch I drove to the local gas station and filled it to 40psi and drove home. On Saturday around noon, I went to run some errands and I notice that my tire is low again! It was definitely a leak, but I didn't know where. So I refill it to 45psi so that it would last a little longer, and go on my way, fill it again on Sunday, and again on Monday. It's not leaking terribly, but I definitely have to keep my eye on it. Today, I take the car in to ETD Tire near my job, and it turns out it has a screw in it on the inside shoulder. Just my luck. Turns out 2 other people at work also got nails in their tires end of last week and today, so it was definitely from our parking lot. We're SOL. Instead of replacing a single winter tire, I'm going to wait until next winter and just sell the tires I have, and pick up a new set of winters. My summer setup is getting put on in about a month so there's no point in buying a new tire now. Especially since I've got 4 seasons on my current setup.
