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Watanabes reps
- Thread starter atomman
- Start date
richiep
Club Member
Excellent - are these Rota RKRs in new negative offsets and greater widths? If so, about time from them! Or are these Atara Racing wheels? The sizes and offsets seem to match the specs ive just seen mentioned for their wheels. Where are they coming from?
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The 10,5s will need at least a 265 wide tyre or even 275/285??
Can you get anything that wide in a 15" diam???
Looks like a bit of arch widening/cutting needed too
Have i done the right thing
To answer your question - IMO only if your priority is to make your car look sporty.
I'm sure the driving experience will be less sporty.
You would need very clever, expensive and fully adjustable suspension to be able to drive it on the 'Queens Highway'. Steering will be an issue too with problems like scrub, kickback, no PS etc.
There is an obsession with fitting the biggest wheels possible on cars that I just don't understand. However I'm nearly 61 and will have a different outlook on these things.
If I was you I'd seriously consider exchanging them for something about 8" wide.
atomman
Club Member
Your right Rich they are indeed Atara Racing wheels they only did them in 9's but are now making 10.5's to,
A friend over in the states is picking up a set this week and is going to let me know quality, wieghts etc before I part with any money,
Tyre wise I was thinking 245 50 15's toyo's, or maybe 265's Hankook's, I already run 225 50 15's on my 10" rears but they are a bit streched though so i could sort out arch clearence ride hieght etc,
Arch's are already cut for my 10" rears so fittment wont be to much of a problem I hope but nothing thats unachievable.
A friend over in the states is picking up a set this week and is going to let me know quality, wieghts etc before I part with any money,
Tyre wise I was thinking 245 50 15's toyo's, or maybe 265's Hankook's, I already run 225 50 15's on my 10" rears but they are a bit streched though so i could sort out arch clearence ride hieght etc,
Arch's are already cut for my 10" rears so fittment wont be to much of a problem I hope but nothing thats unachievable.
atomman
Club Member
Interesting what you say Rob,
My car had 8's on it and now has 9's and 10's and I really havent noticed any problems with steering ,srcub etc , I did have it all set up properly for toe,camber etc after I did the suspension and got the height set right though which makes a big diference,
I should reallly put the 8's back on a take it for a drive and do a comparison before i sell them,
I do know what you mean about people trying to put the biggest wheels possible on a car thses days, Im not a big fan of the new Rota watanabe replicas becuase they are 17's and I think look all wrong in proportion to the car, with those elastic band tyres,
Thats why I like these becuase 15" is in more keeping with the stye of the car when it was designed and you get a decent tyre to wheel ratio,
Did'nt the factory ZR race cars run 14x8.5 and 14x11 R watanabes ?
so these would be sort of and inbetween size
Gary
racer
Club Member
I agree 15"s are def a better look than the lager sizes imo.
The 888 toyo's are a superb tyre but you will struggle to get anything big enough.
Proxes R888 | Toyo Tires
The 888 toyo's are a superb tyre but you will struggle to get anything big enough.
Proxes R888 | Toyo Tires
Albrecht
Well-Known Forum User
No.
atomman
Club Member
sure I read that somewhere Albrecht but think its was about KPGC10s though, and it could have been wrong,
Any ideas what they did run on 240z's ?
Albrecht
Well-Known Forum User
I think it's a mistake to look at what the factory ( and others ) were doing 40+ years ago with regards to wheels, as they were going wider and wider in response to the tyre construction and compounds of the period. Copying the wheel sizes but using modern tyre constructions and compounds ( even for road legal tyres ) is a bit of a Cul-de-Sac.
The 8.5j x 14" front and 10.5j x 15" rear was the Nissan 'Sports Option' offering for the Fairlady Z432-R. The 8-spoke magnesium wheels were made by Kobe Seiko. Nissan used them on their factory PZR race cars. Watanabe 8-spokes look similar.
Albrecht
Well-Known Forum User
this is the only picture I can find at the moment of a works race car
It's a replica / lookalike of a period works race car, built just a few years ago.
The wheels are 15", and - as it's replicating one of the later works cars with the even wider arches than were used in 71/72 - they will be around 11 / 11.5j on the rear and 9.5j / 10j front.
Don't think I'm trying to discourage you or anything ( I'm currently building a ZR rep that will use 11j rear and 9.5 j fronts in 15", and have a KPGC10 that has 11j rears and 9.5j fronts.... ) but I do understand the differences between form and function that other posters are pointing you towards. An S30 will probably be more nimble and nicer to drive on 7j x 7.5j wheels, but more always attracts. Reality is that what works best is very likely to look conservative.
johnymd
Club Member
IMO the majority of people choose form over function to a certain degree. I chose a 240z mainly for its looks and secondly for how it goes/drives. I have never chosen to drive a skoda or hillman imp dispite them being good on the rally circuits because I don't like the look of them. Most of us go for the look and try not to ruin the drivability too much.