Wheel Size Advice 7" vs 8"

DarbyshireZ

Club Member
Cheers status. Budget is £1000-£1500 to include tyres. Looking for modern twist on a classic look, more country road than race track and not to painful to drive without power steering. No flared wheel arches or lowered suspension just bigger front calibres. Preferably 15 inch rims but maybe 16 if they would fit. Ideal to copy someones similar proven set up.
 

mrzed

Club Member
I have jbw mini lite style 8 wide wheels with 225/60/15 tyres fitted on standard suspension,
And only have issues when I go down a pot hole ,then I can hear the tyre touching the rear arches slightly sometimes.
 

status

Well-Known Forum User
If you are going bigger calipers you might have clearance issues with 15 s,why are you going bigger calipers,are you taking it on the track,if not don't bother,ping me over yer email and I'll send you the latest piccys of my Zed
 

DarbyshireZ

Club Member
cheers status. Front brakes now fitted are the four piston caliper kit from MSA, part number 24-5700 so not mega large.

will ping with email status and mrzed we're near neighbours as I'm in Blackburn albeit car is in a workshop in east Manchester at the minute.
 

Red7

Well-Known Forum User
cheers what spec tyre would you need with the 16" to make sure they fit the standard set up? ta


I bought Status's Rotas and put on a set of 225/50/16 but the o/s front caught the indicator part of the valance so I swapped for 205/50/16 and they're fine, I'm on standard USA suspension but ordered some lowering springs and I'm certain they'll still be ok :thumbs:
 

johnymd

Club Member
I bought some 8x15 et0 Rotas with 205/50x15 t1r's. The car was lowered and the fit looked perfect. It does catch on the lip of one rear arch though. Our cars are 40+ years old so could be slightly different(especially if they have had r at arches). This is the best size for looks IMO but will be very close to the arch lip.
 

zNathan

Well-Known Forum User
Further to what John said,

I have a set of Rota Grid V's 15x8 et0 all round with 225/50/15 Toyo T1R tyres (I must say they look quite ballooney at that width and would probably look a lot better with 205 section tyres).

The car was on typical lowering springs and would scrub the rear arches when there was more weight in the car i.e. a passenger. The fronts were fine though.
 

DarbyshireZ

Club Member
Thanks for all the advice guys. Just my luck now as there would appear to be virtually no Rotas in stock in the UK (other than matte bronze) until mid July with the only wheels that are in stock are the JBW minilites which are very nice but I would have liked a choice.
 

Rob Gaskin

Treasurer
Staff member
Site Administrator
Thanks for all the advice guys. Just my luck now as there would appear to be virtually no Rotas in stock in the UK (other than matte bronze) until mid July with the only wheels that are in stock are the JBW minilites which are very nice but I would have liked a choice.

JBW Minilites are what's on my blue car - I need to get rid of that guy behind my car (and the tent and people sitting).
 

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status

Well-Known Forum User
You will get them on eBay ,mine came from the states,didn't take long as they have things sorted,unlike over here,I'll try and find the supplier
 

status

Well-Known Forum User
Just double checked.Aspec wheels,ok to deal with,that's where I got mine,one reason I sold mine was that the polished lip looked too plastics if you know wot I mean compared to the polished steel rims I have now ( image ) so best have a look at a few Zeds ,the main reason I sold them is they look so much better in a 17 inch rim although they do look ok in 16 inch just a matter of wot you like best,if you go down to a 15 inch rim the wheel arch will look as described before ,balloony,your choice so look at a few first before purchase
 

Graeme - CZ

Club Member
Hi Tim,

I've been reading through your thread. I having precisely the same challenge re which size / type of rims to go with. What did you go with in the end? You got any pics?

Cheers, Graeme
 

datsfun

Club Member
Wheel selection is relatively easy.


Firstly agree on diameter size
14"- only franky wants this. :)
15' - most common
16'-17"..some folk like bigger diameter wheels

Then agree the fitment you desire
Flush with arches or sitting inboard ?

Like already mentioned, on a s30 or s130, +ve offset wheels generally equate to them sitting more inwards.

Then it's determine wheel width. Again 7" or 8" fit fine on a stock bodied car.

Then it's down to tyre sizing.

Low profile ? Stretch ? Old school meaty tyre look ?

Once all this is done, it's down to whether car is lowered ? Arch lips rolled?

Naturally if you want aggressive fitment, then you will push the boundaries of each of the variables to get the package to work.
 
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