Well, my rather basic 96 SL2 came from the Springhill factory wearing the Firestone Affinity 185/65/15 tires mounted on steel rims with beautifully styled hubcaps. This just had to change, however I didn’t have the money for the 17-inch rims I wanted, so I did the next best thing. I cruised the junkyards in the area looking for Saturn alloys. Well I found what I was looking for, 94 SC2 teardrop style rims, the nicest looking factory alloys in my opinion. I also needed new tires at the time, so I just had them mounted on those rims. Don’t remember what type of tire they were, but I know they sucked and I flat spotted one of them trying desperately to avoid an accident with a jack-knifing 18 wheeler. I succeeded in avoiding the accident, so the cost of new rubber was worth it!!

This time I went with BF Goodrich Comp T/A’s, 195/60/15. I wanted tires that would be good in all weather conditions and be able to handle autocross and track events. Well, my local garage recommended these to me, and so far, I have been happy. I haven’t had the chance to run them in the snow, but they are decent in the rain, and equally good on autocross courses. Good enough to lead me to a couple of second place finishes!!!

I then decided that depending on one set of tires to do everything, was also equally compromising everything. So, I decided to break down and get that set of 17-inch rims that I wanted. I ordered a set of TSW SGV’s wrapped with Nitto 450, 215/40/17 tires from Discount Tire Direct. I plan on using these rims and tires for all of my street driving in the spring, summer and fall, while saving the Comp T/A’s for winter and autocross.