Wheel size recommendations

[doctorwedgeworth]

Hey,

After a second blowout in the same number of weeks (bad luck - had tyres all checked after the first one and then passed MOT) in the middle of rush hour in fast lane making me run on metal until I could get to safety, I need new alloys.

I've been running the same size alloys on all four wheels, but wider 215/40/17 tyres on the back and narrower on the front. I can't remember if it's 205 or 195/40/17.

What should I be looking at for the alloys? Sorry if it's a stupid question.

Also, anyone know a good place I can get differing size alloys? Would love something like this http://www.performance-car-guide.co.uk/ ... r2-2-8.jpg

[CalMac]

Wheel diameter wise I'd advise 16" or 17" as there isn't a lot of tyre choice for 15" wheels and 18" is too big really.

Generally you want the wheel widths to be about 1" staggered - so 7J (") front, 8J rear - or 8J front, 9J rear. This isn't set in stone though, just what most go for.

The standard 'flush fitment' that a lot of owners aim for is 8J and 9J with an offset (also called 'ET') of around +35. This is the distance of the wheel mounting face - ie. where it sits on the hub - from the centre line of the wheel in mm. So a wheel with an offset of 0 (zero) has it's mounting face right in the centre of the width. The higher the positive offset, the farther inboard your wheel will sit.

Your PCD is 5x114.3 (often abbreviated to 5x114). That's the wheel stud mounting diameter, so 5 studs equal spaced about a 114.3mm diameter circle.

I run 205/45/16 and 225/45/16 tyres on 7J and 8J Enkei RPF1 wheels - this is pretty standard really.

Driftworks and JDMDistro sell some nice new wheels - you can choose quantity and varying sizes instead of buying a set of 4 equal sized. JDMdistro also sell some nice used wheels but they tend to be pretty expensive retro wheels. Ebay is always an option. Driftworks 'for sale' forum is ok but can be a bit confusing to begin with. Also occasionally sets of wheels pop up on the forum here.

If you find some wheels you like feel free to post a link and we can guide you

[doctorwedgeworth]

Thanks CalMac

[Gordy]

I drove my Mk2 rev 3 turbo as a daily driver for about 4 years, using fronts 205-40-17 and rears 225-45-17. Never had a problem.

[doctorwedgeworth]

Ok so as it stands I've got 4 good (but a few year old) 215/40/17 tyres.

Unless I buy new alloys, I've found two not-quite-right options.

First is staggered alloys 17x7.5J and 17x9.5J with 245/45/17 and 205/40/17 on. I could swap the front with 215/40/17 to keep a 30mm difference (assuming they'll fit on 7.5J rims?) but will the 45 on the back wheels cause me problems?

Second option is four 17x8J with staggered tyres (235/40/17 and 215/40/17). How much difference is there just staggering the tyres? Could doing this in the past have contributed to my two rear wheel blowouts in 2 weeks?
.

[CalMac]

Running staggered tyres on same-size wheels shouldn't have contributed at all to the blow-outs - I'd guess that's usually down to sidewall damage, punctures or insanely high pressures (probably 50psi+!). Or maybe if the tyres hadn't sealed on the bead correctly..? Not sure if that's a thing to be honest.

What tyres are you going to be using? Ideally you want to use the same brand/model front and rear, and steer away from budget ditch finders.

245/45/17 on the rear shouldn't cause you any issues. I prefer taller sidewalls to be honest - gives you the mean drag racing stance Your only downside will be that the speedo will be out of whack because of the larger rolling radius, and maybe some sidewall flex (but I doubt most drivers would even notice). It should be pretty comfortable and hopefully protect your wheels from our native potholes to some extent 235/40/17 is probably going to suit better though (you could run these on the 9.5J wheels too with a slight stretch. It wouldn't be crazy)

I'd go for the 8J wheels all round if choosing between those two wheel options - maybe run 20-25mm hubcentric spacers on the rear too if you want to fine tune the staggered fitment along with wider tyres.

EDIT. I suppose blow-outs could be a result of imbalanced wheels or some suspension component wear too? Just a guess though.

You'll probably struggle to fit 9.5J wheels without some rubbing or arch clearance issues - especially without stretched tyres. Depending on the offset they could actually foul the suspension strut.

[aussieGT]

Ok so as it stands I've got 4 good (but a few year old) 215/40/17 tyres.

How much difference is there just staggering the tyres? Could doing this in the past have contributed to my two rear wheel blowouts in 2 weeks?
.

When you say 'a few year old' how old exactly do you mean? The date of manufacture should be stamped on to the sidewall.

Tyres only have a certain lifespan, you can extend their life by storing them in certain ways, but if they have been sitting around without any care (of which I can't say off the top of my head) it reduces their life.

Just because a tyre has tread on it doesn't make it good to use. If you were using the same condition tyres when your blowouts happened - i'd say that would be a likely cause.

[doctorwedgeworth]

The two on the back were there when I got the car two years ago. Date of manufacture I've no idea because they are both in bits now.

The spares I have are all 5 years old, not been in use for 4 years (took them off my old Celica). Stored in a cold basement (stacked on top of each other) before (the one that's in use) being stored under the frump for two years.

Neither of the blow outs were these 5 year old tyres, and the second blowout I'd had checked two weeks before it happened by a tyre place they said all the wheels were fine so I'm not sure

[doctorwedgeworth]

That's CalMac. I was about to buy the 9.5J ones today, didn't consider the width might not fit, saved me some hassle

[aussieGT]

They may have been way overinflated, that or hitting something under the car to cause them to blow. Can't imagine that would have been a nice experience.

[simpson_eh]

Sorry for the thread hijack,.

Just fitted some te37 to my 2 but the front s are 2 big hitting the spring cup. 225/45/17 8j et38. Can I make these fit or just change tyres can't seem to find 225/40 only 35 or do I need a spacer ??


If a spacer where can I get one

Cheers

[gavsdavs]

Sorry for the thread hijack,.

Just fitted some te37 to my 2 but the front s are 2 big hitting the spring cup. 225/45/17 8j et38. Can I make these fit or just change tyres can't seem to find 225/40 only 35 or do I need a spacer ??


If a spacer where can I get one

Cheers

Front tyres are too big. 205 or maybe 215 wiith /40 profile. Offset is a touch high but it should squeeze under.

I find narrower fronts (205) a bit less prone to tramilining as well

[SonicSW20]

17's is the go to now, tyre choice on 16's is getting limited. There's still enough to get by, but as a size 245/40 or 245/45 R16 has pretty much gone, and 225/45R16 has fewer options available every year.

225/40R17 as a size doesn't exist.

[Mullen]

Properly staggered 16"s 7/8JJ all day long with Toyo Proxes T1R. 205/45 or 50 fronts & 225/45 rears.

[Al-sw20]

Properly staggered 16"s 7/8JJ all day long with Toyo Proxes T1R. 205/45 or 50 fronts & 225/45 rears.

The only reason you would voluntarily use T1Rs is if you were sticking with the stock 15” wheels. Good tyre fifteen years ago. Tyre tech moved along quite some way now.

[Mullen]

I like them and they're not too expensive.
What would you recommend instead?

[yokomomr4bx]

I would also be interested to hear what people are running on 16" rims these days as I'm facing tyre choice for a staggered set of R32 GTR/GTST rims that have been in my lounge for a few years! I'm currently on 17" Firestone Firehawk SZ90's and genuinely can't complain about them, if they offered them in 16" I would be getting another set. As it is I was resigning myself to another set of T1R's as I have tried them previously and wasn't blown away, but for the price can you really argue!

[Al-sw20]

Bridgestone RE003. Far superior to the T1R. The sidewalls don't flex like the T1R and they have much more wet grip.

[SonicSW20]

RE003's are not available in the UK.

If it's a road car that sees very little winter usage, than the AD08R is the best choice for performance for 16's.

I'd take a Kumho KU31 over a T1R any day. Similar price and better performance in the wet.

17inch wheels open up the choices massively.

[aussieGT]

Properly staggered 16"s 7/8JJ all day long with Toyo Proxes T1R. 205/45 or 50 fronts & 225/45 rears.

The only reason you would voluntarily use T1Rs is if you were sticking with the stock 15” wheels. Good tyre fifteen years ago. Tyre tech moved along quite some way now.

T1R's in our size for the rear are being discontinued this year afaik. I spoke to Toyo last year, they said they were bringing out a new tyre in the same size some time late this year.

I found them to be pretty unpleasant for the first few how ever many k's, couldn't tell whether is was the sidewalls flexing or the new deep tread being squidgy giving the horrible wavy feel to the rear, not as bad a the Toyo proxes4 were from memory.

No idea what the new tyre will be called, i'm hoping for good things!