FD VR - Volk ZE40 Fitment Check
 

Hi guys,

I'm about to purchase a set of really expensive Volk ZE40's and before I drop all that guac I just want to check with some of you more experienced doritos on the fitment. My goal is to achieve the biggest possible tire on an 18" wheel on OEM fenders that are NOT and will never be rolled. I would also like to run a beefy tire. Hmm, I think I'm hungry with all this food talk ;)

The car is currently on Ohlins coilovers.

List of all available wheel sizes and offsets @ ZE40 | Evasive Motorsports

Appreciate any advice you can give me before I make this purchase, thank you!

18x10 + 48 with a 275/40 get er done. :)

The fact that you're on coilovers gives you a bit more room, but +45 to +50 will definitely fit with no roll. It really depends on the tire size and design of the rim. There are plenty of people here with 18x10 CCWs and no fender or trailing arm mods running 275 width tires.


EDIT: oof. I don't see em on there. MAYBE a +39 but your tire choices are gonna suffer a bit and you're most likely gonna have to roll the fenders. If your heart's set on the ZE40s, I'd find someone to roll the fenders for you or settle for a 9.5

18x9.5 +45 from that Evasive list is the only thing close to working with stock unrolled fenders.

Widest tire you can use is 255/35-18 with stock front fenders unrolled and +45 offset and you will still need moderate front camber (-1.5-2 deg).

You could use a 265/35-18 with lots to max camber (-2-2.5 deg) but it is too tall and will rub the fender liner when turning.

Thanks guys. I just got off the phone with Evasive and their recommendation was:

18x9.0 45 offset / 245/40
18x9.5 45 offset / 255/40

Not sure I like that. One thing to note is that there are multiple faces depending on the size and offset. The higher the number, the more concave the wheel is going to be. My goal is to have it be as concave as possible, with a slight variation between front and rear if possible (rear being more concave than the front).

See below:

https://www.rayswheels.co.jp/product...=en&wheel=ZE40

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...de9d80c7d5.png

I need to take that into account now because I think I'd rather run a narrower tire if it meant that I could have more of that concave look, especially in the rear.

Also, are you guys suggesting doing a square setup? I was thinking staggered would be better, no?

Okay yea. See below for face 2 vs 3:

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...9c7b5a31d7.png

And face 1... :icon_tdow

https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...4d829405d9.png

Okay so I decided that I definitely want face 3 in the rear, and face 2 in the front.

Here are my options for the rear..

18x9.5 ET30 (face 3) .. 275/30?
18x10 ET39 (face 3) .. 275/30?

And the front..

18x9.5 ET40 (face 2) .. 255/35?

Appreciate any feedback / recommendations.

Thanks again.

18x9.5 +30 will fit a 235/40-18 in the rear with stock (-1 to 1.5 deg) camber and 245/40-18 or 255/35-18 with -1.5 to 2 deg camber or 265/35-18 with -2+ deg camber. Every car will vary some on this a fenders and subframe position aren't all the same and tires vary in width as well for a given size.

18x10 +39 will fit a 255/35-18 or 265/35-18 in the rear with near stock (-1.2 to 1.5 deg) camber and 275/35-18 (tall tire) with -1.5 to 2 deg camber. 275/30-18 is not an existing tire size.

18x9.5 +40 will fit 245/35-18 up front with un-rolled fenders and moderate camber (-1 to 1.5 deg).

Rule of fitment-
for tire fitment every 5mm less wheel offset (from stock 50mm offset) can fit 10mm less wide a tire since the tire has to stick out 5mm less on the fender side to make up for the 5mm offset change pushing the rim out 5mm.

Only way to avoid this rule is if you figure out a way to stretch just the outside of a tire sidewall and not the inside - pre-stanced tires. Good idea, I remember when manufacturers did pre-cambered tires for auto-x.

Thanks man. Really helpful information. I actually messed up and the front would be 18x9.5 ET45 so even better. I will stick a 255/35 up front on that wheel. I think that should work out!

Front: 18x9.5 ET45 on 255/35/18 R888R's
Rear: 18x10 ET39 on 265/35/18 R888R's

I know the R888R's run a bit wide. Think I'll be safe with the above?

39 + 265 = You're rolling the fenders or hella flush camber.

35 sidewalls on those expensive wheels on the street is also kind of a recipe for disaster. I'm not trying to be a downer, but you might wanna research it a little more before dropping the dough :).

I'm not too worried about the 35 sidewalls to be honest. I put maybe 500-1000 miles a year on this car. It's barely driven and when I do drive it, I know the route that I'm taking which means no pot holes!

I feel like I've spent the last 3 months looking for wheels for this car already. Every time I find something I set my heart on, I just end up getting disappointed because of fitment issues. I really don't want to roll the fenders though. This car is just too nice, with only 16k miles it's truly in museum quality. Original paint, and not a single dent or scratch.

I may re-consider the R888R's. Too much of a hit or miss with those as far as sizing is concerned. I'm already playing with fire...

Why would you run staggered wheels and square tires?

The face of the wheels changes. See above for examples.

18x9.5 ET45 is face 2
18x10 ET39 is face 3

I want face 3 in the rear (more concave), and face 2 in the front (less concave).

Do you plan to drive the car or stare at it? Stretching the same tire over a wider wheel in the rear will make it handle bad. Run a wider tire in the rear, or run a square wheel fitment with spacers to flush out the rear fitment.

Yeah like I said, I hate the way a stretched tire looks. I think everyone here would agree! I'll leave that to the VW's!
​​​​​​
Anyway, I decided on:

18x9.5 ET45 on a 255/35
18x10 ET39 on a 265/35
​
I see that others are running 18x10 ET44 on a 275/35 in the rear without any issues and no rolling.

Give some consideration to rolling diameter also.

Wheels have finally arrived. Fenders were not rolled, and I can confirm that it does not rub while spirited driving or in any normal driving situation. Occasionally in a parking lot on full lock it will ever so slightly rub but I'm really OCD with this car and if it doesn't bother me, I don't think it would bother anyone. I'm very satisfied with these wheels. The quality is top notch.

https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...6f2b0826fd.jpg
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...efcf0fdde4.jpg
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...7e02e1be47.jpg

Looks awesome!

To fit or not to fit, that is the question.
 

Hello guys

From what I have read, and after checking the Excel sheet, I think I am on the safe side, however a second opinion is always appreciated.

The thing is, have just purchased a set of ZE40's in Matte Blue Gun Metal. They are 18 inch 8.5 +35. Was all I could find for the budget I had, as I would have preferred a closer offset to stock.
The idea is to run a square setup, tires would be 235/40.

The car is completely stock suspension and fender wise, and I have no intention of modifying.

Soooo, what do you all think?

Thanks for any feedback. It's a tricky one for me, as I have never bought rims before that I can remember!

All the best,
Jake

Fitment guide webpage
 

Oh and by the way, I found this cool webpage that helps you quite a lot with fitments.
It even has a neat sketch of the appearance before and after, so you can see how the tire and rim will look.

https://www.willtheyfit.com

Hope it is useful for you all!

Fitment
 

Well, after just seeing a friends Miata which is on a set of Enkei RPF1, I think I will go with 225/40 wheels, as, per my calculations, these will fit perfectly with my rim sizes.

Considering this is just a Sunday cruiser, so not really for aggressive driving, I think I will be fine with 225 tire size.

Any comments as said before will be more than welcome.

Thanks, and hope you all have a good weekend,

235/40 is probably too tall (big) of a tire for the fronts, though you can manage in the rear.
I ran 18*8.5+33 on 225/40 up front, and it fit up perfectly on stock fenders, unrolled, with plastics. In hard cornering you may rub just a tiny bit, but that didn't happen to me until I put on coilovers.
Rear I was on 18*9.5 +38 with 265/35, and it would rub on hard cornering, probably too much for your liking. If you don't insist on square, you can do 235/40 in the rear. Otherwise your suggested 225/40 sounds perfect. (Keep in mind the kouki version of our cars came stock with 235 front and 255 rears....)

have fun!

Thanks ever so much for the answer. I will go with the square setup for now and see how she runs, glad to know I have other options though!

Will post some pics when on the car!

All the best,
Jake

​​​​​

Offfttt they look sweet.