DCAWD.com

sirwilliam wrote:Oakos is high for everything, especially price

Thankfully not in this case: $580 for four = $145/wheel with free shipping. I can't find it cheaper online so far.

--Alan

WRXWagon2112 wrote:

sirwilliam wrote:Oakos is high for everything, especially price

Thankfully not in this case: $580 for four = $145/wheel with free shipping. I can't find it cheaper online so far.

--Alan

Wow, that is very rare...better jump on that while you can. Hopefully, they have them in stock.

sirwilliam wrote:Oakos is high for everything, especially price

I've ordered from them 3 or 4 times. their customer service and prompt shipping are worth a few dollars extra, at least to me.

Believe it or not, I picked up my 18" Rotas at ... wait for it...


....

...

..

.

At Mach V. He cleared them out at 110/ea. Occasionally you get lucky.

I was all then I was all

sirwilliam wrote:

drwrx wrote:

sirwilliam wrote: FYI, they weigh less than 19.65lbs. More like a little over 17lbs.

I have found Oakos' weights to be high overall:
They claim the SDR to weigh over 19 lbs. Whereas both Sport Compact Car and my scale said 17.5lbs. Oakos has grids at 18.15lbs where my scale had them at 16.5lbs.

Oakos is high for everything, especially price

Really? I've always found them to have pretty good prices and as Gabe said, their customer service is top notch!

complacent wrote:Believe it or not, I picked up my 18" Rotas at ... wait for it...
At Mach V. He cleared them out at 110/ea. Occasionally you get lucky.

Now that is unbelievable... I've never heard Dan and Cheap in the same sentence...

I swapped out the wheels over the weekend ... and the shaking's still there. I'll be heading back to the shop this week to have them take another look at it. In the meantime, here are some gold P7's on the wagon.



--Alan

Zak,

Expect a permanent hole where your P7's used to be.


That wagon looks HAWT!!

(I still think it's cv joints or wheel bearings personally)

I'm not surprised that the shaking is still there. I had my doubts at that diagnosis.
I had 3 bent wheels on my WRX for almost 2 years before I swapped them out and with the exception of having to get the tires balanced every couple of months I never had any serious "shaking issues."

Keep the P7's anyway!!!!

So I got the car back from the shop yesterday and as some of you may already know (due to my Facebook post) the new diagnosis is warped rotors. Oh, and one of Zak wheels is also bent.

Warped rotors sounds a little more plausible, though, than bent rims. So the search is on for replacement rotors. I'm thinking of getting something other than stock replacements, but don't want to spend $texas. Ideally I'd like to be able to continue using the stock rims, though (16"), so if there's anything out there that would allow that it would be great.

Here are my questions based on two possible upgrade directions:

1) Keep using the stock rims (and spare)
* Are there any decent non-stock replacement rotors that allow use of the stock calipers and rims?

2) Upgrade to new 17" rims
* Can stock calipers be used with larger rotors or is it better to upgrade the calipers, too?

I'd like to go with option 2 but buying all this stuff all at once is daunting right now. Option 1 is more realistic ... at least for now.

--Alan

I'm not certain about this diagnosis either.
Bent rotors almost never cause vibration when the car is rolling smooth and straight.
I certainly understand the vibration when the brakes are engaged, but outside that, no.

That being said, NAPA has them for as little as $34.99
http://www.napaonline.com/masterpages/N ... SubCatId=4

drwrx wrote:I'm not certain about this diagnosis either.
Bent rotors almost never cause vibration when the car is rolling smooth and straight.
I certainly understand the vibration when the brakes are engaged, but outside that, no.

That being said, NAPA has them for as little as $34.99
http://www.napaonline.com/masterpages/N ... SubCatId=4

Agreed. Is this the same shop? Sounds about as shady as the first shop.

It is the same shop, though they did not charge for the new diagnosis. But there's been several more developments - mostly my own doing.

I wanted to take the gold wheels off so I could give them back if Zak was going to be at the meet Tuesday. Unfortunately, time ran out on one of the wheel studs - it snapped (pic below with replacement). So if the stud is snapped and I have to replace it, might as well just replace the rotors, too. So I bought some cheapo temporary rotors and got a new stud, got instructions of off ScoobyMods.com (love that site) and got to work.

Unfortunately, since I've never done either job before (replace wheel stud or replace rotors) I was bound to make some mistakes. Such as ... snapping another wheel stud. Not to worry, just went to the auto parts store and got another. Managed to finish the one wheel and moved on to the other. This one should be easy since there are no snapped wheel studs - just need to replace the rotor. Wouldn't you know it, I snapped a brake caliper bolt.

Still managed to take the rotor and caliper off, though. So now I have to get the remainder of the bolt out of the caliper. Been spraying it with PB Blaster last night. Hopefully I can get it out today and salvage this disastrous repair job.

--Alan

Oh man what a disaster. You have my sympathies brother.
I hope things go a bit smoother from here on, yikes.

Dude! That sucks! Stop snapping bolts!!!! That is an order!!!! I have my factory painted silver calipers and brake parts if the need arises.

Damn, sorry to hear about your troubles Alan! Sounds like you have it under control though. I've always found that a quick hit on the wrench is much better than a gradual push.

damn, sounds like my luck with the turbo swap.

Thanks for the sympathies. Try as I might, I could not get the broken bolt out. In amongst the frustration and 4 letter words, I was starting to dread the thought of having the get the car towed to a shop/dealer. Then I had the revelation that the support bracket for the caliper can not only come off, it can be ordered separately. What a relief! I was having visions of draining the brake fluid (which I've never done) and replacing the whole caliper (again, never done it before).

So with part in hand (see below : stuck bolt is visible on bottom, nearest the camera) I went to a nearby dealer to see if they could get it out. One look and the mechanic said they'd need to use their oxy torch - which was out of gas at the moment. So over to the parts counter I went. Got a replacement bolt, but the bracket will be in tomorrow. Oddly enough, I'm actually feeling optimistic. And relieved that I might actually be able to complete this myself.

This certainly has not been a good "project". Really, all I wanted to do was swap out wheels - and it just went downhill from there. But I've certainly learned a lot and know what NOT to do next time.

--Alan

^like the others said dahyuum. sorry for your luck bro. it can happen to a brand new car or an old one. some thing i always try and do is tighten a little then loosen. it breaks the seal/seize some times. i stripped my caliper threads doing some brake work. had to get a helicoil,drill it out, rethread it,blah,blah..
can you get to andrewtech or any tuner friendly shops?

I think it is a sign to go to a full alcon 6/4 combo! JK! That sucks But at least there is a workaround.

I always used to be a scrawny guy. Graduated high school about my current height (6') and weighed 140 lbs - almost no upper body strength. So on the one hand, there's a small satisfaction in knowing that I now have the capability to snap bolts (even though I know they're not that hard to break). But overall, I'm just happy it's coming to an end.

--Alan

VICTORY!!

The car repair gremlins tried to throw in a few last minute complications but I managed to wrestle this "project" into submission. And on top of that, the vibration is gone. Plus I finished what I originally wanted - swapped the wheels out.

Thank you everyone for your suggestions, well-wishes and sympathies. Now to save for some decent wheels/tires and good rotors for when these cheap-o's crap out.

--Alan

glad the adventure is over, and the results are good.

WRXWagon2112 wrote:Now to save for some decent wheels/tires and good rotors for when these cheap-o's crap out.

Honestly Alan, the cheapo rotors are probably as good as the stock. As long as they have similar venting, the same thickness and don't have visible cracks in them, they will likely perform as well as the stockers.

As for wheels, do a lot of on-line hunting, especially if you have decide on Rotas, as they are carried by lots of places and can be had very cheaply. Or go my route and get a used set for $400 (with tires).

Congats Alan, very happy to hear that it all finally came together for you!