d-a-n

Had a set of Dunlop SP Winter Response on my FWD Audi last year - they were awesome in the snow but really shone in just the cold weather, wet and dry: they seemed to grip better and brake better than the Vredesteins during the cold months. Had a few moments in the winter when other people did silly things and needed to stop - these did the trick without ABS juddering away. Only downside it storing another set of rims, the extra road noise and a slight slight drop in fuel economy. Was going to source a set for my EP but my renewal has jumped from £640 last year on the Audi 80 to ÂÃ

Welcome mate, I work in Oldham!

Maybe do a search for adaptors from 130x4 to 100x4 - ours is a common PCD. 130x4 sounds like a beetle PCD... These will make the wheels stick out even further (by 25-30mm) and may not give you bore support without spigot rings but if you're after stance and don't mind a possible prospect of arch work it could look ok! Can you not get ATS cups in 100x4 with a more reasonable offset - I'm sure I've seen mk2 Golfs, Corrados, Novas and the like on them.

Drury Lane in Oldham seem pretty good. They do 4 wheel alignment too.

That satin finish looks well - matte will look shit. Satin's such an easy finish to spray from a rattle can too!

http://www.richersounds.com/stores/edinburgh Go along to a Richer Sounds - they usually employ knowledgeable staff and their prices are very good. If you get on their mailing list, they often have good deals so if you can hold out, you could get a bargain (I did, especially seeing as it was just after Xmas!)

I've had T1Rs and used to run T1S Toyos back in the day on my Nova, from memory both were good tyres in the dry but tended to get a bit rubbish in the rain when you hit the 4/3mm mark. Tyres have come on a little way since then though (I used to think Michelin MXVs were amazing but wouldn't trust them now!). The Rainsports are widely regarded to be a good tyre across all the forums I use. I've only had Uniroyal Rainexperts though (on g/f's Fiat Panda and in 165 70 13 on current Sportif) and find they need to be in the higher end of recommended tyre pressures to lose their squidginess; they hav

I'd just say get some Rota Grids but then they aren't everyone's cup of tea...choosing wheels usually comes down to personal choice and budget. What size do you think you're going to want, what will they be used for and what colour are you thinking? Do you have a budget in mind?

You will not have any issues with the underside of the body bottoming out and scraping down the road! When you lower a car 60mm on springs, its floorpan will be 60 mm closer to the ground and even on standard dampers you'd be hitting bump stops occasionally, you'll never reach the point you're thinking of!

By stroke, do you mean the travel of the damper? If you're retaining original springs and dampers but going for the smaller diameter tyres then you'll not need to worry about this.

Nice one F3rAL, thanks for your help :-) The sill covers did just pull up - they are held in place by 4 plastic plugs that go into drilled holes in the sill. A sharp pull up will take them off and the plastic doesn't break luckily! I ran the power cable through the grommet you can see in the passenger footwell into the engine bay then dug around under the bonnet to find it. I ran power down the driver side along with the remote lead. Needed to trim a bit of plastic trim to slide some cable behind but all fairly easy otherwise (1 hour tops).

How do I remove the grey plastic sill protectors in my 1997 3 door sportif? Do they pull up or do I need to be unbolting/unscrewing some other bits of trim? Also, what's the best way to run the cable through the bulkhead? Can you do it from inside the car out into the engine bay via the grommet behind the airbox or will I need to drill and grommet the bulkhead? Cheers, Dan.

You'll be bringing the whole car and its weight/centre of gravity closer to the ground which is the entire point of lowering from a handling perspective. I'm making an assumption that the OP does not want to go for a lowering kit so the smaller sidewall idea will lower the car but will not compromise the wheel geometry of the original suspension set up like a set of chopped springs will!

They'll fit for sure and you'll be in for a 25mm drop with less sidewall flex! The only obvious downside would be the speedo being out (reads 70 when your only doing 63) and the wheels looking a bit tiny in the arches, plus a bit of worse ride quality. What brand do you have in mind?

It'll be cheaper for you to drive a standard SR for a year or two, sell that as is when you're done (as they do hold their value) and just buy a Glanza rather than molest a collectable Starlet. Your insurance will be less on a Glanza than on a butchered SR.