I've been told if you put rear tire sized tires all around you get a better ride. Maybe this has been discussed previously, but is there anything to this idea?
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Everyone should who doesn't want to VOID warranty on Smart should Go with tires from Smart like 6 spoke Design 3 alloys with 175 at front and 195 in the back. You can wait for BRABUS wheels, they should be available first two month in 2009
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What tire changes would void the warranty? Any?
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Smart Dealer told me the after maker rims might void the certain warranty pertaining to the car. Check with you local smart dealer. The original wheels were tested for crush rating and they suppose to collapse or disintegrate during collision, and absorb the impact force from traveling. My 6 spoke smart wheels are maid from stronger alloy and they might cram up my ass in case of the collision. The 6 spoke wheels were distributed originally with brabus wheels to almost each dealer. Bus after DOT and safety testing SmartUSA recalled and asked dealers to ship the wheels back. When I showed my wheels at smart center Manhattan they said “Oh, I remember these, we had to sent them back.”
So once again Check with the local guys. But I do have to tell you wheels alone might not do the trick of improvement of the handling of car, I know it wasn’t a case for me. I will definitely help to improve ride of you smart, but in order to take advantage of wider and heavier wheel you need to upgrade you suspension. When you buy Brabus wheels the brabus suspension is a prerequisite. Local dealer might not tell you that, since simply they don’t know. But if you ask any smart center outside of USA they will confirm to that.
Hey John you are about 56 miles away from my place(Brooklyn, NY 11235). Lets meet over the weekend or during the week, you can test ride my smart with Brabus Suspension and 6 spoke wide wheels on it. We can meet somewhere at Westchester if my place is to far away. Let me know. Dan
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i don't think a couple of pounds will make a difference, i drove a metro with 15x7" wheels and 195/50-15 tires on stock suspension for 6 years, the stock wheels were 13x4.5 with 155/80-13 tires, that's a HUGE weight difference.
the tires will fail first in any crash anyways. i just drove home at midnight during the massive snowstorm in the chicago area a few hours ago, i would have liked beefier tires all around, especially when slowing and cornering, but nobody passed me in the 12+ mile drive home.
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smart can not -with a straight face-tell you only stock rims will work for you in a crash AND sell the Brabus with the rims it has on it.
Since 1974 we in America have been free of such total BS.
Please read this LAW---- smart and some of you on this board.
1.The Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act (15 U.S.C. 2302(C))
This federal law regulates warranties for the protection of consumers. The essence of the law concerning aftermarket auto parts is that a vehicle manufacturer may not condition a written or implied warranty on the consumers using parts or services which are identified by brand, trade, or corporate name (such as the vehicle maker's brand) unless the parts or service are provided free of charge. The law means that the use of an aftermarket part alone is not cause for denying the warranty. However, the law's protection does not extend to aftermarket parts in situations where such parts actually caused the damage being claimed under the warranty. Further, consumers are advised to be aware of any specific terms or conditions stated in the warranty which may result in its being voided. The law states in relevant part:
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lets put a sticky on your response Tim, I'd like the dealer to see it and shut the heck up about their stupid whine "that would void the warranty" WHAT warranty, the pitiful 20,000 miles! thats a year and a half for most of us! I have a better warranty on my TV... 2 YEARS unlimited milage.... LOL.
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Permalink Reply by Carlos -
In Europe we have 2 years unlimited mileage, but that's mandatory by Europe law. But when smart started in Europa, in 1998, they had max 40.000km.
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Hi Sato-----Please check out the SEMA page of info.
http://www.sema.org/main/semaorghome.aspx?ID=50096
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or you can use your scan gauge and a GPS, i used to play around with the tirerack web calculator before swapping out my metro wheels/tires. i find a GPS most accurate, the stock smart speedo is 1-2% "high".
the last few weeks, the tirerack has been discounting their smart wheels to below $100 for 15" and 16" sizes.
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This is a comparison of 155 Stock 9 Spoke wheels and 175 6 Spoke Pulse wheels in the front.
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