New shoes and a brake job
#1
I ROCK at bumper cars!
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Location: Houma, LA & Graham, TX
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New shoes and a brake job
I wanted something bigger than the stock 15s that came on the RX. I really wanted to keep the mesh look, but couldn't find any that I liked that I could afford. So I went with 5 spokes. 17" Hot Wheels (don't know the model name offhand). They've got a nice lip. Came off a Fusion. I gave $150 for the set via CraigsList. I was worried a little bit about the offset, but they work really well. Might get 1/4" spacers for the rear sometime in the future, maybe not.
Rear tires are brand new 225/45-17 General Exclaims. I've got a set of them on my Contour SE (and they were on my Contour SVT at one point) and I really like them. I didn't really want to buy a full set of new tires, so I used a couple of Fuzions that I had sitting around. They're 205/40-17s. Put them on front. It gives a nice staggered look to the car without actually having staggered wheel sizes.
I can definitely tell the difference from the added weight of this combo over the BBS wheels. But it's next to impossible to find a 17 near that light without forking out a small fortune. However, the car still handles like a go-kart, and I can still break the rear end loose, so I'm happy with the end result.
Not knowing the history of the car (I aquired it in April), when a brake job was last done, and seeing that the calipers were a filthy faded red, I decided to do a full brake overhaul. Completely rebuilt the front and rear calipers, had the discs machined, and went with a nice eye-catching yellow instead of the done-to-death red. The brake fluid was a nice dirt-brown, but the discs and pads were in pretty good shape. The discs didn't need to have much machined off, and I replaced the pads anyway. I had much less trouble with the four-pot fronts than I did with the single-pot rears. Go figure. The disc hubs had been painted red too. After test fitting the wheels, I realized I needed to paint the hub black, since the openness of the wheel let the red show. Stuck out like a sore thumb. I really like the end result. I can't stop looking when I get out of the car and walk away.
I got lucky in a couple of ways. First, this car uses the same size tires (and plus sizes) that the Contour does. 205/60-15 stock (with a common plus 2 being 225/45-17). So I was able to reuse two tires I had laying around from my SVT. Then I found out it also uses the exact same lug nut too. So I was able to save $40 and use the tuner lugs I had on the SVT when it was sporting aftermarket wheels.
I still have the stock wheels. If I get the time, I might try my hand at wheel restoration. They're in pretty rough shape, with a couple of them with bends in the lip, and at least three with some rather sever pitting of the aluminum. It'll be a challenge.
Even though the Fuzions I put on the front only had about 5000 miles on them, I ended up having to replace them today. Turns out that redneck tire shops in small towns just can't seem to mount a 40-series tire without destroying the sidewall. Belt started separating on the driver's tire. By the time I made it to Discount Tire in Dallas today, the sidewall was severely bulging around a FULL 1/3 of the circumference! Jesus! I was scared each one of the NUMEROUS potholes in Dallas were going to give me a blowout. So now I've got 225/45 Generals on all four corners. SOOO much quieter. Fuzions are noisy as crap!
Rear tires are brand new 225/45-17 General Exclaims. I've got a set of them on my Contour SE (and they were on my Contour SVT at one point) and I really like them. I didn't really want to buy a full set of new tires, so I used a couple of Fuzions that I had sitting around. They're 205/40-17s. Put them on front. It gives a nice staggered look to the car without actually having staggered wheel sizes.
I can definitely tell the difference from the added weight of this combo over the BBS wheels. But it's next to impossible to find a 17 near that light without forking out a small fortune. However, the car still handles like a go-kart, and I can still break the rear end loose, so I'm happy with the end result.
Not knowing the history of the car (I aquired it in April), when a brake job was last done, and seeing that the calipers were a filthy faded red, I decided to do a full brake overhaul. Completely rebuilt the front and rear calipers, had the discs machined, and went with a nice eye-catching yellow instead of the done-to-death red. The brake fluid was a nice dirt-brown, but the discs and pads were in pretty good shape. The discs didn't need to have much machined off, and I replaced the pads anyway. I had much less trouble with the four-pot fronts than I did with the single-pot rears. Go figure. The disc hubs had been painted red too. After test fitting the wheels, I realized I needed to paint the hub black, since the openness of the wheel let the red show. Stuck out like a sore thumb. I really like the end result. I can't stop looking when I get out of the car and walk away.
I got lucky in a couple of ways. First, this car uses the same size tires (and plus sizes) that the Contour does. 205/60-15 stock (with a common plus 2 being 225/45-17). So I was able to reuse two tires I had laying around from my SVT. Then I found out it also uses the exact same lug nut too. So I was able to save $40 and use the tuner lugs I had on the SVT when it was sporting aftermarket wheels.
I still have the stock wheels. If I get the time, I might try my hand at wheel restoration. They're in pretty rough shape, with a couple of them with bends in the lip, and at least three with some rather sever pitting of the aluminum. It'll be a challenge.
Even though the Fuzions I put on the front only had about 5000 miles on them, I ended up having to replace them today. Turns out that redneck tire shops in small towns just can't seem to mount a 40-series tire without destroying the sidewall. Belt started separating on the driver's tire. By the time I made it to Discount Tire in Dallas today, the sidewall was severely bulging around a FULL 1/3 of the circumference! Jesus! I was scared each one of the NUMEROUS potholes in Dallas were going to give me a blowout. So now I've got 225/45 Generals on all four corners. SOOO much quieter. Fuzions are noisy as crap!
Last edited by IRingTwyce; 08-04-10 at 10:43 PM.
#3
I ROCK at bumper cars!
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Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: Houma, LA & Graham, TX
Posts: 26
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I bead blasted them to bare metal, primed them with high-temp primer, and then sprayed them with caliper paint.
When I disassembled them, I went so far as to separate the two halves on the front calipers. I masked off all the open holes and smooth surfaces that didn't need bead blasting or paint. However, I made the mistake of not replacing the sealing O-ring between the two halves when I put them back together. So now on the driver's front caliper I have a small, slow leak between the two halves whenever I hit the brakes. Stupid mistake on my part. I'm going to have to pull that caliper, replace the O-ring, and repaint it. The brake fluid has bubbled the paint all the way down the joint. Stupid stupid stupid.
Ah well. Live and learn.
When I disassembled them, I went so far as to separate the two halves on the front calipers. I masked off all the open holes and smooth surfaces that didn't need bead blasting or paint. However, I made the mistake of not replacing the sealing O-ring between the two halves when I put them back together. So now on the driver's front caliper I have a small, slow leak between the two halves whenever I hit the brakes. Stupid mistake on my part. I'm going to have to pull that caliper, replace the O-ring, and repaint it. The brake fluid has bubbled the paint all the way down the joint. Stupid stupid stupid.
Ah well. Live and learn.
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