Enkei EV5's (Hyper Black) 38mm Offset 5x100 18x7.5/Goodyear Eagle GT Tires 225/40/18

As some of you may know, I've had intentions of getting new wheels for my Scion tC and ditching the chrome wheels. Well the wheels and tires came in, so I made a trip over to my buddies house this evening to put them on. Its was already dark after I put them on, so I will update this thread hopefully tomorrow sometime when its daylight with more pictures.

Enkei EV5's (Hyper Black) 5x100 38mm off-set 18x7.5 with Goodyear Eagle GT Tires (225/40/1, nitrogen filled. I also waxed each wheel w/ Meguiar's NXT Generation Tech Wax before the installation.





I was going to go with McGard Black Tuner Lug Nuts, but I didn't see the point on spending like $200.00 for lug nuts, so the Gorilla Black Tuner Lug Nuts were ordered instead from Summit Racing and should be in by the end of the week.

Paid: $1,600 Rims/Tires/Lug Nuts/Nitrogen Filled/Mounted and Balanced.

What brake pads? That will be critical in keeping the fronts cleaned on the inside of the wheel. Looks great. It's gonna look sweet. Can you believe that is the same size tire that I have on my 8.5" wide rim?

Yup, I love em, and I had to install these tonight in the rain...BLAH! Oh well it is what it is I guess if you want to accomplish things. I had the same size tires on my chrome wheels, just a different tire. The ride home was very smooth and no vibration. The only thing that pisses me off is every time I install after market wheel, the damn TPMS light goes off and it won't stay off.

Same problem in my RS3.0. I switched the wheels for the my '05 wheels which were in storage and plenty of good rubber left. My Son trashed the Yoks when had the car. Now check this; when I dropped in my "wheels that will not be named" on my '05, I TPWS light. I pressed the button in the glove box until the light went out. It hasn't been on since. No such luck on my 2007. What is more interesting is that I had to get a patch done on my '07 with the '05 wheels/tires. I had to use the dreaded fix-a-flat so I asked the tire tech to be mindful of the sensor to make sure that it is clean. The Tech stated that there was no pressure monitor on the valve steam and preceded to show me that it was just a rubber tire valve. All four are rubber and have never been replaced that I now off. Such a mystery.

When I go to work tomorrow I will reset the TPMS in the glovebox and I will guarantee you it will come back on a day or two later. Another question, I asked my buddy to get me new cross-drilled/slotted rotors and pads for my tC, he said I don't want Ceramic pads cuz they'll chew up my rotors and I'll end up replacing rotors before I replace pads. He also said the EBC pads are a racing pad, very hard as well, so he concluded to advise me to get semi-metallic pads. Last I checked, doesn't the Scion tC's come w/ Ceramic pads from the factory? Am I confused here or being told false info?

Thank you Josh, I will try to snag a few pics while I'm at work today and upload them when I get home.

Updated: 4/20/2011

I went to work today and found a few mins on a break to snap this picture of my tC w/ my new wheels. Have a look and please feel free to comment.

Hey now, there ya go! Looking Baller with those new shoes. I thought you had lowered your car already?

Semi-metallic pads are the ones that will chew up your rotors but they perform better than the organic material that they were using at the time. We are talking about 1980's brake tech here. The OEM pad for the tC is spec'd to be low dust and it is. I do believe that is accomplished with ceramic content in the material. As for the EBC pads as race only, it depends on the model as they have several ones that differ in material composition and specs. A pad that is considered for racing is usually a pad that has to be brought up to a certain temperature range to be effective. They also create lots of dust. A street pad is one that can work cold for excellent braking but will begin to fade under continuous heavy braking. These may or may not create dust depending on the compound. The EBC Redstuff, which I have, is a low dust yet high performance pad for the street. They stay strong under repeated use but will begin to fade if used like in a road course. I have no grooves in my drilled/slotted rotors nor cracks or polished rotors but these puppies will clamp hard on those rotors for sure.

Now see that's what I was brought up to understand as well. I asked my boss at work and he told me that Ceramic Pads will chew up the rotors. It appears that many people have different opinions on what is fact and what is fiction. All that concerns me is when I ditch the OEM blanks and replace them with cross-drilled/slotted rotors that I buy the right pads, and don't chew up my rotors.

I was taught and learned at Autozone when I worked there that Ceramic Pads are a harder compound than Semi-Metallic Pads. Semi-metallic pads are softer but also contain other materials such as Copper for example.

Scott you know as well as I do, I trust your knowledge and know-how, I am just really confused now and I am getting varied opinions.

I can take a close-up pict of my rotors and judge for yourself. Yes, a performance pad is going to wear more than that of a standard OEM pad. Anything that makes a pad hold better is creating more friction which entails more wear. Look at F1 race cars with their CF rotors. Those things glow red hot. With that said, the wear on my Rotor Pros slotted/drilled is minimal and acceptable after about 3 years and and over to 20K miles; first with the OEM pads then about 10K miles with the EBC Redstuff pads. I drive aggressively and clamp those binders hard quite a bit. Not racing but I just love to come up to a stop light doing 45MPH and stop at the last second. No screeching brakes or anti-lock pulsating. The car just stops. It does so hard that when the car's weight shifts backwards (to come to rest) the car will roll backwards if I left off the brake at the right time. Scares the begeebees out of people.

EBC's website has alot of information under their automotive section that you should read up on. Use the blue bar "automotive" drop down list.
Brake Pads and Brake Rotors for Cars

There is this bit of info regarding rotor wear but it is not material specific.

I knew what I was told and learned was right. So go ahead w/ ceramic pads?

It sounds like more of an opinion of others as far as what pads they prefer. I want to get either EBC Dimpled and Slotted Rotors, Stop Tech D/S or PowerSlot D/S.

Let me ask you this question then, true or false stainless steel braided brake lines are not worth the money? I was told that since my Scion tC is a daily driver and is exposed to all 4 seasons, the lines will rust regardless if they are OEM or SS.

True braided SS lines will not rust. What you see on the market for imports are SS (supposedly) braided with an embedded urethane or silicon outer jacket that is supposed to keep the lines looking good warding off brake dust, mud, and grime that would, otherwise, get lodged into the braiding. I believe there are a couple that are really braided nylon and jacketed. These are not as tough as the braided SS. Either design, the key is the Teflon inner core that actually holds up to the fluid and pressure. Goodridge are considered the best in the market with StopTech being the 2nd choice. The StopTechs are how 99% of the other brands are built, though, their quality is no where's as good.

Yes, go with the ceramics. I do believe that the OEM has a ceramic mix in them for the low dust benefit. I am not recommending the Bluestuff NDX pads but found this info on that page that you might find interesting.

I would suggest the Redstuff pads and you have your choice of two different styles of EBC rotors. As a show car, you will appreciate this about the Redstuff pads.

Thank you so much Zwolf! Very soon the suspension will be lowered on Eibach ProKit Lowering Springs and new Tokico Struts.

The struts are part of the Scion tC's suspension, which helps to absorb bumps in workings w/ the springs and also keeps the wheels/tires planted to the pavement for grip/cornering/steering.

Here is where I bought my Lip Kit from: Racing Solution - Parts for your Scion tC, Scion xB, Toyota Corolla, Nissan Sentra, Hyundai Genesis, Chevy Cobalt