Ok, i've read the forum for a few hours now and even through the outside sources you guys nicely sourced, i cannot manage to piece together my wheel fitment problem.

My ride: 86 GXL with JIC-FLTA2 coilovers. Its lowered the max amount, which i believe is 2.5" from stock (as stated on JIC website) (btw this was Rx7mfn's car)

I need to find the maximum size (width) tire/wheel combo (17's or 18's) that will work for the rear, as the front will be easy cuz i plan to stagger them (probably).

The important thing is i do not want to sacrifice handling. I cant find any resources that explain the offset calculations needed to even find the ideal offset and width combo.

Its just tough cuz i have the car lowered, and have no idea of the clearance changes.

Anyone with more experience that me or some advice? (its much appreciated if you explain why your choice will work, cuz i just cant seem to get it)

Thanks in advance

 

width and overall handling difference are the real issues, i know the 17" 275/35 tires will give me less than .1" difference in diameter (i assumed the stock GXL combo was 205/60R15, which might be wrong anyhow)

i guess with spacers (assuming they fit under the fender anyhow) i can change offsets, but the real million dollar question is what offset on the 275/35R17 will keep my handling the same.

i also have no idea how much travel the suspension has, or how much bigger a diameter will get me into trouble with the wheel well.


anyhow i am still thoroughly confused

 

How much rear camber are you running with that drastic a drop??
That's going to kill tires no matter what the size.


-Ted

 

good question, i bought the car like this, and i dont actually know how much it is lowered. I was told it was lowered all the way, and all the way according to JIC is 2.5".

I dont even know what car these rims came off of. Right now i dont drive it. Heres a pic if that will help. I doubt its dropped 2.5" but i dont really know.

Seems like i'll just have to get some of my info strait, then post up any questions i got.

 

It's too low.
You cannot run it like that on the street.
Even with the rear camber adjust rod *and* adjustable links, you cannot dial out all that negative camber back there.
This will eat your rear tires in weeks!
You're going to be knocking all those speed bumps anyways!

Those MX-6 GT wheels don't look too bad on the car...


-Ted

 

yeh i can always raise them, as the flta2 have ride height adjustable separate.

the rims are ok for now, but i'm going to need different ones anyhow

I dont understand much about suspension setups except to know that the jic coilovers are nice pieces of hardware.

I dont need the car to be too lowered, i just need to learn how to do all the calculations to maximize the width of rims and tires and account for it being somewhat lowered, cuz i do like the look.

if someone has the patience to explain it to me that would be amazingly helpful so i dont f this project up.

thanks

 

Ahh.... havent seen her in a while Anyway, you will need to raise the car up a bit, 1/2-1" to have acceptable ground clearance and camber adjustments. As for tire sizes, my last setup on that car was 17x8 fronts, 32mm offset, with 235/40r17, and 17x9 rears, 35mm offset, with 255/40r17. You can run a 10" wheel out back with the same 35mm offset, with a 275 tire, but with only a 235 out front, the handling balance will be a bit off. If you want to run 275 rears, I suggest getting a set of aftermarket wide fenders for the front, and running a 17x9 in a ~15mm offset, with a 255/40. That should work alright (others please corrent me if Im wrong, havent played with FCs since I sold this one.)

 

Is this what you ran without rolling the fenders. That's the setup I'm looking to run. I was thinking of 265 rear but the tire choices are too limited.

 

Yes , stock unrolled fenders. For the 275 rears with a 10" wheel in a 35mm offset, you may need to roll slightly.

 

word, this is all great.

nice to hear from you lenny, thx for the input. i got pics of the engine and everything, and pleny of plans for the car, just getting money together .

but not to get off topic too much....

i think wide front fenders could be really cool, havent checked it out yet. I was def thinking of 275 17 x 10's in the rear tho, so i'll look into it.