2G GSX Wheels Soft?

[DanaT]

Hi all,

I am getting my GSX ready to ship overseas. I just bought the car and in the process of bringing everything up to par.

I can see that one of the rear wheels is bent and I feel some vibrations between 70 and 85. Above 85 it seems to go away. I took the car to have the wheels balanced on the machine that simulates road load. The tech said that both rear whelels are bent and the wheels are "balanced as good as possible with a bent wheel".

I tried calling around town today looking for two new wheels. They essentially told me good luck they bend easy and are hard to find because of that.

Are the 2G wheels really this soft? The 3G wheels look the same but are much more durable from what I understand? WHere would I find two similar 3G wheels?

I guess my other option is to replace the wheels with something like Borbet wheels (I have to have a TUV approved wheel) but this option is much more expensive (4 wheels and probably new tires). If I go this option, 17x7 or 17x8? I wouldn't mind 235 tires on the car.

BTW, the imballance bothers me as on the autobahn and high speeds, imbalanced wheels are dangerous.

TIA
-Dana

 

[shredwin]

I like the 2G GSX wheels alot, Im actually looking for a set of those.. I believe Enkie makes the replica of the 2G GSX wheels

 

[kahl23]

I would just go aftermarket. Without going ridiculously expensive you can definitely find a set of wheels that are stronger and lighter than the stockers.

 

[Dsmj89]

The 2g and 3g wheels are made i believe of the same alloy material. I would just find a set of used 2g gst wheels if possible or a complete set of 3g wheels similar to the 2gb gsx wheels. If you decide to go with aftermarket wheels 17x8 would look nice and a 235 tire would fit no problem. Matter of fact i am running right now on 17x8 wheels with a 235-45-17 tire and i dont rub. Your call. Hope this helps.

 

[DanaT]

Aftermarket is just more of a hassle. The authorities dont really like to allow them unless there is a special rider on the vehice allowing them (from what I can tell is that this is just a special payment to the government and a shop to say they are safe and TUV approved).

Hard part is I can run on US plates for one year (dont have to meet Euro specs) but then in one year have to meet Euro specs. So putting them on before the government inspection may be difficult.

-Dana

 

[webconnect]

Aftermarket is just more of a hassle. The authorities dont really like to allow them unless there is a special rider on the vehice allowing them (from what I can tell is that this is just a special payment to the government and a shop to say they are safe and TUV approved).

Hard part is I can run on US plates for one year (dont have to meet Euro specs) but then in one year have to meet Euro specs. So putting them on before the government inspection may be difficult.

-Dana

God I love America

 

[synthetek]

Are the 2G wheels really this soft? The 3G wheels look the same but are much more durable from what I understand?

The 2g GSX wheels are known to bend/break pretty easily, there was website a while back for a class action lawsuit it covers the 97-02. The 2g ones were 2 piece and the 3g ones are one piece bu the lawsuit claims they are all bad? I got rid of them as soon as I got my GSX and used my GS-T wheels for a while until I got some EVO VIIIs.

"CLASS ACTION ALLEGES RIMS ARE DEFECTIVE UNDER NORMAL DRIVING CONDITIONS
This class action suit alleged that the wheel rims on the Mitsubishi Eclipse, model years 1997 through 2002, are defective in that they bend and dent under normal driving conditions. The suit alleged that Mitsubishi knew of the defective nature of the rims, but concealed this information from consumers. The lawsuit was brought on behalf of a national class of consumers who purchased or leased a 1997-2002 model year Mitsubishi Eclipse with 17 inch allow rims. "

 

[DanaT]

Well, it seems the lawsuit was settled pending that the wheels were replaced within the 3 year warranty period. People were given $205 per wheel to replace them.

Funny the attornies got paid but most people with the issue get nothin. The lawsuit took years therefor replacing them within 3 year of in service date is not very likely.

-Dana

I like the 5 spoke wheel (above) but in silver. The problem is that the wheels are 16". The vehicle states (And very easy to find) that the car uses 17" inch tires (and size). ANy deviation means I would have to go through a painful process. What this means is that if I will go through the pain, why not just go with a nice set of aftermarket wheels?

-Dana

 

[synthetek]

The EVO VIII wheels are 17" and fit/look stock?

 

[98GSXtreme07]

^^ Correct. The 2g wheels, in my opinion, are really nice but just not durable. I know the 2 rear wheels right now are bent. One is noticeably bad and the rear vibrates ever so much that I notice. Not noticeable to other drivers but only because I drive it everyday and notice every creak and nudge the car makes.

 

[RedTurboEclipse]

Another one here with 97-99 GSX wheels, they are indeed nice. The 2gb style was really nicely designed. Too bad the GSX wheels bend so easily. Mine are all bent up.

 

[robbo185]

I bought 2g gsx rims for my 1g and its an awesome look. They are soft however, living in Illinois with the winters we have snow plows leave nice pot holes. I have hit two already and my nice rims are now junk.

 

[knochgoon24]

I have a dented front rim from a pot hole. It holds air, but it's noticeably dented. It's also one of the Talon swirlies. I don't know if a cheaper metal was used or what, but it wasn't even that hard of a hit.

 

[c5chris]

I still got my 2Gb GSX wheels in the garage, for use in emergency.

I always thought that they were unattractive. They are heavy and they do bend easily. I bent one on a pothole but got it repaired since. I would shop for aftermarket in a heartbeat.

I did not know that Euro rules are so strict about cars.

 

[housegsx]

I did not know that Euro rules are so strict about cars.

Switzerland pretty much hates cars. That's what I took away from watching Top Gear anyways.

 

[DanaT]

Yes, the government hates them. The people love them.

CH has this great way of perfecly timing every stop light....you hit every light red no matter what. If driving is too inconvient, then people will use public transportation. Good theory; bad practically.

People love cars, even non car people, all over the world.

-Dana

 

[420agstuner]

I work for a Oem wheel remanufacturing company called Transwheel corporation. I believe the website is Transwheel.com. I know for a fact that we have these oem gsx wheels in stock because I identify wheels all day long I know what goes into inventory.

 

[NeMiZiS]

I like the 2G GSX wheels alot, Im actually looking for a set of those.. I believe Enkie makes the replica of the 2G GSX wheels

This is news to me, do you have a picture or a link of these Enkie 2g GSX rims?.

 

[gsx951]

Try a set of EVO wheels or get a dead blow hammer. The factory Eclipse wheels are butter soft and you can bash many of the dents out with a dead blow.

You must be logged in to view this image or video.

You must be logged in to view this image or video.

 

[TSIMonsteR]

eBay Motors: 17" Mitsubishi Eclipse GSX GT GS GST Wheels Rims NEW (item 190275931062 end time Jan-02-09 14:56:33 PST)

 

[DanaT]

Thanks for the ebay link. I had already seen those but they are "replica" wheels. That means they will not be labeled with a mitsu label and therefore they are not approved. Easier to get Borbets approved then some off brand.

I found a set of 17" 2000 6 spoke wheel locally at a good price. They are ugly but they would probably work OK for what I need. Anyone have experience with 2K wheels?

Thanks
-Dana

 

[TSIMonsteR]

You could use the center caps from the OEM wheels. There would be NO way to tell the difference, at all, period.

 

[shredwin]

This is news to me, do you have a picture or a link of these Enkie 2g GSX rims?.

It was to me too, I was just throwing that in because some guy on DSMsource.com was selling a set of Enkie wheels, it also had Enkie center caps

 

[Defiant]

As he said, he can't get aftermarket wheels past inspection in Europe.