New Wheels, at last!

Well, so here is the story. My friend Miguel was at my place, and we were casually looking at some items on Yahoo Auctions. I had spotted a nice set of RE30s - not my color, being the plain silver, but the bidding was way too low. So, in an effort to cause a bidding frenzy, he convinced me to put a bid in, expecting to be quickly outbid...

We went off to dinner...and when we got back, I had won!

Long story short, Miguel had kept the wheels and the tires that came on them, at his place for a few months. I ordered the glass coating which I had used on my standard rims, and after spending a few hours cleaning the wheels (they were already very clean), we applied the coating today and then mounted the wheels.

Here's one being coated:


(this glass coating stuff is amazing! It actually forms a hard coating that ends up so slick most brake dust can simply be washed off!)


Pretty wheel - but look at that tire! Bridgestone RE55S (S-tires!)


Ok - so what EXACTLY is the difference between the standard rims (17x9.0J, ET30?) and tires (245/45/17), and 18 inch, 9.5J with offset of 12 - wearing 265/35/18 tires?

Front left, before:


Front left, after:


Rear left, before:


Rear left, after:


No good shots of the car yet from the side... I personally am a bit disappointed, not sure if it's the color, but just doesn't look as good as I thought it would - makes the car look smaller than it actually is!

Although - there is a DEFINITE improvement in how the car accelerates and brakes. The front end gets light! and braking is like running into a brick wall now...