Wheels in the works

Vultz

Member
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2003 1.8L Protege
Havn't posted in this section for a while but I really need some clarification.

I went to a tyre size calculator site to check what size rubber i should get when i get my new 17x7's to keep the aspect ratio the same. According to what i worked out i should be running 205x40x17 which will make the car 0.1% slower on the speedo which is negligable.

Now i visited the wheel and tyre forum in here and everyone is saying that 205x40x17 will rub, but then i see they have 215x40x17 as fine! Now 215 as far as i could work out is a larger tire as far as total size goes so why is it that a 205 will rub but that won't?

Also, the whole offset thing really confuses me. I have been looking around for a definition of what it's talking about and why it's important but with no luck.

Thanks for the help people :)
 
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^ that. just as long as you get a 42 offset or greater you'll be right. obviously you cant go too far otherwise you'll hit the strut
 
twilightprotege said:
^ that. just as long as you get a 42 offset or greater you'll be right. obviously you cant go too far otherwise you'll hit the strut
like wot others said u should b ok with wheels with >42 offset.

ive got 215/40/17 42offset n i rub with full load...but thats i have hatch...sedans are more forgiving.
 
I've got 215/40s as well. No rubbing either way, but I have wheels with quite a high offset (55mm).
 
I went and priced a set of wheels i was interested in on saturday of this weekend. The guy quoted my 1900 with rubber but i think thats fairly high. It was 250 a wheel plus 225 each tyre. Anyone know of some places in sydney that are more competitive? This was at Beaurepairs by the way...
 
i'm sure beaurepairs would be charging you premium prices...

what tyres are you looking at? you can save or spend a lot on tyres
 
The tyres were $225 each, the wheels he quoted me $250 a rim. I emailed speedy (the wheel manufacturers) and they have an rrp of $295, so Beaus price isnt too bad (rim wise anyway). The rubber i remembered as being 215/40R17 F1 which is probably a Dunlop tyre. I just checked on Beaurepaires website and it looks to be the case. I wouldn't get cheap rubber as it would defeat the purpose. If someone can recommend some nice grippy rubber thats not so dear id appreciate it.

The wheels im after are Speedy Lite-6. The look im after and they arn't too heavy which is good (lightweight series)
 
I had a set of dunlop lemans 702 on my car an they did a great job

they are by no means the cheapest tyre out there but they were exceptional in all conditions. They were a rather soft compund but they had awsome traction and handled well in the wet and on gravelly roads, they also helped the car pull up well and on hard launches traction was never really a problem. Because i couldnt afford to replace them with the same tyre now i am running falkens they are very cheap and are good value, but i really miss dunlops as i never lost tracking and quick changes from first to second never resulted in the regular chirp that comes with these tyres.
 
I made the decision last week to pursue the upgrade of my suspension before my wheels. I couldn't justify such a large sum of money on wheels when my current set have so much rubber left on the tyres. Also, i think my car will benefit more from a good suspension set up.

I've been speaking with K-mac regarding pricing. Unfortunately they don't make a coil-over setup for the 323 yet, so i will go progressive springs and new shocks coupled with a rear anti sway bar, front and rear camber/castor kit and also a front strut. Will cost me over a grand all up but my car will handle like a go-kart (minus the oversteer =P ) afterwards.
 
good idea. wheels dont make as much of a difference in handling as other parts in the suspension do. dont forget the all important sway bars too. hopefully we can eventually get whiteline to make us a front and rear bar set rather than just a rear bar
 
Yeah, getting the rear sway bar. I figure it should be enough to eliminate any understeer the car has at the moment. It's not sever understeer, but it is noticable. I really want to get rid of the body roll though. Going through a moderate corner at speed it just tilts. Not good for confidence or handling..

Looking forward to getting the set up though. Am aiming to get it by mid October (need to save some money as padding first)
 
Hey are you planning on installing the bits yourself? I'm planning on doing springs in October too! :) I'm also very interested in the rear sway bar, let us know how you go with prices and install.
 
Blech, well I spoke to Kenny @ K-Mac regarding pricing and what not.

For a full set up (thats 4 struts, 4 springs, rear sway bar, front strut bar, + installation) it was going to cost $1900. I also told him id need to leave enough room when its lowered for when i get my 17x7 wheels later down the track. Kenny basically said to get the wheels first so there is no chance of rubbing etc.

Seeing as how much the suspension is going to cost anyway, I may as well get the wheels sooner...

Btw, Im no mechanic. My level of involvement with mods on my car has gone as far as installing my short shifter. Besides, i heard that you need some sort of spring compressor to install springs in your car.

I dunno... All this stuff costs so much! I have to consider what I can do without when I do the install. Maybe i'll be lazy and just get the shorter springs.
 

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