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S-S - Not trying to be pedantic, but doesn't it say ET14 on the wheel? Maybe they are marked wrong, but if I am seeing that right it indicates 14mm offset not 20mm. The clearances in your pictures do look a little bigger than I have seen with Konig Rewind that I think are ET19 or 20.
Whatever offset they are, they are awesome looking wheels.
Setec - For what it is worth, the 205-60-13 diameter is about 22.7" and the 205-50-15 is about 23.1, so basically the same. Might start with lowering springs (~$300) first to close the fender/tire gap and save the expense of tires and wheels for later fine tuning.
Carl
Well gosh darn it. Now I am intrigued. My VTO wheels offset measured roughly at 20mm, are stamped as 12mm, but only offered on VTO website as 32mm! Two of em say they are Jesus, one of ‘em must be wrong, as KnopfIer once sang. I will measure offset more accurately tomorrow and report back. Want to make sure that potential wheel buyers have the correct dimensions to decide from.
I don’t care for the tires and rims on the car now. So I’m planning on the springs and wheels. Just wanting to make sure I get it right the first time.
Went through the same thing. Wheels and springs in one go. Wasnt sure until I had them installed that they would work, so would love to get you some direct real world dimensions. Hang on a day though. Carl noticed an offset stamp on my wheel photo that does not match measured offset…. Plus the offset table on VTO website as a third different number that doesn’t march measurement or stamp! Will measure again and report back tomorrow.
Went through the same thing. Wheels and springs in one go. Wasnt sure until I had them installed that they would work, so would love to get you some direct real world dimensions. Hang on a day though. Carl noticed an offset stamp on my wheel photo that does not match measured offset…. Plus the offset table on VTO website as a third different number that doesn’t march measurement or stamp! Will measure again and report back tomorrow.
thank you.
and it occurred to me last night. The front spoiler is 6.5 inches off the ground. This will drop it another inch? Wondering if that is going to be hell to deal with
I think S-S has the RB springs and VTO wheels (basically the same dimensions as Konig Rewind) so his pictures should be pretty representative of what to expect visually. Unless you are racing (wheel to wheel or autocross) I personally don't think there is much point in changing the swaybars. I am sure plenty of people would not agree with that. Just my opinion. The struts are worth doing, if the ones you have are still original. I think the RB springs give a nice drop and would be fun autocrossing or tracking the car.
Confirming after double checking the offset of my wheels….they are indeed 20mm offset despite the 12 stamp.
Conclusion is when running tire and wheel sizes through WillItFit.com, I would not let your resulting diameter exceed 586 (well maybe you could push it a bit there), and would keep the resulting inset below 109mm. Bigger diameters will hit the front inside edge of the rear well at full lock, larger offsets will rub the springs on the front.
For poke, much harder to give such clear guidelines as would need to compress suspension to measure / take pics. Maybe use this pics as a starting point. Wheels are 15x7 20mm offset 205/50 tires. Racing Beat springs.
Not sure of the differences between a 1980 RX7 and my 1985, but I have Racing Beat springs in front, new OEM strut cartridge's and I'm rolling on 15 x 7 Rota wheels with 205/50r15 tires. The lower front valance on my car measures 4.25" from the bottom edge to the floor and I have not had any issues with road clearance however, be aware of parking lot concrete bumpers.
I was messing around on tiresize.com. They show you total overall changes between two tires.
if I go with a 225/50 r16 20mm offset, it moves the wheel 1.1 inches closer to the fender with a 9.1% speedometer error. With the new springs. That would close 2.1 inches of fender gap.
225/50 r15 is only 0.6 inches closer.
and it occurred to me last night. The front spoiler is 6.5 inches off the ground. This will drop it another inch? Wondering if that is going to be hell to deal with
Don’t worry about it. Here is mine with Racing Beat springs and 205/50 tires. Has not been a problem at all. The springs are probably already sagged out in your current set up, and offen the RB springs don’t give you the full distance in drop that they quote.
And for laughs, what my kid did to his GS300. Now that’s pushing the limits.
I guess I will do the shocks and springs first and measure my fender gap. The tire height between what is on there and what you have is 0.4 inches and I seem to have a lot more fender gap to cover. Not sure what the difference is but I definitely don’t want to order the wrong rims.
Don’t worry about it. Here is mine with Racing Beat springs and 205/50 tires. Has not been a problem at all. The springs are probably already sagged out in your current set up, and offen the RB springs don’t give you the full distance in drop that they quote.
And for laughs, what my kid did to his GS300. Now that’s pushing the limits.
How much caster does he have dialed-in for that stance?
How much caster does he have dialed-in for that stance?
It was horrible! It’s better now. Have him on new wheels, and took him to an alignment shop that specialized in slammed cars. (They had an in floor lift with no lip for cars with zero clearance cars). Had them set the car as low as decent alignment would allow.
On the way home the kid says ‘It’s great! I can hit a bump without the car changing lanes on its own!’
I was messing around on tiresize.com. They show you total overall changes between two tires.
if I go with a 225/50 r16 20mm offset, it moves the wheel 1.1 inches closer to the fender with a 9.1% speedometer error. With the new springs. That would close 2.1 inches of fender gap.
225/50 r15 is only 0.6 inches closer.
Can you run that larger proposed wheel/tire through willitfit.com. Would like to see resulting diameter and inset.
I did not adjust offset at all and assume current rims are 20mm as well.
Looks like that puts your tire diameter 2” larger than mine, which puts the outermost edge 1” closer to fender or suspension parts
. Wonder if you could search this site and find anyone that’s run a 225/16/50? I worry that you may get too close to front inside edge of wheel well, and to spring. The wheel well would be a problem only on turns with the steering at its max angle… so not so bad. However the spring could rub all the time. See the pics below and visualize the tread surface 1” taller next to the spring.
Looks like that puts your tire diameter 2” larger than mine, which puts the outermost edge 1” closer to fender or suspension parts
. Wonder if you could search this site and find anyone that’s run a 225/16/50? I worry that you may get too close to front inside edge of wheel well, and to spring. The wheel well would be a problem only on turns with the steering at its max angle… so not so bad. However the spring could rub all the time. See the pics below and visualize the tread surface 1” taller next to the spring.
yeah I worry about that too. I’m ordering the springs and new struts. Once they are installed, I’ll take some photos and measurements and see where we can go from there.
dang shipping on those springs is $$$.
I’ve read some reviews that say they actually raised the car due to how old the old springs were. Guess we will see.
thank you again for all of your help!!
yeah I worry about that too. I’m ordering the springs and new struts. Once they are installed, I’ll take some photos and measurements and see where we can go from there.
dang shipping on those springs is $$$.
I’ve read some reviews that say they actually raised the car due to how old the old springs were. Guess we will see.
thank you again for all of your help!!
No worries. Just went through the same task myself, so glad to help. Let me know if help needed for install…. OReilys and the like rent spring compressors for free.
No worries. Just went through the same task myself, so glad to help. Let me know if help needed for install…. OReilys and the like rent spring compressors for free.
nothing like a fun day of playing with the widow maker 😂
If you haven't already ordered the springs, I will make the suggestion that you might be able to cut your existing springs to get a lower stance than the RB springs with a similar spring rate. I looked at this hypothetically on another thread this morning for the rear springs. I had to make some assumptions because I don't have a set of stock springs available to test, but based on online pics and FSM specs, it seems reasonable. I know lots of people tend to look down their nose at cutting springs, but in my mind a spring is a spring. If it does what you want, who cares how you got there. I have done that on race springs before to get the rates I was looking for. In any case it is essentially free if you don't mind potentially taking springs in and out a couple of times.
It was horrible! It’s better now. Have him on new wheels, and took him to an alignment shop that specialized in slammed cars. (They had an in floor lift with no lip for cars with zero clearance cars). Had them set the car as low as decent alignment would allow.
On the way home the kid says ‘It’s great! I can hit a bump without the car changing lanes on its own!’
Now "that's" funny, glad I survived my youthful years.
[QUOTE=Carl;12578412]If you haven't already ordered the springs, I will make the suggestion that you might be able to cut your existing springs to get a lower stance than the RB springs with a similar spring rate. I looked at this hypothetically on another thread this morning for the rear springs. I had to make some assumptions because I don't have a set of stock springs available to test, but based on online pics and FSM specs, it seems reasonable. I know lots of people tend to look down their nose at cutting springs, but in my mind a spring is a spring. If it does what you want, who cares how you got there. I have done that on race springs before to get the rates I was looking for. In any case it is essentially free if you don't mind potentially taking springs in and out a couple of times.
Carl[/QUOTE
Small world. Just saw your racecar for sale on Facebook! If I only had a longer driveway.
Yep. I wish I had a longer driveway (and bigger shed for all the spares) too! That ad going up on Facebook and here partly explains why I have been particularly active on RX7Club the last couple of days. Trying to get up my nerve to make and post the ad ;-).
Do you by any chance have a stock set of springs that you could take some measurements on? As you can see above, this post piqued my interest in cutting the stock springs to give a similar ride to, but lower stance than RB springs. May not make sense, but seems worth some quasi-engineering based poking around.
Yep. I wish I had a longer driveway (and bigger shed for all the spares) too! That ad going up on Facebook and here partly explains why I have been particularly active on RX7Club the last couple of days. Trying to get up my nerve to make and post the ad ;-).
Do you by any chance have a stock set of springs that you could take some measurements on? As you can see above, this post piqued my interest in cutting the stock springs to give a similar ride to, but lower stance than RB springs. May not make sense, but seems worth some quasi-engineering based poking around.
Carl
Sadly I threw away the old springs. I am limited to one car space and the first 4 ft of a garage… so hard to keep take off parts. Portapotty and posted building permit go with some massive downsizing we are doing right now to allow early retirement. Hoping to at least keep the driveway and mug little bit of garage…. Hope not to have to sell the car. Would break my heart.
Yep. I wish I had a longer driveway (and bigger shed for all the spares) too! That ad going up on Facebook and here partly explains why I have been particularly active on RX7Club the last couple of days. Trying to get up my nerve to make and post the ad ;-).
Do you by any chance have a stock set of springs that you could take some measurements on? As you can see above, this post piqued my interest in cutting the stock springs to give a similar ride to, but lower stance than RB springs. May not make sense, but seems worth some quasi-engineering based poking around.
Reiteration to keep inset below 109mm on the likes of willitfit.com. Got a better picture with the wheel loaded of my FB. Car was on a trailer so could get underneath without a jack. This wheel calcs at 109mm, tire is a R15 205/5. Pretty tight in there. Any larger diameter or larger inset and tire would rub continuously at high speed, a much more dangerous situation than running the sway bar which would be very occasionally and at low speed.
10-04-23, 12:01 AM
