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Thread: rim and tire fitment

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Posts: 1-8 of 8
2008-12-25 05:26:02
#1
rim and tire fitment
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2008-12-25 06:34:12
#2
Why would you stagger with the bigger ones in the back on a FWD car?!
It's just going to make you understeer even worse!
Your car already has a problem with that by nature!

And you also don't decide on a tire to stretch by it's A/R, as that gives it's height not it's width... Unless you're serious of 30-35mm tires, which are like bicycle tires...
2008-12-26 00:23:45
#3
edit...
2008-12-27 22:41:17
#4
Are you building a show car? I dont see a reason to have a larger size wheels in back unless it will be specifically a show car. FWD cars should have the same size wheels all around for, if nothing else, balance.

Also, 18's are a little to much for the B14, you can get the same look from 17's for less money. Instead of using "staggered" wheels, you should try to find some with a large lip, which I think may be the look you are going for. I would suggest 17x7.5 or 17x8 if they will fit. Anything bigger than that wont fit without modification.

Another thing that you may want to consider is low profile tires arent good for day to day use. They dont last as long (less tread) and they arent as strong (more likely to blow a tire on a large pot-hole). I wouldnt go any smaller than 40's if its a daily driver. But if its a show car, go as small as you want!

These are all my own opinions and suggestions, so take them as you will.
2008-12-27 23:45:07
#5
Originally Posted by clean200
"staggered" im not gonna put the wider wheels in front thats common sense.





10.13@147

Video - TinyPic - Free Image Hosting, Photo Sharing & Video Hosting
VE+T

Same car, better run:
http://agracingvideo.com/videos/ponce/22mayo08/3.wmv
11.04@127mph

Obviously these guys have no common sense.

Positive encouragement?
Sure
Go ahead and ruin your handling and performance just for looks! Join the ranks of all the internet badasses with the JdM mAdtyT3 yo crowd!

You're AWESOME
2008-12-28 19:11:30
#6
The reason RWD cars stagger is so that they have more traction on the wheels that power the car. An over simplified explination is wider tires = more traction. On a FWD car (especially one prone to understeer like the B14) you don't want more traction at the rear, you want it at the front. That's why FWD drag cars stagger with wider front tires.

I do agree with you though that the rear wheels on a B14 would look better pushed out a bit... why not just use a spacer though and longer wheel studs? Yes, it should contribute to some minor additional understeer at the limits, but nothing on the order of what you'd get with a wider tire/wheel combo, and certainly nothing that couldn't be dialed out with other suspension changes (sway bars/spring rates/bent beam).

As for 18's... the conventional wisdom is that 17's are as far as you want to go. What wheels and tires did you have in mind? Personally I like 16's on a B14 (now that you can get 205/45/16 Bridgestone RE-01Rs) . You didn't state what your goals were as far as this wheel upgrade. 18's are going to really limit your tire choices and unless you have serious money, they're going to be quite heavy which is terrible for all types of vehicle performance.

Finally, the last reason *not* to put heavy staggered 18's on a B14... Even if you don't care about performance, even if you think it looks cool, anyone who is interested in performance will think you were ignorant or an idiot or both for doing this. You'll be laughed at for it and I'm sure that isn't the reaction your looking for.
2008-12-29 14:08:53
#7
17" wheels and larger belong on SUV's.

16" would be the absolute maximum I would go with (and I have more than enough power to spin them.)

For reference: 16x7.5 38ET wheel. 1.5" lip.



A 3" lip would ruin your suspension, because it'd have to be a 20 or lower ET, which pushes out the entire wheel from the hub, and no longer centers it.
2008-12-30 04:24:14
#8
Originally Posted by TeKKiE
17" wheels and larger belong on SUV's.

16" would be the absolute maximum I would go with (and I have more than enough power to spin them.)


I disagree slightly... while I also prefer 16"s, the tire choices are very limited.
That's not the case for 17"s. IMO, Tires are the most important performance and safety item you can choose for your car. For that reason, I can see the justification of stepping up to a 17" if you want a good selection of high performance tires and can't fit a 15" due to a BABK. The downside is that you'll have to put up with the additional weight and costs involved.


For the OP... here's what Mike Kojima had to say on the subject a few years back.

"The widest tire that you should run unless you have a turbo or some other ungodly power is a 205. Wider tires will result in more drag than our relatively low power engines can accelerate. A 205/50-15 works well in most cases and a wide variety of R compound tires are available in this size. The maximum rim width that the B14/B15 can run is 7.5 inches with a 35-40 mm offset.... Remember that 1 lb on the wheel is worth about 10 on the car due to the wheels rotational Inertia. We took 0.4 seconds off of Mike Saiki’s ¼ mile time just by going from 16 inch Axis wheels to 15 inch TE37’s. The difference is all in the wheel weight and tire diameter"

Good advice which can be found here: http://www.sr20-forum.com/suspension/1801-b13-b14-b15-suspension-information.html#post24096
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