August was a tough month. Hot days, long waits in the airports, home remodeling and a powerboat race topped off the last week with 4 days with 2 energy filled grandsons. It never stopped and in between, I found another Civic Si searching dealer inventories at 4:30 am one day; my next car purchase. Yes, another Civic Si only this time in Aegean Blue from Ralph Honda in Rochester, NY. I'll take delivery sometime in the next 3 months if Honda's supply chain gets refilled. I was planning on getting the new Civic Type R until my dealer that had me 1st in line said they were charging $10K over MSRP. That killed the deal. Maybe next year. In the meantime my Type R lite (Civic Si) will do just fine as it is an amazing car for the money. I still prefer driving my new Elantra N though!
With all that activity, I got to drive my new Hyundai Elantra N from Crown Hyundai in St. Petersburg, FL about 400 miles. I did find time to stripe the new N and install new tires and wheels and will report my findings below.
First, here's a few pictures from the APBA Powerboat race in Owensboro, KY where I helped in the pits during the weekend. It was a beautiful weekend with sunny skies and temps in the 90's. Friend Jim Aid won all four of his heat races taking the championship trophy for 2.5 liter modified. Not bad for the first time out this year and with a newly rebuilt motor that had not seen water before we arrived on Friday, August 19th. In fact the first time in the water was the first heat on Saturday. Here's a few shots of the action:
APBA Powerboat races at Owensboro, KY August 19-21
And here's a view from the Pits:
All boats have to be 'lifted' into the water.
A beautiful motor- tuned perfectly!
A few minutes to watch the other boats race.
Jim Aid, receiving winners's flag and trophy.
So after a quick flight back , I have had a few days to drive the new 'N' car and watch the boys.
Digging for treasure!
And finally, here's the new 'N' car with new Enkei TFR wheels and Continental Extreme Contact DWS 06 Plus tires. See performance summary below:
Here's the new tire and wheel set up. 18 X 8.5, / + 45mm Enkei TFR rims and 18 X 245mm 40 R Continental tires as mentioned above. The result is a slightly softer ride due to the 40 R vs 35R sidewalls on the original 19 inch tires. Pay atention to tire pressure- my tires came installed with about 3 lbs more than recommended and by adjusting down those few pounds of pressure made a huge difference in the ride. Note that the original Michelins were also overinflated about the same amount from the factory and I deflated them as well to spec and achieved a much better ride. My guess is that the ambient temperature where they were installed in both cases was less than our scortching 90-95 degrees here in Florida.
How do the Conti's Perform?
I highly recommend these tires. And I like the 18 inch vs the 19 inch set up for daily driving. Before everyone goes crazy, yes the Michelins are better performing. The turn in and handling is more crisp due to the softer compound and the skinnier sidewalls, but unless you are tracking the car or driving like a maniac on the street, the Conti's are the right blend of performance and comfort. I can also attest to their ability to handle rain and even light snow as I had a set on my Civic Si last winter. And since I will be driving up to New York on occasion, the Conti's just work better for me overall.
As for the wheels, I love the clean look. The factory wheels are just too busy for me, although they are unique. Bonus! The wheel and tire combination in just shy of 10 pounds per corner lighter, saving almost 40 pounds of unsprung weight. That's a huge performance benefit!
Last comments- I did my usual 'custom' vinyl treatment I do on all my cars- Here you can see what I came up with. The best thing is it can all be changed if I get tired of it and the cost for the vinyl was less than 30 bucks. What do you think?
Stay tuned for more mods on the Elantra and the upcoming Civic Si.
For more see @wownowpics.
Brought to you by Paul Ziegler, Publisher carcamerastory.com
and author of "Echoes From The Glen"
