Exel Wheels
Just a quick note to say that I had the opportunity to meet and try out the services offered by Chris W. I needed four new tyres rather urgently anyhow, but it was made even more so due to the fact that the car was already booked for an MOT at Tognola, which I knew it would probably fail due to the tyres.
No problem for Chris! I dropped the car at Tog first thing Wednesday morning and jumped on the train back to work (got a penalty notice, bloody Southwest trains inspector :x ). Chris turned up and whipped off my 17" Cup 2s with worn Pirellis and fitted a loan set of Turbo Hollow Spokes, with Pirellis on the front and Falkens on the rear, to use for a few days whilst he ordered in my new Contis
I picked up the car and on the drive home (only a few miles) immediately noticed that there was LESS road noise compared to the smaller 17 PZeros. I was surprised especially seeing as the 18s are lower profile and MUCH wider compared to the 17s. I wonder if this is simply down to the change in brand on the rear?
One other thing I noticed is that for normal everyday driving there is hardly any difference between 17s and 18s. There was a moderate increase in harshness, but only over really bad roads (that's the majority of them, then).
After having the opportunity to experience 18s I would now not be put off considering a set of Sport Classic IIs in the future :thumb:
Also, not having my car end up in a hedge after running non 'N' rated tyres for a few days has made my mind up that when the temperature drops I'll be investing in a set of non-N winter tyres.
So, to top it off, fantastic service from Chris. He's very passionate about his job and is a true perfectionist. He inspected my wheels that were reconditioned about a year ago by a local outfit. Their slogan is something like 'passion for perfection'. At the time I was fairly happy as the wheels were quite bad before having them done. Even a rattle can would have been better than not having them done! When I got the wheels back I inspected them closely and noticed that there was quite a bit of orange peel and varying texture. I thought I was being too fussy as "they're only wheels" and forgot about it. However, Chris showed me a wheel that he'd done and the difference was noticeable. Chris's finish looks perfectly smooth just like the paintjob on the bodywork. There is a uniform finish and looks just right.
I won't bother until my wheels start to degrade (or I kerb them with my non-N winter tyres :grin: ), but when time comes I'll definitely be using Chris for a refurb.
I also got him to supply a new set of black wheel nuts as mine were looking shabby and one of them started to SHRED when it was removed!
As for the switch from Pirellis to Continentals, I will post back once I've had a few thousand miles on them or a wet outing!
Stu