I recently moved a set of wheels from my '90 GTU to my '88 GTU. They are Kosei 16" X 8" wheels, +38 offset and the tires are 225-50-16s (Pirelli PZero Neros, if that matters). They never had a clearance issue on the '90 GTU, but rub on the lowest part of the springs up front on the '88. I assume this is because the '88 has the so-called "heavy duty" suspension of the TII while the '90 had the base suspension.

Anyway... I'm reluctant to use a spacer since the front tires are already pretty much flush with the fender, plus I'm concerned about stressing the wheel bearings, etc. I phoned the nice folks at Tire Rack and they said 225-50 is the narrowest tire that is recommended for an 8" wide wheel; even a 215-50 or 215-55 would be outside the manufacturer's recommended size range on my wheels.

Can I use a narrower tire than 225 safely, or is it time to sell these wheels and get something else? Note that this is a 100% daily driver car, never autocrossed or tracked in any way. Thanks for any input.

 

you can do a slight stretch
no manufacturer or competent tire shop is going to reccomend that you do it
i have 225 on a 9" and drive it straight over huge jersey potholes all the time. it's fine

seriously though, just get a tiny spacer. a small spacer is not going to cause you any problems.

 

guy has 195's on his miata on 9" rims.


they look "streched" I guess that's the idea though.

 

how much do they rub on the spring?


if it's just a very minor amount, don't worry about it.

 

It's kind of weird... on the driver's side, it rubbed enough to wear about a 1/16" deep groove in the sidewall. On the driver's side, it has just made a shiny circle and flattened out some of the raised lettering on the tire. Either way, it is bad enough to need to be fixed. The tire with the groove in the sidewall should probably be replaced anyway for safety.

If I were to go with the 5 mm spacers, I'd probably want to have new longer studs pressed in. By the time I do the studs, buy decent spacers, plus whatever hubcentric adapters I might need, I would imagine that's going to get expensive enough that I might be better off buying wheels and tires that fit properly, right?

Is a "stretched" tire less roadworthy for trips on the highway, for example? The Tire Rack guy told me you run the risk of the tire bead actually becoming unseated from the rim, though that sounded a bit extreme.

 

it sounds like your camber is uneven.

i drive up and down the turnpike every weekend. about 60 miles each way. i haven't had any problems. its a very small stretch.

i don't think 5mm is enough to warrant extended studs, but i'm not too familiar with FC stud depth.

if you're really rubbing just that bit, i suggest heading down to the local autoparts store and picking up those very thin universal wheel spacers. i believe they have them in sizes as small as 2.5mm.

 

215s or even 205s will be just fine.

 

That's not at all unlikely. I just bought the car a couple months ago and have been busy sorting out all the fluid changes, belt replacements, etc. and haven't gotten a proper alignment done yet. The previous owner was a nice guy, but didn't strike me as too careful in the maintenance department. He certainly didn't bother keeping any records. I haven't noticed any pulling or odd handling characteristics, but I guess the camber could be off just enough that I'm not feeling it.

I may give the cheap Mr. Gasket universal flat spacers a shot, though I'm not a big fan of band-aid fixes like spacers. I do like the wheels though, and if I can get enough turns on the lugs, maybe I can skip the new studs.

I'll try to post some pictures tomorrow if I have time, but if I've got a shallow (about 1/16" deep) groove worn on the sidewall of the tire just about where the tread wraps into the sidewall, do you think I should replace the tires anyway to be safe?

 

I have 215's on fd wheels and I like them. I have only had them for 2 weeks but the sidewall is nice and stiff and they look cool.

 

Sounds good. Do you have any pictures? Can I ask what brand tire, and what aspect ratio?

 

You may be able to do a 5mm spacer without longer studs. A 10mm definitely needs longer. With a 5mm spacer you don't need to worry about hub-centricity in the front...the center portion of the hub sticks out further than 5mm.

 

Shouldn't I put the spacers on all 4 wheels to preserve the normal handling characteristics (not to mention to keep the car from looking too goofy)?

 

i definitely would... haha

at least in pairs!

look into that alignment

 

you could put 215s on a 10" wheel if you really wanted to although most people think its not safe