So today was a nice enough day out so I figured I'd get some things done outside. One of those things was removing my chrome rims and cleaning them up for storage over the winter. I was waiting on a shipment from TireRack.com to show up so I could have my snow tires mounted and balanced on my set of 'honeycomb' winter rims. After I got the bonnie up on jack stands, removed all 4 rims, and cleaned them up nice I just walked around and had a look at all of the bushings, brake pads, rotors, struts, springs, etc.

When I came to the front bumper to inspect around the radiator and lights, I noticed something that I find pretty disturbing... It is F'n easy to pop the hoods on these cars! Don't know how easy it is on an SE, but on the SLE & SSEi'* (with clip in grill meshes), it is about a 15 second ordeal. I'm not going to go into details, but you guys with SLE'* and SSEi'* go have a look at it. It is really quite simple. So if you ever brake your hood release cable, you'll atleast be able to get under your hood quickly and without complication.

The crappy part about the day was that I had to leave my winter set of rims and the brand new tires at the local tire shop (best tire shop in the area) overnight. All because the damn UPS guy didn't get here until 4pm today to deliver my new Dunlop Winter Sport M3'*. Tomorrow is supposed to be a mix of rain and sleet. Atleast I got the summer rims off and cleaned while it was nice outside. I would have been really screwed if I had of waited to do all of that at once. It just sucks that my bonnie has to be up on jackstands overnight without her shoes on... lol...

I just love those wheels. I was gonna buy them for my Bonneville but with winter setting on I'll just wait for spring.

Well, at least you took the wheels off your car and not someone else. I had my stock wheels stolen off my 1997 grand am back in 02. Ever since I'm real paranoid about having my car parked outside the garage.

Funny you should mention that. Right now it looks exactly like someone just came and stole my rims. Only instead of sitting on concrete blocks, it'* up on jackstands. Still looks mighty funny though.

They didn't even leave mine on blocks. Right on the ground.

Damn, that was cold. Did you have lock-nuts?

wsport m3s are phenominal tires. you'll love them!!

Ok thought I'd give you a run down on how my WinterSport M3s are actually doing...

These things are GREAT. I can't get over the confidence I have in driving in crappy conditions. I'm not stupid about it, but if quick manuevering is necessary, these tires will not disappoint. I have already driven in 6+ inches of snow/slush on the roads and these things handled it almost as good as my '97 Ram 4x4, but with much better comfort. In lane change situations, no problem. The tires with their directional tread have no pull what so ever on slushy roads... The car goes wherever the wheels are pointed and I mean wherever! When I tried to get the car out of shape, ofcourse I could, but I was amazed at how fast I could recover from just about anything I threw at them.

As an added bonus, I feel these tires are better in the wet and dry than my RSA'* are and the RSA'* have about 65% tread remaining.

These tires are great and I would recommend them to anyone!

Better then an RSA? Hardly an accomplishment j/k

Hmm dunlop, the dunlops that came OE on my mom'* 01 camry were wretched lil Bastards. After 30k they were smoked. Mom spun around turning left from a stop. Glad to hear they rock. I could sure use some winter rubber.

For a winter tire to be better than an all season in the wet and dry, thats an accomplishment. I had a set of Dunlop SP Sport 5000 Sym on my old car ('94 Intrepid ES) and they were a great tire. Very sticky and handled everything well. The only problem was that they were shot in about 35k miles. At the time that I bought them though, they were only $83 each for an Ultra High Performance All Season. I sold that car with snows on it and those snow tires made the car feel like it was riding on jelly! Very bad sidewall stability, but that'* what I get for going cheap. I wasn't allowed that option for those17" alloys that I chose for my winter rims.