New wheels

[desmo4]

Well they finally arrived and after reconfiguation i.e. dissassembly, stripping off glue and reassembly. I put the fronts on with difficulty. The Honda wheel lock on the left front would not un screw. It took a die grinder to remove it and fortunatly the other 3 came off without a problem. The rears were more fun, one leaked when the tire was put on. So it is curing for a few days at this point an if luck holds I will have the rears on by weeks end, at which time I will post a photo. :clap:

These are Superlite 3 piece billet centers 17x7.5 and 17x8.5 with 52 and 59 mm offset respectively. The rears weigh 17 lbs each and the fronts weigh 16 lbs All in all I would not deal with those people again.

On a bright note I just ordered a Mugen ECU and that should be a snap to install, I can't wait.:lol2:

Jonathan

[desmo4]

The wheels are finally installed

http://www.s2kca.com/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=845

http://www.s2kca.com/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=844&papass=&sort=1&thecat=500


The shop who mounted the tires should get an award for patience. 3 wheels leaked and had to be dismounted and at the end he dismounted and disposed of my old tires all for only $25 each. Paul's Battery & Tire Co. SF, CA

Jonathan

[Greg Stevens]

Jonathan, those look really sharp...congrats! :thumbsup:

Are you saying they leaked because they are 3 pieces and the leaks came through where the piece join?


Did you get the Mugen ECU yet? What are your impressions of it?

I'll put the pics in the thread here, just for convenience...

http://www.s2kca.com/photopost/data/500/315wheel.JPG

http://www.s2kca.com/photopost/data/500/315car-med.JPG

[desmo4]

Yes the leaks were at the joints. The gluing process takes some practice to get right. 1rst you need to force the glue in as much as possible while it is still wet and 2nd the drying time is determined by the humidity more than temperature, within limits. And, I was told by the manufacturer not to put glue between the parts but to completely assemble them and then apply the glue.

The ECU will be here tommorrow.

Jonathan

[desmo4]

The ECU arrived yesterday and I installed it. I didn't have a chance to do too much testing but it seem a little stronger through out the rpm range. One problem though, the engine knocks every time I accellerate from a standing start. I am running high test gas, Unocal or Chevron. I'm going to try a bottle of octane booster to get me through the week end. But if storing drums of Elf is what is required it is not for me.

Jonathan

[desmo4]

I put 5 gallons of 100 octane Unocal from Sear Point / Infineon racetrak and the knocking is gone. I will talk to King Motorsports on Friday to see what else can be done to solve this problem. Because 35 mile rides and $22.50 worth of fuel is not a very practical solution.

The power gain is great though

Jonathan:clap:

[desmo4]

I sent to what amounts to the better business beaureau of Gloucester England the letter below. Since Superlite is playing possum on the issue I am trying to stir things up a bit. I would recomend not doing business with Superlite unless you have a Chevy and a desire to wait a long time.

Jonathan


To: The Trading Standards Officer
PR Galland
Hillfield House
Denmark Rd.
Gloucester; GL1 3LD
UK

Dear Sir: I ordered a set of wheels from Superlite Wheels 104 - 106 Tredworth Road, Gloucester. GL14QY. UK on August 12, 2002. The manufacture and delivery was to take 8-12 weeks. At the time Superlite had not produced a set of wheels for a Honda S2000 so they, (Henry) said he would go to the dealership across the street and verify the dimensions. When the wheels finally arrived December 6, 2002, one of the rims were bent. I informed the shipper, UPS and Superlite. As they, Superlite, were going on holiday on the 13 December, They assured me they would ship out a replacement before they left. The damage by the way was caused by the sloppy packing and had nothing to do with UPS but I think UPS ended up paying for the damage.

The replacement rim did not arrive until the beginning of February after I called them. On the phone I was told the rim wasn’t shipped in December because they didn’t know what size it was and I should read it to them off the damaged part, which I did. Seems a bit strange that they did not know what size it was when it was the first and only set of S2000 wheels they had made.

When the replacement rim arrived I assembled the wheel and went to get the tires mounted. When the tires were mounted the wheels didn’t fit on the car. The brake calipers were sticking through the wheel centers and the front wheels did not have a large enough inner diameter (counter bore) to fit on the front hubs. I was told by Superlite that I should have tried the wheels on the car before mounting the tires. I have to admit since I had been waiting since August and now riding on bald tires I was a bit anxious to get the new wheels on the car and I did expect them to fit.
So Superlite had me send the billet centers back to them, which cost me $170.00 for shipping and they sent me replacements. However they did not counter bore the front wheels to fit the front hubs. I phoned them and sent them 2 emails concerning that point before they made the new billets. It cost me $130.00 to have the front billets machine to fit the front hubs. I have requested on several occasions by phone and email that Superlite refund me the above costs since it was their mistakes and carelessness, which led to these extra expenses.

I have the receipts and documentation to support the above statements and I only want Superlite to refund me $300.00. Considering they missed deadlines 7 months instead of 12 weeks and lying about checking the fit on the car across the street at the dealer, I should be asking for a lot more.

[Rowland]

NIce wheels, they look great!

[jgirata]

I need a set of stock front wheels for my 2002 - S2000 - do you still have yours?