Dead horse beating: GSL-SE Wheel Fitment
04-04-17, 12:31 PM
#26
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Just giving some of you well-intended but inexperienced Gen-2 enthusiasts more ammo to flame me. Have at it.
P.S. the front tire sticking out of wheel well is absolutely nasty. Who can argue with that?
04-05-17, 09:16 PM
#27
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I think that's debatable. All modern examples from those brands would be more GT cars than sports cars. Of course there is no real universal definition of sports car, but just stating my opinion. I'd also bet the massive rear wheels on Porsche 911s are to make up for the poor weight distribution?
04-06-17, 07:25 PM
#29
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I totally agree, Ray G. These are 32 to 38 yr. old 'classic' cars and deserve to wear 'shoes' that they were born with. If you do not like your OEM (SE) wheels - then either sell your car or purchase something else - like a Porsche, Ferrari or Lambo. Molesting fender-wells or suspension on a Gen-One car would be like pulling your Pit-Bull's teeth out and replacing with implants or dentures.
My 'one-owner' SE is 33 years old and proudly wears its' trademark (pizza-cutter) aluminum wheels, as date-coded for 1984. As some of you already know, my biggest concern is lack of 205-60-14" tires in the marketplace (except for Chinese). I just returned from 1300 mile trip to to Washington State where we went as far south as Eatonville (yes, planned visit to Atkins Rotary Specialties - - atkinsrotary.com - - and I sincerely thank them for parts, hospitality, tour and info), - - as far west as Ocean Shores and east to Wenatchee. My ODO now up to 81,150km. (50,500 miles) - and car never skipped a beat - with 33 yr.old fuel pump. I took new one along for ride - just in case.
It rained for 3 of 5 days and sometimes very hard on freeways - especially during 'white-knuckle' time thru Snoqualmie. My (second set) of tires, Sept.'01, never let me down - whether on dry or wet. The tread is still over 70% and soft. If I could find another set of these Dunlops I would buy them and SIT on them until really needed.
So, you true enthusiasts, who drive only on public roads, should either stay with OEM size wheels and tires or find another brand vehicle.
My 'one-owner' SE is 33 years old and proudly wears its' trademark (pizza-cutter) aluminum wheels, as date-coded for 1984. As some of you already know, my biggest concern is lack of 205-60-14" tires in the marketplace (except for Chinese). I just returned from 1300 mile trip to to Washington State where we went as far south as Eatonville (yes, planned visit to Atkins Rotary Specialties - - atkinsrotary.com - - and I sincerely thank them for parts, hospitality, tour and info), - - as far west as Ocean Shores and east to Wenatchee. My ODO now up to 81,150km. (50,500 miles) - and car never skipped a beat - with 33 yr.old fuel pump. I took new one along for ride - just in case.
It rained for 3 of 5 days and sometimes very hard on freeways - especially during 'white-knuckle' time thru Snoqualmie. My (second set) of tires, Sept.'01, never let me down - whether on dry or wet. The tread is still over 70% and soft. If I could find another set of these Dunlops I would buy them and SIT on them until really needed.
So, you true enthusiasts, who drive only on public roads, should either stay with OEM size wheels and tires or find another brand vehicle.
- If you do not like being fat; then you should eat less, or work out
Feel free to do whatever you want with your 1984 'classic car,' but also understand that cars and car culture are different to each end user. If you'd like, you can purchase this from me for $10k so that I stop molesting it.
04-07-17, 09:02 AM
#30
Waffles - hmmm good
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I stayed out of this thread because I don't have an SE but an SA. Whatever you fit on there, its your
choice. A lot of us don't go for the poked and stretched stuff because it really doesn't help handling or
wear.
Personally I run 205/50x15 on Konig Rewind 15x7 +20 ( offset from memory). Because I have
a coil cut on my RB springs I had some minor rubbing on hard cornering on the fronts. A ghetto fender
roll on the top of the fender lip to curl the edge in a bit fixed it. It did crack of some paint chunks and
you can see I did it but someday when I get it painted it will be unnoticed. I have good clearance on
the front springs. If you go coil over in front you can probably fit another 1/2 inch to 1 inch of width
on the tire depending on the sidewall profile.
choice. A lot of us don't go for the poked and stretched stuff because it really doesn't help handling or
wear.
Personally I run 205/50x15 on Konig Rewind 15x7 +20 ( offset from memory). Because I have
a coil cut on my RB springs I had some minor rubbing on hard cornering on the fronts. A ghetto fender
roll on the top of the fender lip to curl the edge in a bit fixed it. It did crack of some paint chunks and
you can see I did it but someday when I get it painted it will be unnoticed. I have good clearance on
the front springs. If you go coil over in front you can probably fit another 1/2 inch to 1 inch of width
on the tire depending on the sidewall profile.
04-10-17, 03:29 PM
#31
I have 16x7 xxr wheels with a 25mm offset. They have 205/45r16 tires mounted on them. I am lowered on coilovers and they clear the fenders fine. I do have about -2.3 degrees of camber on the front though. I also have lots of room from the inner wheel to the coilovers on the front. My fenders have not been touched at all, no rolling or pulling. I have autocrossed and driven my car hard and have not had issues.
04-10-17, 06:51 PM
#32
Thanks!
They are XXR 522's with a 25mm offset. I am lowered on coilovers with 275# front coils and 150# rears. If I wanted to go any lower though, I would have to roll the fenders slightly or get stiffer springs, other wise it would rub slightly. I have 205/45r16 RE11 tires installed on them.
They are XXR 522's with a 25mm offset. I am lowered on coilovers with 275# front coils and 150# rears. If I wanted to go any lower though, I would have to roll the fenders slightly or get stiffer springs, other wise it would rub slightly. I have 205/45r16 RE11 tires installed on them.
04-10-17, 07:24 PM
#33
www.AusRotary.com
I have no problem with wider/larger diameter wheels on a 1st gen. I would love to have kept the original 14" wheels but 2 major things prevented me: (a) big brake conversion, needed to get the car engineered for road use with a 13B turbo conversion; and (b) there are only a handful of tyre choices in 195/60/14 or 205/60/14 - even less choice than you guys in the North America get.
It's definitely possible to have too large wheels. It's not uncommon to see 19" wheels on 1st gens in Australia. For me, it ruins the look at the car and requires ridiculously low profile tyres. For me, the ideal wheel diameter is 16-17, both from the perspective of looks and the best performance tyre choice.
But, irrespective of wheel/tyre diameter, it's all too common to see wheels that don't actually fit. Offset is usually completely wrong and alters the factory track (and not in a good performance oriented way). You shouldn't need flares for 7 inch wide wheels if they have the correct offset. Flares are for legitimately wide wheel and tyres. Group C RX7s that raced in Bathurst had 9-10 inch wide wheels with 265mm wide tyres at the front and 285 rears.
My wheels are:
17x7 front with 205/40/17 tyres
17x8 rear with 235/40/17 tyres
Custom 3 piece wheels with factory offset.
Both fit without any modifications, even with the bulky OEM struts/coils and after the car being lowered significantly. A rolled lip on the front wheel arches might help a little for combination of hard lock steering over bumps, but that's it.
In fact, I could probably fit wider if I wanted, but I'd want some narrower OD coilovers at the front. 7.5 inch wide with 225 and 8.5 wide with 255 rear is probably about the limit that will fit under the factory arches without stretching. But for reasons others have expressed, I don't think this kind of width is necessary or desirable for a street car.
As you can see, very comfortable fitment...
I know this style of Simmons wheel is not well received outside of Australia and New Zealand, but the reason why they are so popular here (apart from being an Australian owned brand) is because, being a modular 3 piece design, you can make any diameter and width combination you want and it will actually fit properly. For those that aren't fans of the big diameter wheels, Simmons B45s were the popular upgrade for rotaries in the 80s and early 90s. Here are some 15 inch examples - both are 15x7 with 225s rear:
It's definitely possible to have too large wheels. It's not uncommon to see 19" wheels on 1st gens in Australia. For me, it ruins the look at the car and requires ridiculously low profile tyres. For me, the ideal wheel diameter is 16-17, both from the perspective of looks and the best performance tyre choice.
But, irrespective of wheel/tyre diameter, it's all too common to see wheels that don't actually fit. Offset is usually completely wrong and alters the factory track (and not in a good performance oriented way). You shouldn't need flares for 7 inch wide wheels if they have the correct offset. Flares are for legitimately wide wheel and tyres. Group C RX7s that raced in Bathurst had 9-10 inch wide wheels with 265mm wide tyres at the front and 285 rears.
My wheels are:
17x7 front with 205/40/17 tyres
17x8 rear with 235/40/17 tyres
Custom 3 piece wheels with factory offset.
Both fit without any modifications, even with the bulky OEM struts/coils and after the car being lowered significantly. A rolled lip on the front wheel arches might help a little for combination of hard lock steering over bumps, but that's it.
In fact, I could probably fit wider if I wanted, but I'd want some narrower OD coilovers at the front. 7.5 inch wide with 225 and 8.5 wide with 255 rear is probably about the limit that will fit under the factory arches without stretching. But for reasons others have expressed, I don't think this kind of width is necessary or desirable for a street car.
As you can see, very comfortable fitment...
I know this style of Simmons wheel is not well received outside of Australia and New Zealand, but the reason why they are so popular here (apart from being an Australian owned brand) is because, being a modular 3 piece design, you can make any diameter and width combination you want and it will actually fit properly. For those that aren't fans of the big diameter wheels, Simmons B45s were the popular upgrade for rotaries in the 80s and early 90s. Here are some 15 inch examples - both are 15x7 with 225s rear:
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