I'm getting a set of white 97 SS wheels for my car. The guy selling them said they were an SLP option in 97, and they come with BFG g-Force T/A R1 tires (never used).

Now a few questions:

1. Can I drive with these tires on the street?? I was under the impression that you cannot and the tread on these things won't last long. If I can drive with them on the street, can I just swap my wheels that I have on now or do I need to get them rebalanced, etc (see question #2).

2. If I replace the R1 tires with something else (i.e. I'm thinking about BFGoodrich g-Force T/A KD 275/40ZR tires or Goodyear Eagle F1 275/40/ZR17 tires), do I need to get them mounted and rebalanced at the same time?? In other words, can I take the tires/wheels and get them balanced and then put them on myself (the reasoning behind this is I do not want to risk my car on a lift that will likely result in bent fenders). In addition to this, is each tire that is balanced specific to where it goes on the car??

3. What about alignment?? Does the car need to be realigned?? Anything else I should "watch out" for??

4. Any suggestions on where to take the tires to get them balanced (i.e. Goodyear, etc) as I'm from the Toronto area or can a dealer do it??

Sorry for all the questions and please forgive my ignorance, but I know nothing about wheel mounting/balancing and car alignment.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

1) As long they're DOT approved, you can use them on the street. I don't know how well they wear, but if you're paying for them anyway, you may as well use/abuse them .

2) If (when) you replace the R1's, you don't need to take the car in to have the tires mounted...they balance the wheel and tire when the wheel is off the car. I can't blame you for not wanting them to jack up your car and I plan on never taking my car to the tire place...just the wheels. But don't bother with F1's as a replacement. If the BFG KD's are too expensive, go with the KDW's...I've heard they're a much better tire than the F1.

3) You shouldn't need to have an alignment done.

4) Sorry, I can't recommend a place. Heck, I've yet to find a place around here where I'll take mine when the time comes.

Enjoy!!!

[ 21 June 2002: Message edited by: OBSSD ]

I don't see why you can't use the tires that are on the wheels, they may wear quickly, but you may as well get some use out of them before they harden up and aren't much good for anything, including track use.

You shouldn't have to get an alignment if you're just changing wheels & tires that are the same size as what you took off.

If you do mount other tires on those rims, make sure the tire shop is extremely careful. It's very easy to mess them up. I believe there's a special adapter or something on the tire machine that needs to be used to protect the rim.

Those more knowledgable on what it's called will chime in, I'm sure.