Auteur: Jamie

Low-profile tires are one of the most common parts of a sports car. When someone starts with tuning process, bigger rims and tires with a lower profile are usually the first purchase. These parts are a great way to improve the visual appeal of your car. You can also count on much better performances. On the other side, driving on these tires also has several disadvantages. How does it look from an average driver’s perspective?

What Are Low-Profile Tires and What Are the Advantages?

Low-profile tires are used for sports and racing cars. The difference between “ordinary” tires is very easy to notice. These ones are characterized by a smaller sidewall. Basically, you can count on a much smaller aspect ratio, when we look at the relation between tire height and width. Compared to tires with common dimensions, advantages are numerous.

These tires are characterized by a small sidewall. The first and most notable advantage for an average driver is car’s visual appeal. These tires are followed by rims with a bigger diameter, which provides far more attractive look. Along with bigger rims, you can count on bigger brakes as well. In practice, this means better stopping as well. However, the biggest advantages are better road traction and grip. This is crucial for cornering and handling. Also, consider that these tires are stiffer, which provides much better cornering response. A larger and broader contact with the road is another great benefit of these tires.

What Are the Disadvantages of Low-Profile Tires?

The improvement of cornering, handling and overall performances is obvious, but how about disadvantages of low-profile tires. First of all, we should mention that these tires are usually far more expensive. Also, don’t count a long-term use. In terms of practicality, disadvantages are obvious. First of all, your ride won’t be comfortable at all since you will probably feel every single bump on the road. This could also have a very negative effect on your dashboard and other interior surfaces since the chance to make them cracked, loosed or out of position is much bigger. Larger bumps will probably damage your aluminium rims, which means extra expenses for rim repair or replacement. Finally, you can count on much more noise with these tires, which can be very disturbing.

Low-profile tires will undoubtedly improve handling and cornering, but average drivers could get into the trouble easily. An ordinary driver usually doesn’t know the limits of his car and these tires are characterized by an instant loss of grip once push the car too much.

The final conclusion would be that low-profile tires are not so good investment from a perspective of an average driver. You could add one or two inches in diameter but never go for something more extreme. Standard tires will make your everyday ride far more comfortable. These tires are softer, shock-absorbable in most cases and also quieter. Finally, count on much cheaper price and superb durability.

For a full decade, Honda S2000 was one of the lightest sports cars on the market. Originally launched in 1999, this roadster was designed as a direct competitor of the legendary Mazda Miata. For all these years, the company managed to sell more than 110.000 units, which are quite respectable numbers. Thanks to a relatively low purchase price, this small roadster has become very popular among car enthusiasts. There is a large number of these cars on sale in these days.

Considering the model’s price, most of the stance projects of these cars would require some more affordable components. This particular model relies on AP Suspension, an affordable but reputable manufacturer. This company has a special program for Japanese sports cars, so it wasn’t hard to find the perfect fit for this amazing roadster. The choice was on AP Adjustable Coilovers, one of the company’s most popular products, characterized by an excellent balance between price and quality.

AP Suspension offers a lot of products for Japanese cars and these coilovers are among the popular ones. These coilovers allow plenty of adjustments. A lowering range goes around 60 millimetres. More precisely said, you can lower your car from 30 to 90 millimetres. The damping level has been increased by 30%, so we can say that this product balances very well between comfort and performances. Also, consider that springs, shock absorbers, dust guard and bump stop and other parts are made of hi-quality materials. After all, there is a 2-year warranty. With the new suspension, this roadster now features much better driving characteristics. Thanks to its light body, cornering is almost effortless. Braking and acceleration have been improved as well.

This stance project has also included new wheels. Stock 17-inch wheels have been replaced by new OZ X-Line X5B wheels, with 19 inches in diameter. There is also a new bodywork, which includes custom bumpers and rear diffuser, as well as aftermarket spoiler.

Under the hood, few modifications have been made as well. A stock model comes with a 2.2-liter gasoline engine which delivers around 237 horsepower. With a few novelties like air filter and exhaust system, the power is now close to 250 horses. According to the owner, this isn’t the end of the process. Further modifications will include some more serious changes to the engine, which would eventually bring a significant power increase. Also, few interior changes are possible, including new trim, steering wheels and similar details.

Young timers like this one are probably the best choice for stance projects. Besides iconic Japanese sports cars from the 90’s, there are few European players in the game as well. One of them is first-generation Audi RS4. This model is based on the original B5 A4, which was in production between 1995 and 2001. It is a hi-performance version which comes with a powerful 2.7-liter six-cylinder unit under the hood. With a great help of twin turbochargers, this engine goes all away up to 380 horsepower, which was a jaw-dropping number back in the 90’s. Moreover, this amount of power is respectable even nowadays. On the other side, this car needs a technological upgrade in terms of suspension, which will provide better cornering and overall performances. Things are becoming even better if we consider that there are only 6030 units of this performance version.

New suspension and wheels are essentials of every stance project. Lowering brings plenty of benefits. Getting closer to the ground makes the car far better in cornering, as well as in braking and acceleration. Also, there is a great visual improvement. With the lower ground clearance, you can count on a more attractive look. Along with the larger wheels that will fill the empty space of fender wells, new suspension is critical if you want to make any car more attractive.

For this project, KW Suspension seems like a natural choice. This manufacturer offers a wide range of products designed for vehicles from VW Group. This Audi RS4 gets KW Variant 3 coilovers. It is one of the most popular KW products, which offers an excellent balance between comfort and performances. Definitely, the right way to turn this station wagon into a real racing car. These coilovers offer company’s famous rebound&compression damping adjustable damper technology, as well as inox-line stainless technology.

Another important part of this stance project – wheels. Fortunately, this model features plenty of space in the fender wheels, so dimensions like 20×9 inches are no problem at all. In this case, the choice was on attractive ADV1 RS-Quattro wheels with 20 inches in diameter.

Also, the owner installed a new exhaust system and did few minor modifications on the engine, which provided additional 15 horses.

That’s all when it comes to modifications of this hi-performance station wagon, though it doesn’t mean that we won’t see more of it in the future. The exterior has remained unchanged so far, as well as the cabin, which comes completely black, with elegant leather upholstery.

Japanese sports cars have always been known for amazing driving dynamics. Perfect handling is one of the key reasons why there are so many car enthusiasts that prefer sports cars from the land of the rising sun. Among numerous Japanese car brands, Subaru always had a special place in our hearts. Although styling philosophy of these cars have always been rather conventional, things with the ride quality were always on a completely opposite side. Impreza and other models were always characterized by amazing handling, thanks to advanced 4×4 systems. Along with powerful and eargasmic boxer engines, this has always been the company’s strongest point. The freshest model from this manufacturer is called BRZ.

Subaru BRZ originally came in 2012 and it is still in production. The same car uses some other names as well, such as Toyota GT86 or Scion FR-S. However, the essence is same. Amazing handling and powerful engine make these cars perfect small coupes. Believe it or not, there is a way to make them even better.

That way is, of course, to purchase Eibach suspension. Although stock components are pretty amazing, coilovers from the famous German manufacturer will make Subaru BRZ even more capable in corners.

For this occasion, Eibach engineers developed three products that could be installed in this sports car. One of them is the famous Pro-Street-S kit. This is the most basic way for lowering your BRZ. This product includes hi-quality stainless steel-bodied coilover spring/damper package, which will surely provide effortless cornering. These coilovers feature adjustability of 2 inches, with rust-free stainless steel technology and easy adjustment. Finally, there’s a 1-year warranty.

Another possibility is to go for the popular Multi-Pro-R1 kit. Once again, there is a version of this kit designed especially for Subaru BRZ and its derivates. It features company’s recognizable monotube technology, which provides real track-like performances. This kit is completely made in the U.S. and includes a 1-year warranty.

The Multi-Pro-R2 kit would be the ultimate choice. Thanks to an easy installation process, you will need just a couple of hours to turn this Subaru BRZ into a real racing car. The kit comes with the famous monotube technology. You can count on a 2-inch range of adjustability, including fine adjustment. The product is 100% designed and produced in the U.S. and comes with a 1-year warranty.