I've got 18x10 +43 wheels for the Front of my FD.

I don't think rolling the fenders will be enough, so which fender would work?
Burnout +20 or feed +25?

Pretty sure rolling will not be enough.

~CYD

 

What size tires?

 

For comparison, I ran an 18x9.5 +45 and 255/35 on the front for my track wheels and it gave me no problems, although it was close. A lot depends on ride height.

You definitely should not need wider fenders for those.

 

As shown in the pics:
Front Tire: 285/30R18
Front Wheel 18x10 +43

I am told an 18x10 +50 or higher works with stock fender, but I am +43, which is less than the +50 minimum, so I was looking into fender options.

If based on the pics, I can get by with just rolling the fender, that would be fine with me, but I don't want to risk damage to the fender/tires tip toeing around bumps and driveways.

~CYD

 

18x10 is wider than 18x9.5. and +45 is further in than +43 isn't it, so You have two differences in your favor for fitting in the stock width.

So increasing the front ride height and maybe a fender roll is what you would suggest?


~CYD

 

Its going to be hard to not have to tip toe around bumps and driveways with that setup. Increased ride height can help but not sure to what extent on driveways.

If you are keeping the wheels, I'd try a narrower tire - 255 or 265.

A lot of compromises with some of these setups... I don't get the appeal but its not my car.

 

I appreciate the response gracer7 Not sure what you were referring to with appeal, so please correct me if I misspoke, but the appeal of having 18x10's is for traction in corners or lateral G's (Running a 285R18 tire). I figured if 18x10 up front was good enough for Damian and other racers, they know more about it than I do, so I did the same only I don't have front fenders right now like Damian does. My "offsets" don't quite match up with his 7.5" backspacing on the CCWs.

I don't know exactly why someone would run 18x10 and not run 285's, (unless for stylistic purposes of tire stretching, is that done to force a lower profile?). The additional unsprung weight of the larger wheel may negate/reduce some of the advantages a wider tire.


~CYD

 

put a little camber sauce on it & everything will be just fine.

 

Suspension, alignment, and chassis has to be built around tires. Race-cars can run those sizes because everything is built around it. More rubber can get more cornering load, but in the end of the day, some of that load goes into the chassis and stresses all the other suspension parts. This is the part that cannot be seen right away and will only poke it's head after slowly after years of use. Then you have the issue of too much front grip and just making an already light car understeer more, but that's another topic. Each car is different, what works on a race car doesn't always work on a track day/street car. ALMS Cars use Endless brake pads that cost $500 to $1100 an axle set, but doesn't mean that it will work on an end user's track day car if you understand where I am going with this.

 

My comment wasn't directly to you but more of an observation of people trying to jam the biggest tire and wheel setup on a car w/o considering the negative aspects.

Some people do it b/c they think it looks cool - which is fine since its their car and money. But IMO the negatives outweigh the positives.

In your case, the negatives are you are trying to use a wheel with a poor offset. The wheels don't fit and would require you to use a taller ride height and compromising suspension setup as a result or spending a big chunk of change on aftermarket fender - most of which have poor fitment and IMO don't look that great.

In the same few sentences, You mentioned you are worried about speed bumps and driveways and then reference Damian's race car as your model. Street cars and race cars are different beasts built with different design considerations.

18x10 285 is more rim and tire than most people need and have talent to utilize and is pretty much a waste on the street IMO. Damian is running this on a race car and is actually now running larger IIRC based on testing and finding a need for a larger tire and more traction. Others are running that size are advanced level drivers and use the car more for track days than street driving. Heck, some racers I know use a smaller front tire on their FD and have no issues winning.

So negatives to your proposed setup:
- wheels don't fit under stock body work (so add budget for fenders and paint)
- 18x10 rims are heavier than a smaller wheel so you increase unsprung weight
- 285s are heavier than a 255 or 265 so you increase unsprung weight w/o actually determining you have a NEED for more traction up front.
- if you don't get wider fenders, you need to compromise suspension setup by running a taller ride height and possible non-optimal camber.
- you need more money to make it work


Again, its your car and I'm making certain assumptions on just a few sentences that you expressed in your posts. I'm expressing my opinion/experience based on what has worked for me over the years and what I have learned about setup on various cars and by watching other people make adjustments to their setups over time.

 

If you're sold on those wheels/offsets, there are several wide front fenders that should accommodate, including Burnout (or Burnout copies that Shine makes), I think that Shine also makes a stock-like wide front fender that not many people have tried, and there are a couple others.

Poke around the Shine sub forum for options. However, by the time you buy fenders and pay to have them painted/installed, you might come out better by selling those wheels and getting a set w/ +50 offsets, so you don't have to deal (other than rolling).

 

A conservative ride height and an aggressively rolled, maybe slight pull on the fenders should do the trick. Running a bit of camber would help also but you need to decide if thats what you want to do, as you mention racing and alignment specs are important there. FWIW a 265/30 tire is still within spec to be used on an 18x10 wheel, if you still have major issues or concerns.