I went to go and get some OZ Superleggeras today, and whilst they were on the phone to the suppliers, the supplier stated that the 18's would not clear the brake callipers? I'm a bit miffed now to say the least, but does anyone know if this is the case with the majority of 18's, or do they know any way around it?

Thanks

 

Whether or not the wheel clears the brake calipers depends on the profile of the wheel and the offset. Actually, an 18" rim should have an easier time clearing the caliper than an otherwise identical 17" rim.

 

It was width wise rather than height they were worried about. Would 9*18 ET40 for the front with 235/40 and 9*18 ET40 with 265/35 be an ok suggestion? If not, what offsets would work better?

 

+45 offset would work better for front, you could then run 255/35 on all four wheels

The width of the wheel by itself isn't the deciding factor for whether or not it will clear the brake calipers. FWIW, I haven't heard of anyone having clearance issues with the stock calipers with any aftermarket wheel.

 

Went back today, and now the supplier is saying that there are no BBS rims that will fit either, but unfortunately there is no where else I can go for BBS or OZ rims as they were the main importers into the UK

 

It's called 'pad clearance' or 'disk clearance'. Here is a good pic from Work Wheel's website:



Basically, a 'high clearance' pad (or disk) will allow for larger brake calipers - for those with aftermarket big brake kits, or those cars that come standard with larger calipers (Supra TT, 3000GT VR4/aka GTO Turbo). The 93'-'98 FD stock calipers are on the small side, so most wheels can fit. The '99+ RZ/RZ/Spirit R front calipers are larger though, and necissitate a wheel with a higher pad clearance.

I personally have had a VERY deep lip wheel (borbet TD 18x9 +42) with spokes that curve in over my stock '93 calipers, and it cleared without a problem:



You will not know for sure if the OZs or BBSs will clear your brakes, though, until you actually try (or have first hand testimony from someone with the combo you are looking for).

As you can see in the Work Wheel ilustration, the more pad height you have, the less rim lip you have. Generally, one would go with a high'er' clearance pad up front to clear larger calipers, and a low'er' clearance pad in the rear for the deep dish look.

Some of the better multi piece wheels will offer at least two or three pad clearance disks. SSR Japan has 4 pad heights for some of their models. Here is the SP1 Prof:

http://www.speedstar.co.jp/collection/sp1/spec1.html

Notice you have SL (super low, for deep lip), NR (normal), MD (medium), and HP (high 'pad' I guess). Also note that offset does not neccesarily correspond to pad clearance. From the chart above, you can see there are a number of offsets that are close, but are of different pad height centers.

Took a look at OZ's site, and they offer no info on specifications, so you are at the mercy of the dealer/distributor/manufacturer for accurate info. They generally are conservative when suggesting sizes/etc, to limit liability/problems though.

BBS offers a bit more info (at least the Japan site), and specifies 'rear' only fitments (which I take to mean low pad clearance) for some sizes. Going with this, I assume that the sizes not designated 'rear' only have a bit more pad clearance.

http://www.bbs-japan.co.jp/pro/pro_i.html

Hope that helps.

 

I have/had a set of 17 x 8 Superlegarras and they fit fine

and there forsale too

Brad