Wheel advice needed

[Nick Read]

OK not being a big wheel swapper, I need some advice on this. Thinking of putting 17s on but its gonna be tight and dont wanna strain the suspension more than it already is if I can help it.

Now a 205/40/17 tyre will *just* fit I think, but the problem is the wheel width. I want it to be bang on, and centred from the hub just the same as my 6.5x15 wheel at the moment. so surely if I put a wider wheel on (7x17) , with the same offset, Im gonna end up with the rim closer to the inner arch? I was thinking if I go for say a 38mm -40mm offset instead of the standard 35mm, then even though the wheel (and tyre) are roughly an extra cm wider, by increasing the offset of the wheel, Ill counteract this and keep the suspension setup roughly the same, with the same amount of clearance on the inner arch? The outer arch has enough room for the wheel to be pushed out slightly anyway.

Any opinions on this?

 

[Fred@BTM]

Im not an expert, or anything but wouldnt it be a better idea to get the same offset as youve already got and then use spacers to move the wheel out if it catches?? Maybe this is a crap idea, just a thought though. Ill tell you what i can do, ill put my wheels on jon16vs clio 1.8 16ver and let you know if it catches. My wheels are 7x17 ET37 (i think, ill double check)

 

[wongy008]

nick

its not worth it mate and stick with the 35mm offset mate.hear me out here ok but i maybe wrong.right clio is 35mm offset and my wheels are 17x7 38mm offset and rub now and again on the inner arch but the sh*t guard is still on. think you may have a little rubbing too being more slammed but dont forget that each car is always slightly different. some 16v owners say 17 or piece of piss even lowered and some say its quite a lot of work. dont forget also that if your going for higher offsets your theoretically pushing the wheel out from arches right. this will in turn cause problems at the back catching.

its a balancing act really i say stick with 35 mm and see what happens.easier to mod the front arches than the back ones

wongy

 

[BenR]

Heya nick, although i only got an RT, i have 7J wheels, and ET -37. The dont rub unless on full lock and under full compression. That is with the guards still in. So i dont think 7" widewheels will make too much of a difference, mind you, being 17" diameter, the wheel arch might gat narrower at the top. But your def right about it not being centred with the original offset. But you son want it getting too near the outer lip ow do you, as this is harder to rectify. But whats wrong with 16" wheels?

 

[JamesG]

how did you get 17" on the rt, i was told it would be pointless cos soo much work would need to be done.
i stuck it 15x8 and just got the p.i suspension through lowering me 55mm.

no one like 16", the tyres expensive and there not 17".

nick, how much trouble would 18" be to et on a 16v? would help keep the power down but not sure the turning would be any good.
he he go for 13" would look good , think would be better with areo dynamically. then all you would need is traction control!

 

[lofty]

just to help with any calculations you might be making the width measurment used for wheels is in J, not inches, Js slightly smaller i believe, if you need to i can give you an exact conversion on satarday when i do my day on the tyres.

lofty

 

[Griff]

Lofty,

There is no such measurement as Js!!! The letter J indicates the shape of the mounting surface on the sides of the wheel where the tyre locates when fitted. Offroad wheels have JJ stamped on them as they have a slightly different shape/bevel in order to hold the tyre on stronger.

Griff

 

[wongy008]

no js do exist but i always thought j= inches. im quite sure but not totally sure if you know what i mean

wongy

 

[Griff]

Wongy mate hand on heart "7Jx14" for example simply means 7 inches wide with a 14inch diameter. J definately means the type of fixing for the edge of the tyre. I promose ask a tyre or wheel shop next time you are about.

Griff

 

[wongy008]

griff

ok that sorted that out mate
learn something every day dont ya

just on my cossie stlye 15x 7j wheels i was told the 7 stood for the width in inches but that was elite that told me that.what will they know right there just bolt on wonders.

wongy

 

[wongy008]

griff

ok that sorted that out mate
learn something every day dont ya

just on my cossie stlye 15x 7j wheels i was told the 7 stood for the width in inches but that was elite that told me that.what will they know right there just bolt on wonders.

wongy

 

[Griff]

Wongy,

7 does stand for 7 inches. I just meant that the "J" following it had no relevance on width. Im even confusing myself now!!!

 

[BenR]

oh anyway, i got 15" wheels on (look at the main galery under picsof my car) anyway, i was kust reffering to the widt.I too have dropped -55mm...not oomuch to ruin handling which is most important to me!