Thinking about rims on mp5

[Veylan]

Eventually...anyways. I'm not big on 6" wide tires for a car that has such good handling characteristics. Eventually I'll probably lower it a little (coil overs) and slap some upgraded sway bars under there just in case that makes a difference on what rims will fit.

The look I like is when the edge of the rim and tire comes almost to the edge of the width of the fenders. Where they're only about 1/2" or so from the edge of the fender, ya know?

Anyways, I don't think I'm going to be able to afford a Fikse or HRE rim, but I'd still like light-weight, 17" and preferably 8" wide if they'll fit without rubbing. Something tells me though that only a 7.5" will fit. Never the less... what offset and all should I look for?

I've considered the Kosei K1 rims (6-spoke 17" white) since they weigh only 15 lbs or so and are reasonable on cost. I don't know the offset but they're offered through TireRack.com.

So back to the original question: what offset and all should I look for on a set of rims to fit the way I described above?

Thanks!
Thomas
Red 02 mp5

 

[ARD MP5]

Check out the recipe above and you will have all your offset and width answers.

Rishie

When you've figured out what wheel will work let me know and I'll price it out. Need to know your budget as well.

 

[Veylan]

I've read the recipe, but I don't see how it answers my question . Maybe I'm a little thick or something but I need to know what offset will yield the outer edge of the rim being 1/2" or so from the outer edge of the farthest point on the wheel wells, as opposed to the over 1 1/2" worth of space that's on the car right now. I dunno.. all that space just makes the car look over weight. <cough> Mustangs <cough>. I also don't like the look of really tiny width tires, hence the reason for wanting to swing some rims that are at the least an inch more wide. It would be very cool if 8's or 9's could fit on our cars without rubbing, but that's a pipe dream .

Thank you for the help,
Thomas

 

[Sir Nuke]

I've read the recipe, but I don't see how it answers my question . Maybe I'm a little thick or something but I need to know what offset will yield the outer edge of the rim being 1/2" or so from the outer edge of the farthest point on the wheel wells, as opposed to the over 1 1/2" worth of space that's on the car right now. I dunno.. all that space just makes the car look over weight. <cough> Mustangs <cough>. I also don't like the look of really tiny width tires, hence the reason for wanting to swing some rims that are at the least an inch more wide. It would be very cool if 8's or 9's could fit on our cars without rubbing, but that's a pipe dream .

Thank you for the help,
Thomas

hello and welcome to the club....

the previous poster is our resident expert on wheels/tires/suspension upgrades for the P5 ... his name is Rishie....its HIS thread at the top of the forum......

you need to look at it closer....at the top is the MAX tire width/heigth you can run and keep the tire as close to the stock diameter as posible, its coupled with the wheel WIDTH....no 8 and or 9's won't go.....7's or 7.5's are the max without rubbing.....directly after the wheel width he states what the offset is you need for that widthwheel with the tiresize above it is REQUIRED for it not to rub. .......

 

[Veylan]

Yeah, I know; and I know who he is. I read that part but it doesn't answer my question. I want to know, basically, where is the edge of the rim going to show up in relation to the fender? That part isn't answered anywhere in there. I appreciate the large and extensive thread that he was pointing to. And as I said, I read it, more than twice now just to make sure I'm not in error by asking this question repeatedly. Those with stock rims know what I'm talking about. The rims don't come out very far so it looks like the fenders are hanging out wider than the width of the rim. In my opinion, it makes the car look overweight (think stock V6 Mustang, stock V6 Comaro's/Firebirds, etc. for examples of what an over-weight car looks like). Me, I like the super aggresive stance. I like to see the edge of the fender and almost directly below it the edge of the rim and tire so that it looks like the width of the wheel base is the same as the car's body (think M3, M5, S4, S8, etc. for examples of what I'm talking about as far as aggressive is concerned). So is a 17x7.5 going to fit the bill for coming near to the edge of the fender? And if yes, which one of those offsets more completely fits the description of what I'm looking to do? Forgive me, I don't know much about offsets this massive (off in the 40's and all) because I've only owned rear-drive cars up to this point and I remember there being something about positive and negative offsets and all. I can't remember exactly what that looks like graphically related to the center line of the rim width itself.

So forgive me, please, for posting again the same question; but it simply remains unanswered as far as I can tell. I don't want to spend $900+ on a set of rims and tires just to find that the outer edge lands roughly in the same spot as the stock rims, making my car look overweight again at a higher price. Those wheel selectors and what not on the sites only show you what the wheel will look like against the profile of the car, unfortunately. No information of what it'll look like in relation to anything else :-(.

Thanks,
Thomas

 

[Sir Nuke]

Okay...I got what you actually mean now Thomas.....and btw...your talking to someone else here that is past 40! lol we old foggies need to stick together... (stash). What you are truely wanting to do is FILL UP the wheel well....

so lets see....one thing that will make a differnce as to how close to the fenderwell the wheel/tire will be is the EXACT brand/model of tire you end up choosing....some have differing profiles and stick out from the sidewall farther than others. BUT....no matter what size wheel/tire you use....unless you lower the car....there is still going to be that same gap OVER the tire as you have with the stock wheel/tire.....even if the outside of the wheel is closer to the outside of the wheelwell.

SO....to give you the WIDEST wheel possible....and get it as close as possible to the edge of the body without a rubbing problem is going to be a 7.5 inch wheel....with an offset of +48mm. if you get it any lower than that on a p5....you will end up rubbing somewhere.

 

[Rotus]

I know what he's talking about also. I hate the look that the cheaper mustangs/firebirds have. Looks like they slapped a wide body on a small frame. Oh wait, that's exactly what Ford did. That's something that happens a lot on 'merican cars.

Unfortunately, there is only so much you can do about letting the rims hang out. During extreme travel of the suspension, the tire/wheel combo will have to pass within the fenderwell. So the best solution to your problem would be what Sir Nuke said and get 7.5" wide with a +48mm offset. Here is a formula for calculating offset that may help you understand what it is all about.

Sorry about the size. I've been looking for some new rims and found these that I kinda like... http://www.machiii.net/machiii/html/wheels/machspeed2.html

mmm, steel gray....

 

[Veylan]

Awesome, thanks! I really appreciate ya'lls patience with me ;-). I dig those rims too. They look sweet. I'm considering something black though. Gloss black since my car is a high-gloss red. Not going for rice, of course, but I've just thought that combo, with tinted windows, looks pretty sporty. More so than a white wheel, though white does look good against red.

Thanks again for the assistance.

Thomas