1st Generation Specific (1979-1985) 1979-1985 Discussion including performance modifications and technical support sections

225/50-15s with no flares?

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Old Mar 21, 2009 | 08:41 PM
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225/50-15s with no flares?

Title basically states all.

I've been wondering if I could mount some 225/50-15s on 15x8's all around without having to use flares. I plan on running rims with 4" backspacing, I don't have anything against rolling my fenders, I'd just prefer to not have to cut into my sheet metal as the ZG flares would require.

Any help would be appreciated guys, I've done a bit of searching but I cannot seem to find anything that helps me out.

Oh, I'll be running the re-speed coil over kit.

-Dan
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Old Mar 22, 2009 | 12:41 AM
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4.5" is better to tuck them in more ... atleast for the front. And like this they'll only stick out about 1/2-3/4" out of the fender. As for the rear, you can get rims that are about 5.8" or so backspacing and should tuck the wheels in the fenders
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Old Mar 22, 2009 | 01:14 AM
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The thing is I'm trying to keep a wider stance, hence the 4" backspacing.

I was concerned with the rubber rubbing against the bottoms of the factory fender lip.

I just think a car with a wider stance is much more tough looking than a car with its rubber tucked up into the wheel wells. :P
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Old Mar 22, 2009 | 01:45 AM
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it will all depend on your springs ... i'm hoping that my 15x8 will be fine with my eibach springs
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Old Mar 22, 2009 | 03:28 AM
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hard to say. i have a 15x7 with 225/45-15 and its already close. i think an 8 will need a flare or a really wide fender pull. if you pull it off id like to see it.
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Old Mar 22, 2009 | 04:40 AM
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I run 205/50 x 15 front and 225/50 x 15 rear tires on a set of BBS alloys from a 1990 convertible. I used a 1.25 inch spacer in the front, no spacer in the rear. My measurements showed the 225s would not fit in the front. A wider wheel would only make the clearance worse.

I am using stock struts and stock spring height (not lowered).
Attached Thumbnails 225/50-15s with no flares?-img_1880-large-.jpg  
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Old Mar 22, 2009 | 11:22 AM
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Answer is no if you lower the car and probably still no on sagging stock springs.
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Old Mar 22, 2009 | 11:32 AM
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yup, 225 is too much for the front. max should be 205 IMHO
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Old Mar 22, 2009 | 12:33 PM
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I'll be doing 225 .. wether you guys like it or not it'll stick out the fenders but meh, more g forces for the track. I hate how the front end keeps on pushing on me.
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Old Mar 23, 2009 | 06:52 PM
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What series?

What series gen 1 are you running?
SA, FB, or GSL-SE?
Do you know the offset on the wheels?
I plan to run 225/50-15 Kumho 710's on my 1979 SA with Konig 7x15 wheels at 20mm offset.
I would really like to see how your setup turns out before I order the tires.
I already have the wheels. send pictures if possible.
wecycle@charter.net
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Old Mar 24, 2009 | 10:23 AM
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Mojave-

I am very happy with my setup (13x8 with 215/50 tires). They do stick out a bit, but the car looks pretty bad *** and I get a lot of compliments on it. I think the 4" of backspace is just fine, certainly no clearance issues. The 215s look very happy on the 8" wheels, and the 225s will give you just a tiny bit of sidewall bulge (probably) but should look/work great. I run 225's on my race wheels, which are the same dimensions as my new street wheels, without any issues at all.

As far as fender rubbing, well you'll have coilovers so just set the height accordingly and you'll be good to go. If that's not low enough for you, then you can always roll the fender.

Good luck, and let me know if you have any questions.

btw, what spring rates and shocks are you going with?



.
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Old Mar 24, 2009 | 11:23 AM
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Thanks guys!

I was pretty impressed with stilettoman's picture of the vert wheels he has mounted on his car, actually talking to a guy from craigslist about a set... So plans have changed a little bit. I'll probably still end up getting a setup similar to what I mentioned earlier for autocross.

Again, I appreciate all the help, this is a great place.

Kentetsu, I planned on going with 350 front 150 rear.

Wecycle, it's a FB
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Old Mar 24, 2009 | 11:43 AM
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I'd run those spring rates by Billy before you settle on them. It sounds like you want to do at least some autocrossing, and those rates will produce some pretty severe understeer. I run 275/150 and the car is very well balanced. That 350 spring rate might make the car a bit unbearable to drive on less than perfect roads as well.

With 275/150 spring rates and the proper swaybar setup, you can have a very capable autocrosser and still drive it to work everyday. The latest video on my youtube page (see link in signature line) was put together to demonstrate exactly this point, so take a gander at it if you haven't yet.


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Old Mar 24, 2009 | 12:26 PM
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I have 205 all around, but once and used 16x8 with 225 in the rear and they only fitted ... in the rear.
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Old Mar 25, 2009 | 11:48 AM
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Thing is Kentetsu, I'm going to have a little bit of extra weight up front. It's a piston car, remember? I was under the impression that I would need a bit of extra "oomph" up front to deal with the little bit of extra weight.
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Old Mar 25, 2009 | 12:55 PM
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Ahh, I was not aware of this... Do you know the actual difference in weight? I would still run the numbers by Billy before you make the actual purchase. He has a vast amount of experience, and his knowledge is there for the tapping. Can't hurt to ask, right?
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Old Mar 25, 2009 | 01:14 PM
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Ok, I've posted this on a lot of different threads but heres one more. I'm running some TMC 125lb 1.25 inch drop spring in the rear with a set of rota rb's that were 8 inch wide with 225/50r15. The fronts were also rota rbs that were 7 inch wide with 205/50r15 and thats as much you wanna try putting under the front..... trust me! The rear of the car looks very cool with 225's under the back end and at the right angle they're just inside the fender. All I had to do was slightly roll the rear fenders with a baseball bat. If you wanna know the backspacing and all just look up the 4x110 rota rbs they sell on ebay.
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Old Mar 25, 2009 | 06:46 PM
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From: Gotham City
I'd imagine that the 5.0 fully dressed is around 400-450lbs, I don't have AC or any of the smog equipment so it's probably on the lighter end of that spectrum.

I think I will shoot Billy a PM though!

Thanks risingsunroof82, I guess I just didn't search hard enough :P
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Old Mar 26, 2009 | 03:26 AM
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No prob!
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Old Mar 26, 2009 | 08:01 AM
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Look up project S2000 Fighter in a thread search. He is running 15X8 with 225 Nitto NT01s. I am planning to run the same setup on my SE.
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Old Mar 26, 2009 | 11:44 AM
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i have 225/50/15 on the back of my FB and 205/5015 on the front with koni red struts and RB springs. occasionally they scrape on the fender (only when hit a huge dip in the road) but not a big deal and has never really chunked out the tire. on the track never had any rubbing problems no matter how hard i pushed the car.

apparently the only good pic i have of the back of my car is pre body work.....




Last edited by 2cute; Mar 26, 2009 at 11:47 AM.
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