Hey everyone, I'm in the process of switching out my RPF-1's for RPO-3's. I picked these because I prefer the concave look vs having a lip. And I thought the SBC coating (a dark chrome) would look good against the black car. And RFP-1's are just too common for me.

I had to go with some unusual offsets in order to get the SBC coating. No tires yet, i wanted to get a feel for how they sit before purchasing them in case I need to do a little stretch.

rear: 18x10 +22
front: 18x9 +18

On the front I've got R-magic fenders, and I was hoping they would be wide enough to allow the wheel to fit. Unfortunately, I don't think they are wide enough, eaven if I shaved the inner lip off completely I think they'd still hit. (and I only have H&R springs on the stock shocks, so there is some travel) Looks like I'll have to get some feed fenders this week.







On the rears, I'll have to do a pretty good pull, but I think I can them to fit. I get to try out my new eastwood roller.

 

Looks sweet!

 

How much did you get them for? and where? they look really nice..

 

Nice choice colin, I think that SBC will look sharp against the black. When you decide on tire sizes let me know, I'll be happy to help you choose something..... I've spent countless late nights doing research so I can probably save you some time

 

niiice

 

whens the unveiling?!??!?!

 

I got them from Rishie at AutoR&D, he's a vendor on here. He's very knowledable, will spend time helping you make your decision, and give you a fair price. He responds very quickly, so shoot him a PM if you are interested in getting anything.

So I finally got the tires swapped from my old rims to the new rims (well, one side anyways). I did this just so I could see how the 265 rear and 225 front looked on 1" wider rims before I went and purchased new tires. They aren't too stretched looking so thats a plus.

The fronts look like they clear the fender itself, but the lip of fender looks like it would be damaged if i ever hit a bump while turning. It's a shame, but i think I'll have to break out the dremel and shave it off. If i went with Coilovers (instead of my H&R springs), do you think i could avoid shaving the lip?
(sorry for the crappy pics, my decent camera broke and the lighting in the garage stinks)

A shot of the lip mentioned above (you can see the patchwork I did from when I cracked it before when i was turning into a gas station, so i'm sure there is enough travel for it to be even worse on these rims if I hit a bump while turning)







The rear sticks out a little. The lip hasn't been rolled at all. Do you think I should just roll it, and then keep going until it actually pulls out? I've heard that 240 & silvia guys do this a lot, but that FD's don't really pull out as well. And again, would coilovers help me out here?



from the gas tank:


barely a finger, but the lip is still in there


Here's the full car:

 

Thanks Rich, I'll probably take you up on that. I'm trying to avoid the stretched look, and at the same time avoid adding flares to the rear. How do you think the 265's look on the 10" rim? Think I'll be able to pull the rear out enough to make it road worthy?

 

I think if you roll the inside lip on the rear it won't hit..... the front looks like a different story, you'd probly be able to make it work if you threw some camber up front but if your trying to avoid the stretched look then i'd say roll the front and get some good adjustable suspension.

 

Thanks for the info, I need to go buy a heat gun, then I'll get started on the rears.

Unfortunately the front can't be rolled, the fenders are fiberglass. So i'll have to use a dremmel and grind down the lip.

 

I'd say you shouldn't have to do much work to get the rears to fit. First of all, that 265 (35 sidewall?) looks damn good on that wheel, not much stretch at all, pretty much none actually. I had a 265/35 on my 10" RPF1 before and it was stretched A LOT compared to that, so that's surprising. Unless that's a 40 sidewall.

Anyway, IF you have to flare it at all, it won't be much, as long as you keep that tire. If you have to flare, I'd say about 1/2" would probably be enough. I had mine like that for 10.5 +15 with a 295/30 Sumitomo that fit the wheel perfectly, so I'd say that would be enough for you for sure.

And that's hooey that the FD fenders don't pull out well, lol. I mean, yeah, you have to do a little extra work to make them look great, but they look decent with just a pull (depending on how far you go) and I'm sure the 240 guys don't give a **** how their fenders look most of the time lol.

Your setup looks really good!

Not to threadjack, but Rich, if you're helping Collin pick tires, I could use some help picking tires for my new wheels too lol. I'll PM you.

 

Thanks for the info, I'm glad it looks like I won't have to pull the rears much. Yes the 265's have a 35 sidewall, the tires are ToyoR888, and the curvature of where the tread meets the sidewall is pretty much my favorite out of all the tires out there. They look 10 times better than what I've got on the front, but that was just temporary anyways.

Hopefully tomorrow I can find a heat gun and get the rears done.


Then I'll figure out what to do about the front haha. I'd really like to keep the R-Magic fenders, but may end up just getting some FEEDs (even though everyone seems to have them these days)

As far as coilovers are concerned, will a brand that is smooth enough for the street be stiffer than the H&R springs and allow less travel? If I can get just a bit less travel and maybe raise the front up just a tad I'll be able to clear it.

 

konis are as smooth as they get (throw some ground control, or whatever other coilovers on top)

 

Yeah if you pull it just a tad you should be good. And I would think that with a heat gun your paint should be fine too. Just don't have the heat on it TOO much and start bubbling the paint lol. Actually, I don't remember if you're supposed to put heat to the paint side or inner side of the fender.

I agree, those are some great looking tires, and I love the big treadblocks that race tires have lol.

 

Well I couldn't find a heat gun today, so hopefully I can pick one up tomorrow. Most of the day got eaten up by working on my roommate's car, but I did get a few things accomplished.

I've got the roller mounted and ready to go.


I also tackled the front with my dremel.

Taped off:


The black section below the blue tape is what will be removed:


The aftermath:


The fiberglass formerly known as the R-Magic Lip


I did both sides, now I just have to go clean it up with some sandpaper. This, combined with some coilovers, and probably a touch of camber should complete the front.

Oh, and I literally felt sick to my stomach when i took the dremel to the fenders. But I think it came out pretty good haha.

 

my RP03's 18x10+22r with Hankook Ventus V12 Evo's 275/35/18's ,. No pull or roll anything.

 

Awesome, what kind of suspension do you have? You don't rub even when you hit bumps?

I just picked up some HKS Hipermax coilovers so i should have very little travel once installed

 

I don't know how this works.

I threw the 5mm spacers on my 18x10 +42's w/ 275/35/18 T1S's last weekend (effectively making a +37), and put some tape on the fender lip and went for a drive. I JUST rubbed the fabric of the tape without damaging the lip.

 

Another data point, my rear track wheels are RPF1 in 18x10 +38 with 265/35 Advan AD08s and I just have avoided fender contact. To look at my fitment, i was sure I'd have issues but so far so good . This includes many trips through the Dragon and two recent track days. As most probably are aware my fenders are oem stock currently.

 

Ok, well then i'm taking off the roller and testing it out before i roll anything once I get the coilovers on. Thanks for the info everyone.

 

Well, they are all fitted, and i've been driving it quite a bit. Right now I've got the suspension jacked up quite a bit to avoid rubbing, I think i'll go ahead and pull the rear fenders out and get rid of some of the rake eventually, but for now its fine as it is. I love the new coilovers, much better feeling then the old wore out shocks.

Just remembered I took a pic of this when i was getting my tires mounted. I was waiting and flipping through a magazine when I come across an advertisement for the tires i purchased (Dunlop Star Specs), then i look at the wheel they are on, and go figure, its the RPO-3 in the SBC coating haha. I had to take a pic, of all the millions of combinations of tires and wheels in that magazine, it had what I've got, it must be a sign haha.



Here is a crappy pic of the car, my buddy took some on his DSLR but he hasn't emailed them to me yet.

 

Rims look good. So when are you gonna roll your fenders? I just purchased a fender roler and will be doing it soon. It looks a little high in the back.


John

 

Haha, it is a bit high, 3 1/2 fingers can fit between the wheel and the lip. I'm going to try to pull the fenders before the Carlisi meet, I'm just trying to avoid having to have any paint work done until next year. I've heard that even if you are very careful and use a heat gun (which I have) that its still easy to mess up the paint when you start trying to pull the fenders out.

 

^^ have u rolled them yet? if not, practice rollling them first before you attempt to pull em...

i just got my roller last week and rolled all 4 fenders... fronts were already cracked so there was paint chipping but the rears came out awesome...

just take your time and do a few passes and then slowly increase how much you pull

 

Are you gonna be selling the Enkei's?

If you are can you PM me with the specs and what you might be asking for them, I'm interested in picking up a set of them, thanks