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Hi all,
Currently fleshing out how I want to set up my car's suspension geometry, ride height, and wheel/tire.
The car is as follows:
I asked the alignment shop to perform an alignment to the following specs which was the best compromise I could come up with that wouldn't risk my tires eating my fenders for lunch.
FR camber: -2.1/-1.2 deg
FR Toe: 0.0xx 0.0xx deg
Caster: 4.9 deg
Caster I believe is about .5 degrees below factory spec. (I don't believe this is an issue. From what I've read on the forums, some say slightly less caster is preferred?)
25"/25" FR ride height which is what I read from various reference sources on here to be ideal for this car.
Wheel and tire setup
Fronts
9.5Jx18 + 20 with 225/45R18 stretched chinese tires that came on the car
Rears
10.5Jx18 + 20 with 235/45/R18
Ideally I would want to run a more square sidewall (245/40/r18, 265/40/r18 Michelin PSS's) with the 9.5/10.5 +20 offset wheels, but I don't know it'd be safe to do so without running a silly amount of camber or just raising the car higher than its ideal ride height
My tire to fender gap on the current setup is: 1"/1"
I measured the approximate overall tire diameters as they are installed on car now to be: 24.5"/25.25"
With a square sidewalls the 245/40 & 265/40 tires should have tire diameters of 25.72" and 26.35"
Simple math tells me that a tire diameter increase of about 1" would yield a .5" tire to fender gap with no slanted sidewall to dodge the fender with..See below..
So do I have any other choices besides adding dangerous negative camber, raising the car 1"-1.5" or getting new wheels?
The more I think about it the more it seems to me like the only good way to solve this is new wheels & tires. But that begs the question how to so many other users on the forum get away with running 9.5x18/10.5x18's? Do they just run 26.5" ride height?
Any input is appreciated. Thanks. Fronts Fronts Rears Rears
If youre looking for new wheels, best thing is to look through the fd wheel & tire fitment thread in the suspension/wheels subsection. You can find the combo that gives the look you want in size/width/offset + tire size and go from there. Just remember each car is slightly different, every fender isnt rolled the same, and a 265/35 in one tire isnt the same as a 265/35 in another.
Over 25” tall tires in the front are likely gonna rub your inner fender in front of the tire when you turn.
People run those width wheels with much higher offset and/or stretched tires as you are.
If youre looking for new wheels, best thing is to look through the fd wheel & tire fitment thread in the suspension/wheels subsection. You can find the combo that gives the look you want in size/width/offset + tire size and go from there. Just remember each car is slightly different, every fender isnt rolled the same, and a 265/35 in one tire isnt the same as a 265/35 in another.
Over 25” tall tires in the front are likely gonna rub your inner fender in front of the tire when you turn.
People run those width wheels with much higher offset and/or stretched tires as you are.
Got it so 25" tire diameter is basically the upper limit. I've got them measured at around 24.5" so going square sidewall on these wheels will be impossible since they don't make 235/30r18 tires.
Bummer but guess I'll have to get a new wheel/tire package or live with the shame and inconvenience of having really stretched tires.
Thanks
Short answer: You need higher offset wheels. People are running as much as 18x11" wheels with 295/30/18 tires on stock (rolled) fender cars, but those offsets are go9ing to be in the +45-50 range. Tough to find in off-the-shelf wheels, so custom/built to order wheels like CCW, Fikse, etc, are typically how people achieve it.
Short answer: You need higher offset wheels. People are running as much as 18x11" wheels with 295/30/18 tires on stock (rolled) fender cars, but those offsets are go9ing to be in the +45-50 range. Tough to find in off-the-shelf wheels, so custom/built to order wheels like CCW, Fikse, etc, are typically how people achieve it.
Got it. My car definitely isn't making more than 250WHP so I don't think it'd warrant dropping a few thousand on made to order wheels.
The question now is whether the risk of running stretched sidewall tires is dangerous enough to justify sizing down my wheels.
I'm located in NYC where ridiculous bumps and potholes are the norm and a blowout is the last thing I want.
The short suspension travel and the spring rates on these coilovers being at or over 10kg/12kg definitely doesn't help that.
If anyone out there with experience running stretched tires has anything to say about the risk of tire blowout I'd like to learn more.
I'd look for a decent 17x9-9.5 wheel in a 45 offset. That is what I run and I used to live and drive all around NYC. Maybe even an 18x9-9.5 but less sidewall = higher probability of bending it and less cushion on NYC's shitty roads.
You really don't need too much more than a 255 for that power level.
Thanks. I was thinking 17's in 9/9.5 staggered were my best option as well.
Will probably hold off until the fall/winter season when summer tires and wheels are on clearance.
The next fish to fry would be finding a budget friendly 17" that suits this car well.. That might be tricky.
Check the forum classifieds. Interesting stuff pops up occasionally.
Enkei is always a good option.
Rishie at autornd is a great source for wheels. He's been on the forum for ages. http://www.autornd.com/Default.asp
The wheels from sakebomb garage are also a nice option.
Can't fault enkei on their quality but the enkei RPF1's have been overused to hell on every boy racer car and personally I think they would look awful on this particular car with this color scheme.
Funnily enough, the wheels on there now are enkei shoguns. Unfortunately I haven't been able to find other enkei's that both tick the looks and size boxes for me.
Took a look at those wheel options you suggested on sakebomb garage and they tick most boxes but over 2k is a little too steep for me.
There do seem to be a lot of solid options at right around the 2000-2500 price point,
but 3500 all-in on wheels and tires would mean spending more to fix tire stretch than everything else I've spent on the car combined.
I think I'll just live with the stretch for the foreseeable future and keep an eye on the classifieds.
Can't fault enkei on their quality but the enkei RPF1's have been overused to hell on every boy racer car and personally I think they would look awful on this particular car with this color scheme.
Funnily enough, the wheels on there now are enkei shoguns. Unfortunately I haven't been able to find other enkei's that both tick the looks and size boxes for me.
Took a look at those wheel options you suggested on sakebomb garage and they tick most boxes but over 2k is a little too steep for me.
There do seem to be a lot of solid options at right around the 2000-2500 price point,
but 3500 all-in on wheels and tires would mean spending more to fix tire stretch than everything else I've spent on the car combined.
I think I'll just live with the stretch for the foreseeable future and keep an eye on the classifieds.
I agree that RPF1's don't look that great on the FD. They do look fantastic on an FC IMO. That said, I think the Enkei NT01+M's are gorgeous on an FD.
You seem to be cost conscious, which I can appreciate. I got into these cars before they went ballistic in price. I also want to have ample money left over for sticky race rubber. Hoosiers aren't cheap and they wear out fast.
If you want to fix your funky wheel setup ASAP and/or try out a size for cheap just look for some 18x10 mustang wheels. Like BLUETII says... they are right in that +45 sweet spot.
If you can get over the fact that you won't get all the instagram likes for having boutique JDM wheels, then you can get a taste of what it's like to own a mustang (the parts are a lot less expensive).
To give you an idea: I spent ~$1200 mounted for my 18x10 wheel and tire package for the street. LMR Mustang wheels and Nankang NS2R 120TW version. My autocross wheel/tire set that would cost under $2k mounted with 10.5" wide Hoosiers has me beating up GT4s and GT350Rs (whose CF wheels alone cost more than my car is worth). They aren't for everyone, but I really like mustang wheels.
I agree that RPF1's don't look that great on the FD. They do look fantastic on an FC IMO. That said, I think the Enkei NT01+M's are gorgeous on an FD.
You seem to be cost conscious, which I can appreciate. I got into these cars before they went ballistic in price. I also want to have ample money left over for sticky race rubber. Hoosiers aren't cheap and they wear out fast.
If you want to fix your funky wheel setup ASAP and/or try out a size for cheap just look for some 18x10 mustang wheels. Like BLUETII says... they are right in that +45 sweet spot.
If you can get over the fact that you won't get all the instagram likes for having boutique JDM wheels, then you can get a taste of what it's like to own a mustang (the parts are a lot less expensive).
To give you an idea: I spent ~$1200 mounted for my 18x10 wheel and tire package for the street. LMR Mustang wheels and Nankang NS2R 120TW version. My autocross wheel/tire set that would cost under $2k mounted with 10.5" wide Hoosiers has me beating up GT4s and GT350Rs (whose CF wheels alone cost more than my car is worth). They aren't for everyone, but I really like mustang wheels.
I didn't realize that by mustang wheels he meant stock mustang wheels. That's very interesting...
Regardless of the aesthetics, if they solve my problem on a budget I'll definitely be giving them a long hard look.
The mustang is like the antithesis of the FD but I'm more than happy to adopt the mustang culture of cheap performance wherever possible on the fd..
Like with most wheel swaps I"m guessing they're going to need hub rings to properly center the wheels on the hub.
Thanks a lot for the tip, will give it some research and consideration.
Mustang wheels both oem and aftermarket looking promising after some digging.
Still haven't got the exact fitment I need in a style I like but it's definitely a lot closer than most of the stuff I've seen so far.
I didn't realize that by mustang wheels he meant stock mustang wheels. That's very interesting...
Regardless of the aesthetics, if they solve my problem on a budget I'll definitely be giving them a long hard look.
The mustang is like the antithesis of the FD but I'm more than happy to adopt the mustang culture of cheap performance wherever possible on the fd..
Like with most wheel swaps I"m guessing they're going to need hub rings to properly center the wheels on the hub.
Thanks a lot for the tip, will give it some research and consideration.
Yeah i just crazy glued hub rings into both my sets since I take them off/on frequently.
Originally Posted by Oppai
Mustang wheels both oem and aftermarket looking promising after some digging.
Still haven't got the exact fitment I need in a style I like but it's definitely a lot closer than most of the stuff I've seen so far.
You're definitely going to give up some street cred and aesthetics with mustang wheels. That said, I really like the AMR wheels in dark stainless. With big slicks on them against a silver car they make me feel some kind of way. Was too hot to be taking pictures last event so I'll try to get some in October.
There's also several 17/18x9.5 wheels Motegi offers that I considered. Their MR136 and MR137. I like the 137 more but it's heavy.
The other aspect to inexpensive mustang wheels is they are going to be heavier than your typical rays/volks/enkei wheels. They are gravity cast so they add a bit more material in certain areas to make up for that. They are also intended for a heavy, high HP car that is prone to hitting curbs/spectators when Cars and Coffee is over, so you're getting a strong wheel.
People fuss a lot about wheel weight, but then they take a set of BBS RGRs and put 30lb Federal tires around the diameter where the rotational mass makes the most difference.
Yeah i just crazy glued hub rings into both my sets since I take them off/on frequently.
You're definitely going to give up some street cred and aesthetics with mustang wheels. That said, I really like the AMR wheels in dark stainless. With big slicks on them against a silver car they make me feel some kind of way. Was too hot to be taking pictures last event so I'll try to get some in October.
There's also several 17/18x9.5 wheels Motegi offers that I considered. Their MR136 and MR137. I like the 137 more but it's heavy.
The other aspect to inexpensive mustang wheels is they are going to be heavier than your typical rays/volks/enkei wheels. They are gravity cast so they add a bit more material in certain areas to make up for that. They are also intended for a heavy, high HP car that is prone to hitting curbs/spectators when Cars and Coffee is over, so you're getting a strong wheel.
People fuss a lot about wheel weight, but then they take a set of BBS RGRs and put 30lb Federal tires around the diameter where the rotational mass makes the most difference.
If the car doesn't move as fast as I want it to I'd sooner blame the driver than the weight of the wheels.. but that's just me.
As for tires I wrap all my fun cars in michelin PSSes or PS-4Ses and my daily drivers get continental's Extreme Contact DWSes.
Both seem to be relatively light tires with good enough tread life for street tires.
I never understood the hype for federals since they aren't actually that much cheaper when you take into consideration how fast they wear..
I'm not a professional driver and I also don't have any seriously high HP cars, but I've never noticed a serious performance difference between federal RSRR's compared to michelin PSSes that justifies running a semi slick on a street car.
I've tried both tires on my old turbo RX-8 and much preferred the michelins overall.
Federal 595rs-r/595rs-rr are a nice budget streetable race tire.
You're going to notice the difference on the timeclock compared to the pss or ps4s.
For just driving/cruising a street tire with lower limits that you like the characteristics of is a great idea- you will be going slower if something does go sideways on you.
Performance is a scale, not an absolute- so we all have different ideas of what a performance tire or for that matter a performance car is.
