The first thing that a serious driver should purchase for their new car is a set of performance tires. Tires are the single component of the car that actually comes in contact with the pavement. Every part of the car's performance is directly proportional to the amount of rubber that the driver and suspension can keep in contact with the road. Fast tires will make you faster, period. I chose the best of the tire wear/ high grip compromise (higher grip tires are softer, so they wear much faster) in the fantastic Falken Azenis RT-215 intermediate compound. Offering wide tread blocks and a fast warm up to operating temperature, the Azenis RT-215 is great for the daily driven car that sees occasional track use. Truly a "Race there, drive home" tire. Just be afraid of wet days! Boost at the top of 4th gear will spin the tires on the highway in the rain! I chose the size 205-50-15 because I wanted a small diameter tire for less weight and ease of breakaway (for mid corner throttle correction aka: "Oversteer") while offering immense grip when asked for with a driving line suited for speed. An added benefit is the strong sidewall that the engineers at Falken built into the tire; combined with a small sidewall ratio, there is minimal deflection of the tread even at moderate to high speed corner entry. Truly a great tire! As soon as these are burnt through (5k miles and still strong) I will be picking up a set of the R-Compound Falken Azenis Sport RT-615.

 

 

The wheels were actually found with some luck and patience. eBay baby! I had seen these extremely-over-top-rare Manaray VS12 sized 15x6.5 -22mm offset, for "Buy It Now" $800!! Luck shined and no one bought them. Over the next few months, the seller kept relisting them for less and less each time. Finally, I happened to be scrounging eBay for parts when I came across the wheels for $300. Bling.