TireSmoke.org

According to Summit those wheels are not up to the task. Will have to keep looking.

After some searching last night I found these rims: http://www.tirerack.com/wheels/WheelClo ... sort=Brand

American Racing applies some standards for quality to their rims so I believe they will be up to the task. Their website is pretty crappy though as I could not search by rim width. Tire Rack website much better.

I could not locate 18x8.5 wheels. They may be out there but I cannot find them.

The wheels are $165 each plus shipping and whatever else they tack on. That seems reasonable to me.

I also started looking at tires. Turns out 8-9.5" rim is acceptable rim size for the 255/45/R18 Potenza RE 760 Sport I am considering buying. The reviews on this tire are mixed, however they are no more mixed than the reviews on the Firehawk GT which I currently run, so I think I am going to get them. Looks like they will run about $140 a piece with my discount at the Firestone store. http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp ... &tab=Specs

I was thinking about the 255/40/R18 but they will not work on the 18x8 rims.
I was also thinking a little about something more performance oriented (treadwear that starts with a 1) just not sure about that yet.

Have not pulled the trigger yet as I am going to let this idea gel for a while longer before laying out the $

The RE 760s are summer tires. I want to drive the car when there is no salt but cold weather. I also want backup transportation in the winter. This means I'll need another set of tires. I'm leaning toward all season like the new Firehawk Wide Oval AS.

I ended up with the Wide Oval A/S on the car. Still planning to get another set of tires and rims just have to get comfortable with outlaying the cash. Here are the old GTs well worn. They made like 33k which is amazing considering what I put them through.



And for fun, here is my official mascot for this car. This little toy was in the right rear fender well in the trunk.

So after getting like no attention all summer the Impala decided to start giving me a check engine light. As part of the adventure the light would go off occasionally. I checked the codes and found it was P0121 which said throttle/pedal position sensor. After doing some searching online I could not find a replacement TPS anywhere. So yesterday I decided to look at it - when it became obvious that a drive by wire car does not have a TPS. It uses the pedal position sensor to decide how much input you give, and because it electronically opens the throttle it already knows the position. So I went for the pedal position sensor. Turns out it;s like $110 and you can get it at Advance. The sensor is integrated with the pedal so you have to replace the whole assembly. I also learned that sometimes the problem is just a bad connection and you have to reseat the plug. I scoffed at this but then I went under there and tried it. You could actually move the plug around while it was still plugged in - not a very good system. I drove it a bunch yesterday and after the first 15 minutes the light went out and stayed out. We'll see if it can stay together until echeck.

Go e-check it now. I always e-check my truck several months early. You'll be good to go.

-BP

Well the code came back the next day. There is no good info on this problem on the internet. There are no technical service bulletins related to this code. I looked at the mass airflow sensor and it looks quite clean.

The car has displacement on demand which means it will go to 4 cylinder mode when cruising. Over the last couple months there have been a couple times when the car would not go to 4 cyl mode. I also noticed a couple times when the car would not idle all the way down when letting off the gas. I still need to look at the connections and check the wires. After that I am going to order the throttle pedal/pedal position sensor

Yesterday I reseated the pedal position sensor connection and the throttle body connection. It made no difference.

BP says I should replace the throttle body. When I went to Autozone one of their employees said he had a similar problem on a VW and the dealer said replace the throttle body. This sent me back looking and I found this video on youtube regarding a V6 Impala: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IagzHYB3GHo

Clearly this problem happens on Impalas but I would guess if it is the PPS then why would I not get P2138?

In the meantime the check engine light went out when I was taking Rachel to a school play. I kept it running and went straight to an e-check station. For OBD-II cars many have self service kiosks. So I kept it running and followed the steps to scan the bar code and then plug in the computer to get the readout. It passed.

So the pressure is off but the light came back on so I still need to solve it.

The next step is to price a replacement throttle body

So now is your chance to upgrade the throttle body. I bet if you search, there's an aftermarket, larger replacement that's not much more than stock. And I think you know a guy with a tuner that could adjust for it if it was necessary...

-BP

Here's a stock replacement in the meantime:

http://www.autopartswarehouse.com/shop_ ... mpala.html

I've bought from these guys before. Real easy to deal with. Prices are usually really good.

-BP

The throttle body on my Vette is a factory one from an Escalade that Hutter's
had laying around the shop from somebody who did an upgrade. I'm sure that
you can buy a stock upgrade for not too much money. There were also plenty
of guys who would port and polish one for not too much money on the internet.
I would read up on the benefits of upgrading before I bought an upgrade though.
As I recall, unless the motor was cammed or upgraded with better heads, there
was no significant benefit to sizing up the throttle body..

GM

Wheels and tires are on my mind again.

Thinking about these wheels: http://www.tirerack.com/wheels/WheelClo ... sort=Brand

Or these plan B: http://www.summitracing.com/parts/are-8 ... /overview/

Or these for plan C also - no chrome and over 2 lbs lighter but not as sure about the manufacturer: http://www.tirerack.com/wheels/WheelClo ... sort=Price

I've been reading up on wheels for a potential purchase for the Saab.
Many guys on the forums autocross and complain that they get wheel
breakage with certain aftermarket wheels. I'm not so concerned with it
with my little hot rod, that will never see the track, but you may want
to look into the potentials of breakage as your car is heavier and way
more powerful than mine is. I do like the smaller spoke look those wheels
have!

GM

I like the shiny ones.

-BP

I contacted American Racing and lo and behold their wheels are not designed for racing.

So far I see Advanti, Enkei and O.Z as possible suppliers of real racing wheels. The O.Z. wheels are like $329 a piece. The Advanti wheels are $174 a piece and are in the lead right now. I called them and they confirmed the wheels can handle track day.

http://www.tirerack.com/wheels/WheelClo ... howRear=no