The New Project Rally Car: Upgrading Wheels and Tires

We're excited to share our new project with you, a rally car built on a beautiful BMW E36. We've been modifying it into a DIY rally car, and today we're going to upgrade our wheels and tires.

As you may know, we just bought this bone stock, and we wanted to make some changes to hopefully improve its performance in the dirt and make it look cooler at the same time. I'm Zach, and this is Money Pit. Let's get started!

Huge thanks to eBay Motors for sponsoring today's video. We're grateful for their support because they offer a vehicle protection program on purchase cars that are less than 10 years old. This program guarantees the car you bought is the exact one you're getting.

One of the many ways eBay is doing this is by offering Fitment matching, which helps you find the exact part you need, and having licensed trained inspectors validate the seller's description. With features like this, you can shop with confidence online.

Now, let's get back to shoveling money into this pit! When we took this thing to the desert, these were the wheels and tires we were driving on. They did pretty well, giving me a decent amount of grip, but I do think we can do better than these tires.

Today, we're actually going to take a look at three different tires because I couldn't make up my mind. Then, we'll go back to the desert and see if they actually are any better. I'm excited to see how they perform!

Hey, I just wanted to keep this quick so you can get back to the video, but there's only a couple of days left to get the launch edition of our brand new collectible Stocky. Stocky is a first-of-its-kind designer collectible that's the ultimate gift for a car nerd and an officially licensed Acura product.

We're launching this in a bunch of sick different color waves, including Phoenix Yellow, Primer Gray, glow-in-the-dark translucent. Just like everything in Donut, we wouldn't be here without you. We're so stoked to share this with you. Click the link in the description; there's only a couple more days left in the campaign.

Now, let's talk about why I bought more than one set of tires. Firstly, there are specific rally tires built for doing rally stuff in the gravel. They're hard to find and super expensive. If you do get a set, well, if you go to a rally race, they may put you in a rally tire-only class, which means you'd be up against only the hardest of heart.

That's not really what I'm looking for. I also want to be a little bit budget-friendly about this. Without going with a rally tire, what do you do? Well, there are a few answers and no general consensus. Some people say any old tire, some people say truck tire, some people say snow tire.

So, I bought all three. Let's take a look at them! Firstly, I've got a truck tire, and I put it on the Stock Fifteens. This is gonna be our most budget setup, even though this is actually the most expensive tire I bought. These tires were about $143 bucks a piece for a total of $575 for the set.

They have a really nice deep luggy tread pattern. They're pretty stiff, and I think they're going to bite the dirt pretty well. Alright, let's look at option number two.

Firstly, we talk about the wheel. These are other BMW Stock wheels. These are style Sixteens, they're a 16 inch. In the dirt, we're not really looking for a super wide wheel and tire setup, and I am also concerned with making things too heavy.

So, I'm sticking with small wheels, 16 inches. This is our second option, but we'll take a closer look at it later in the video.

WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: en- This is our new project rally car.And this is the wheel andtire setup that came on it.Very basic.As you may or may not know,we just bought this bonestock, beautiful BMW E36,and we've been modifying itinto our own DIY rally car.So we're gonna be doinga bunch of rally inspiredmodifications to this carto hopefully make itbetter at rally stuff.And along the way, we'll bedetermining whether or notthe modifications have been worthall of our time and our money.So, today's the daythat we're gonna upgradeour wheels and tires.Not only to hopefully be alittle bit better in the dirt,but hopefully it'll looka little cooler too.I'm Zach, and this is Money Pit.Let's do some wheel and tire stuff.(upbeat music)Huge thanks to eBay Motorsfor sponsoring today's video.Now, listen,eBay isn't invested inpurchasing cars like a dealer.Instead they're invested in making salesthat are honest and trustworthy.One of the many ways they're doing thatis by offering a vehicleprotection programon purchase cars that areless than 10 years old.Think of it like eBay protectionthat guarantees the car you boughtis the exact one that you're getting.And with features like eBay's Fitmentmatching you with the exact part you needto having the ability to send outlicensed trained inspectorsto validate the seller's description.eBay puts the trust in shopping online.Shop with confidence todayby going to the link inthe description below.Now, let's get back toshoveling money into this pit.So, when we took this thing to the desert,these are the wheels andtires that we were driving on.And to be perfectly honest,they did pretty well.I mean, they gave me adecent amount of grip,it didn't feel like Iwas completely on ice.But I do think that wecan certainly do betterthan these tires.So, today we're actually gonna take a lookat three different tires,because I couldn't make up my dang mind.And then we're gonna go back to the desertand see if they actually are any better.(car engine roaring)And I think they will be.- Hey, I'm gonna keep this quickso you can get back to the video,but there's only a couple days leftto get the launch editionof our brand new collectible Stocky.Stocky is a first of itskind designer collectible.The ultimate gift for a car nerdand an officially licensed Acura product.We're launching thisin a bunch of sick different color waves.Phoenix Yellow, Primer Gray,glow in the dark, translucent.Just like everything in Donut,we wouldn't be here without you.We're so stoked to share this with you.Click the link in the description,there's only a couple moredays left in the campaign.Now enjoy your car video.- Let's talk about the reasonI bought more than one set of tires.So first off, of course thereare specific rally tiresbuilt for doing rally stuff in the gravel.They are hard to find,they're super expensive.And if you do get a set, well,if you go to a rally race,they may put you in arally tire-only class,which means that you'd be up againstonly the hardest of heart.And that's not reallywhat I'm looking for.And I also wanna be a littlebit budgety about this.So, without going with arally tire, what do you do?Well, there was a few answersand no general consensus.Some people say any old tire,some people say truck tire,some people say snow tire.So I bought all three.Let's take a look at them.Firstly, I've got a truck tire.And I put it on the Stock fifteens.So this is gonna be our most budget setup,even though this is actuallythe most expensive tire I bought.These tires were about $143 bucks a piecefor a total of $575 for the set,but they've got a really nice,deep, luggy tread pattern.They're pretty stiff,and I think they're gonnabite the dirt pretty well.All right, let's lookat option number two.(upbeat music)First, we talk about the wheel.These are other BMW Stock wheels.These are style sixteens,they're a 16 inch.So in the dirt, we're not really lookingfor a super wide wheel and tire setup,and I am also concerned withmaking things too heavy.So I'm sticking with small wheels,16" is as big as we're going.And I think that thiswill work out pretty well.These are a little bit stronger of offsetand I think they look cool.It's just that standardfive spoke pattern.So now let's talk about the tire.This is our snow tire option.I went with Continentals Viking Contact 7.And these are only $115 bucks a pieceand they kind of look like a rally tire.And I do think that that tread patternwould be really good in the dirt.The only problem thatI see with snow tires,especially out here wherewe are in Californiawhere it's hot,is that snow tires aremade for cold weatherand they're kind of soft.So I have a feelingthat these might be a little bit too soft,and I'm worried thatthey're gonna get chewed upreally fast.All right, now for door number three.(upbeat music)Man, I've been prowlingeBay just looking at wheelsand just kind of buyingstuff that I really like.And I really liked these.This is an old set of Ronal R9 Pentasand they're white and they're five spokeand they're from the late '80sand I think they look sweet.They're also a fairly strongfitment in terms of offset.So, fitment's gonna be a little bit tight,but I think that should look good.They're eight inches wide.So a little bit wider,but still not too wide.So I think this wheel is hopefullymy favorite wheel out of the bunch.Now, let's look at the tire I went with.So this is our any old tire.This is just a Yokohama AVID Ascendand I picked it just basedon the tread pattern.So, Yokohama makes or did makespecific gravel rally tires,and they are pretty sick.Super expensive thesedays, but interestingly,the tread pattern on them insome sort of cousin type of wayreminds me of this tread pattern.Just in terms ofthe two kind of skinnierblocky patterns here,and then these thicker,meatier ones on the outside.So, I'm hoping that theseare gonna do pretty goodand last a really long time.And at $108 a piece, they'rethe cheapest tires here.So I'm interested to see how these tiresstack up against the trucktire and the snow tire.But I think in terms of looks,they're gonna stack up just fine.So, I think we're gonna test fitall these three different wheeland tire combos on the carand take a look at themand dial in our coil overfitment from last week,make sure that we've got clearance.And then we'll go back tothe desert and test them.Alrighty, now with that out of the way,we can put on a new setup, just kidding.We're gonna do something first.So, European cars,a lot of them have lug bolts like these,and they're kind of annoying.So we're gonna ditch theseand replace them with studslike a normal car.So we're gonna put adab of Loctite on there,and then we're gonna torque them down.These just screw into the threaded hub.So, I'm gonna go around andinstall these real quickand that'll make swappingwheels and tires a lot easier,especially when I'm in the desert,swapping out all these wheelsand tires to test them.Now that we've got studs,we can use lug nuts.And again, I couldn't really decide,we're having a big debateand I really don't knowwhich side I land on.Do we go with the standard, black?Definitely safe.You know, nobody's gonnamake fun of me there,or, do I take a little riskand go with the Neo Chrome?Tough call.Now, I think that the only wheelsthat can pull off the NeoChrome are the Ronals.So we're gonna go with black for now,maybe we'll pull these out at the end.All right, the firsttire we're gonna put onare Cooper Discover,this is kind of like a reallysmall, light truck tire.Kind of like an all-terrain task.About the closest you canfind in this size of a tire.Now that is a way easierway to put a wheel on.(drill wheezing)First glance, I mean thesize looks pretty good.A little beefy, a little meaty.But I think it's gonnaclear all the stuff.Let's put it on the ground,see how she settles.Okay, okay, we've gotabout what I expected here.The fitment looks aboutthe same as before,because it is, it's the same wheels.The offset is the same,the width is the same.We've just got a slightlytaller tire on it now.But, I don't wanna take this for granted,I'm still gonna get in the car,I wanna cycle the wheel all the way left,all the way right,and make sure I clear everything in herewith my steer wheels.Okay, let's see what we've got.Oh, plenty of room.Now we'll check the other direction.Plenty of room up front,plenty of room out back,plenty of room to travel upwards.I think the fitment of these tireson obviously our stock wheels is great.I think this might be my horse in the racein terms of budget and performance.I think these tires arepossibly gonna be the best ones.Now, let's move on tothe second set of wheels.(gentle music)I don't know.Oh, shoot, it's my lucky day.These wheels didn't come with center capsbut the stock ones from the fifteens fit.They're absolutely roached,but better than nothing.(drill wheezing)I kind of like that.Let's put it on the groundand see how they look down there.Woo baby.That fitment is pretty good.That fitment is so good,I'm almost concerned forthe fitment on the Ronals.'Cause this is a nicelittle poke, tiny poke.I mean, just past flush.But like kind of justhow you want it to look.The tread's still inside of the fender,so we're not gonna sling much.But the Ronals stick outfurther than these, I believe.So that may mean thatthey're gonna force us to usefender flares or at least roller fenders.Woo, baby.We've got contact.Yep, that's just fender liner.This is plastic, so I will probably,I don't wanna cut a hole in it necessarilyif I don't have to.I might have to, but if I can,I'll just hit that with aheat gun and dent it in,because it seems like it can be dented inand it's barely touching the tire.Let's check the other direction.Beautiful.No problems with the left-hand turn.So the only clearance issuewe have with this setupis a little bit back there.I'm gonna mark that with asharpie so I can't forget itand then we'll move onto set number three.(gentle music)Now, time for the piece ofthe resistance, the Ronals.I think these are gonna lookgood, I hope they look good.I hope they fit-ish, kinda.These are by far are gonna bethe most aggressive fitment.Okay.Let's see what we've got.(gentle music)I mean, these are about the same fitmentas the other BMW wheels.Maybe a touch more aggressivein the front, but not bad.And I must say I do likethat white five spoke, wow.Wow.These just might work.Let's turn the wheel.Wow.Same kind of areas we weretouching with the BMW wheeland I guess it's probablyabout as bad of a contact.But I think we're getting away with it.Let's turn the wheel the other way.I think these are gonna be just fine,I was expecting these tobe a little bit tougher,but they're not, they're great.I just got to trim a little bitor massage the fender liners a little bitand then I think we're good.Maybe also a slightrolling of the fenders,you know, just to be safe.But I think thesepuppies are ready to rip.So, now that we've talkedabout our tire optionsand looked at them on the car,there's really only one thing left to doand that's to get our assesback out in the desert.(upbeat music)And we're back in thedesert to do some testing.And we're gonna be testingmore than one thing at once today,'cause well, let's face it,we've done a handful of things to the carsince we were last in the desert.We went from an automaticto a manual transmission.We did some coil overs,but ultimately we're heretoday to test out some tires.We've got three differentwheel and tire setups.Get outta here.(insect buzzing)We've got three differentwheel and tire setups.You son of a (beep).I think there's a family of fliesliving in my hair at this point.So we've got three differentwheel and tire setupsthat we're gonna be testing.First, we're gonna tryour 40 to zero stop times.Then our zero to 60 foot go times.And then we're gonna do three lapsof our little made uptrack on each set of tires,to find out which one ofthese tires is the bestat doing dirt stuff.So the first set's already on the car.Let's do a little 40 to zero.(upbeat music)- All right, Adam, let's seehow I did on the breaking.Give me some data.Thank you, sir.Okay, 40 miles an hourto zero miles an hour.First time out we had 105 feet.Woo, okay, all right.Oh wow, interesting, interesting.So the Yokohamas were the best at 87 feet.The Coopers came insecond place at 97 feetand the Continentals third place,a distant third place to that.I'm a little surprised, I guess.I guess those Yokos arebetter than expected.All right, now let's gosee how this thing doesin terms of acceleration,zero to 60 foot times.(upbeat music)(car engine roaring)Okay, mow let's find out how I didin terms of acceleration,some zero to 60 foot data.Adam, thank you, sir.Oh, what the hell?The Yokohama wins again.Second place goes to the snow tireand third place to the truck tire.Jesus, I'm getting destroyed.I'm pretty impressed with Yokohama though.Just a regular street tire.Actually, you know what?Okay, before we go any further,now I don't wanna back pedal too hard.I know I said that my dog inthis race was the truck tires,but they were the most expensive tire,so I would be thrilled if the best tireturned out to be the cheapest,which I think was the Yokohama.It was at least significantlycheaper than the truck tire.That makes this cheaperand I'm all for it.So now that we've got this data,let's find out the real important stuff.Let's do a few laps.We're gonna do threelaps a piece on each tireand however well I driveis the laps that we get.We're only doing threelaps per tire setup,and then we'll find out whichtire sets the best time.It's kind of starting to seemlike it might be the Yokohama.(upbeat music)No traction off the the line,to be expected.Ah, yes.Ooh, this looks like it's inway worse shape than before.Oh yeah.Oh yeah, that's better.Where's my e-brake, damn.Way harder to get to the e-brakein this driving position,which is not good.Yeah, e-brake uses, much harder.You got to go looking for it early.Ooh, basic (indistinct) stop there.There's no smell out here.(indistinct)Okay, it's time for themost important data of all,the lap times, Adam.All right.Wow.Wow.Wow.Okay, well, first off, the news is good,we did shave a lot ofseconds off our time.I think we were doing a 1:34 last timeand our slowest time was a 1:27.9.Now these are all averagesfor the different tires,but the slowest tires,the Yokohama, (laughs)but the fastest tire isthe snow tire, good Lord.Then the middle tire is the truck tire.Now honestly, none of thisis really what I expected,but they're all within acouple seconds of each other.And the truth is I madea bunch of mistakes.But here's somethingthat I've been wondering.Let's take a look and seehow well these tires held up,because I've been destroying themamongst a lot of rocks today.So I have to imagine thesepuppies are pretty chewed upand that comes into play.Snow tire might be the fastest tire,but if it's completelydestroyed after just three laps,well, what good is it?So let's take a look.I've got three of the reartires here, one of each,and let's see who's fared the best.First off, look at the Yokohama.I mean, it's chewed up,it's not quite as fresh as it once was.These are all brand new tires today,but it doesn't look terrible,that definitely has plenty more lapsin it before it's useless.Then we've got the Cooperhere, the truck tire.This definitely fared the bestin terms of how well itheld up to the abuse.There's a lot of life left in this.This tread is really deep as well,so you can chunk it for awhile before it's useless.So these, I think probablyare the toughest tireswe tested today.Now we've got the snow tire.Which looks like it basically is melted.Doesn't look great.I mean, there's still some tread there,but the sites have beencompletely torn apart.I mean, this tire is,is definitely beat upand would probably be uselessfar before those ones were.So that's something to takeinto consideration too.And now granted, this is a look atusing these kinds of tires in the desert.It's a hundred degrees out here today.If you're on mud or hell even snow,snow tire's probably the way to go.But really I would sayat the end of the day,what I think is, it doesn'treally matter too much.Run whatever tire yougot, whatever you can get,whatever is cheap, just getout and do some driving.And that's where you'llreally pick up the most timeon a lap.So I'm pretty happy withhow all these tires did.And I think the most important thingis to get out here and destroy something.What do you think about that?Seat time, who'd have thought.So with that said,I think this has been asuccessful day in the desert.I hope you guys had funwatching us tear up some tiresand make a bunch of clouds of dust.If you did go follow meon Instagram @zachjobeand follow Donut @donutmedia.And I'll see you guys next Wednesday.- Tell them to hit the like button.- Oh yeah, hit the like button,smash that like buttonand we'll see you next Wednesday.