Apex VS-5 (Not VS-5RS) Owners?

[naitsirhc]

I called them this afternoon, no dice on the pre-sale discount. I'll have to take my chances on the sale if I don't get them now.

I had DWS06's on my last car and liked them. It was a Mazda sedan so not apples to apples in terms of performance, etc. I know a few other people that run them on performance cars (M4 & RS6) that have good things to say.

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[optronix]

I recommend calling up Apex. They're great to work with and might be willing to give you a pre-sale discount .

18s all the way for me. The flexibility in choice and lower tire cost is too great to ignore the advantages of. If you decide you hate the dws (not saying you will, but I've known quite a few people that fall out of love with them within 10-15k mi), 18s offer flexibility and performance tire options galore.

@optronix is another great person to ask since he's running 19s and loves the look but has also considered 18s from what I recall.

I love the look of the 19" VS-5RS, but it is true I've been eyeing a move to 18s. For me though it's pretty much exclusively just to run the tires I want. This past year I got a little more serious about autocross, and went from my usual annual outing frequency of 3-5 events to 8-10, and I only see that escalating. Not only are there virtually no options for winter tires, there are very limited options for 200TW tires too. That may change if I can confirm Bridgestone will be offering the upgraded version of the RE-71RS in 265 or 275/30/19, but after seeing too many pictures of 18" CE28s on our cars I feel strongly compelled to go that direction- and the CE28 is only available in 18s so that's almost surely what I'd do- but that said I haven't locked in on it yet. Even selling off my Apex's, $5k for wheels is a lot of scratch and I have other priorities at the moment.

I'm particular with how 18s look on this car so I personally wouldn't do VS-5/RSs in 18s but @Zygrene has VS-5RS 18s on his DE5 and I think it does look great. I just REALLY like the CE28s.

I have the DWS06+ on my car right now, and I think they're a great compromise. I'm in Maryland, and you really do need at least an all season in this climate from November to March, especially if you have a daily commute. They're great for that, but especially after this year having ridden with 200TW for the past couple months, they feel squishy as hell. I still just do not understand how people can buy these cars and then put all seasons on year round. I know it's a dramatic take but it kind of ruins the car for me. It's fine for me to deal with in the winter because winter sucks anyway and we all just have to get through it, but on a car like this they really do defeat the purpose so having a seasonal tire setup is mandatory in my mind. But as I mentioned earlier, I have a different use case than many and my car sees what I'd call moderate track use, and feels like it goes into hibernation in winter.

 

[naitsirhc]

Thanks for the feedback, I appreciate that as well. We do certainly have different purposes for the car at this time.

I'll have to call them back with more questions. It looks like they raised the price of the wheels $6 since yesterday. They were $464 and now they're $470. Maybe raising the price in preparation for the sale

 

[optronix]

Just throwing it out there, but I might be looking to move a set of satin bronze 19x9.5 +45 VS-5RS very soon.

 

[Pied]

Just throwing it out there, but I might be looking to move a set of satin bronze 19x9.5 +45 VS-5RS very soon.

Planning to ship or local pickup only?

 

[optronix]

Planning to ship or local pickup only?

For now local pickup only but once things are finalized on my end I might be willing to ship. There's also an issue with one of the tires being delaminated I'd like to work out... and also the possibility I keep them because I do still like them and would like an alternative to 200TW when I'm not actively doing motorsports things.

Still very much formative thoughts at this point... but TBH if someone local said they'd give me $3k for them as they sit I don't think I'd pass.

 

[Victorofhavoc]

For now local pickup only but once things are finalized on my end I might be willing to ship. There's also an issue with one of the tires being delaminated I'd like to work out... and also the possibility I keep them because I do still like them and would like an alternative to 200TW when I'm not actively doing motorsports things.

Still very much formative thoughts at this point... but TBH if someone local said they'd give me $3k for them as they sit I don't think I'd pass.

Or, and hear me out here, you just throw some caution to the wind and run them dedicated with a 265/35 a7. Or better yet, spend a little time convincing a 295/30 to fit .

Somebody needs to... Before I try .

 

[ABPDE5]

Or, and hear me out here, you just throw some caution to the wind and run them dedicated with a 265/35 a7. Or better yet, spend a little time convincing a 295/30 to fit .

Somebody needs to... Before I try .

https://www.civicxi.com/forum/threads/295-35-18-tires-fit.51593/

Paired with a set of Apex's 18x10.5 et47 would be nice... but, I'm with @optronix, I can't quite embrace the 18" VS5s on this car. Split spoke 18s just look a little too small relative to the body for me. I wish Apex would bring that spec to their 10 spoke design (SM10, etc.). I did message them and they said they're planning on expanding offerings next year but wouldn't explicitly confirm that was one of them.

 

[Victorofhavoc]

https://www.civicxi.com/forum/threads/295-35-18-tires-fit.51593/

Paired with a set of Apex's 18x10.5 et47 would be nice... but, I'm with @optronix, I can't quite embrace the 18" VS5s on this car. Split spoke 18s just look a little too small relative to the body for me. I wish Apex would bring that spec to their 10 spoke design (SM10, etc.). I did message them and they said they're planning on expanding offerings next year but wouldn't explicitly confirm that was one of them.

That's an re71rs though and they tend to run narrow for that category iirc. An a7 would be a different ball game. I have some 295/30/19 R7 sitting around, so I might throw those on the stock wheels to see if they can actually fit with a pinch fit. That sidewall is so stiff anyway that it can perform decently, even with a pinch fit. A nice 10.5 would be ideal though, but I'm curious.

 

[optronix]

You guys are crazy, I still feel like 10.5 is extreme and I have the weird "steering groan" thing that appears to be prevalent on this platform, have confirmed it gets worse with wider/stickier tires and I personally don't quite have the appetite to push boundaries on a car I am expected to drive as transportation.

That said I have my eye on a set of 18x10 +40 CE28N-Plus right now. They won't make it on the car until March at the earliest but I can stare at them in the garage!

I'll probably stick with 275, that seems to be the move with 10 inch wheels. But jury's still out if I try to bump up to 285.

 

[Victorofhavoc]

You guys are crazy, I still feel like 10.5 is extreme and I have the weird "steering groan" thing that appears to be prevalent on this platform, have confirmed it gets worse with wider/stickier tires and I personally don't quite have the appetite to push boundaries on a car I am expected to drive as transportation.

That said I have my eye on a set of 18x10 +40 CE28N-Plus right now. They won't make it on the car until March at the earliest but I can stare at them in the garage!

I'll probably stick with 275, that seems to be the move with 10 inch wheels. But jury's still out if I try to bump up to 285.

To try and keep the power modifier for TT4 classification I'm trying to stay under "282mm" measured and supposedly a few 285 fit that category. Might be fun to throw a 285/30/18 on since options are abundant in that "BMW sizing" and would be a very snug 282mm fit.

 

[naitsirhc]

Wheels arrived. I'll put up pictures later. These lugs should work right?

https://www.gorilla-auto.com/gorill...K_f54gTVPmL9SIbnvchoy4duU4TxIiAkuNBWclzLJKY4#

 

[Victorofhavoc]

Wheels arrived. I'll put up pictures later. These lugs should work right?

https://www.gorilla-auto.com/gorill...K_f54gTVPmL9SIbnvchoy4duU4TxIiAkuNBWclzLJKY4#

As long as it's a 60 degree conical I believe so. They say conical and size is correct so most likely should since 60 degree is the most common.

 

[naitsirhc]

I thought I'd have an easier time finding lug nuts and overlooked that part. I'm trying to find ones that will work that could be here in the next few days. Something in a store would be ideal but it doesn't look like there's much to pick from in stores around here.

 

[naitsirhc]

I did a test fit with one wheel. The wheel fits and clears the calipers easily. I'd say it's similar to OEM wheel clearance. The stock center caps almost fit, if you shaved down the clips you could make it work. I just had them sit in place to get an idea. Stock lugs finger tight to keep it from slipping.

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