General wheels question

[Willtl 54]

I'm probably going to change my tyres before the winter comes and am half thinking about changing the wheels at the same time (although I have no specific wheels in mind). My question is, what size wheels can be put on the car without changing anything or do I need to stick to 215/45R17?

 

I don't particularly want larger wheels but would like something a bit wider.

[Tareim 343]

17x8 et 35 would be perfect fitment and 215/45R17 will be ok just a little bit of stretch but if you don't want stretch then go 225

[Johnno92 12]

http://www.willtheyfit.com/

Really useful site to help selecting tyre size if you do end up going for larger/wider wheels, used it many times..

[Willtl 54]

4 minutes ago, Tareim said:

17x8 et 35 would be perfect fitment and 215/45R17 will be ok just a little bit of stretch but if you don't want stretch then go 225

What does 17x8 et 35 mean?

 

Are you saying I can go to 225/45R17 without any problem on a stock car? If I wanted to go a bit bigger, can I switch to 225/45R18 without problem?

[Tareim 343]

Just now, Willtl said:

What does 17x8 et 35 mean?

 

Are you saying I can go to 225/45R17 without any problem on a stock car? If I wanted to go a bit bigger, can I switch to 225/45R18 without problem?

17 inch wheel 8 inches wide and et 35 is the offset, standard is 48, you could put 225/45 on the standard wheel but you would get a fair amount of sidewall flex, 225/45R18 would throw out the speedo, you'd need to go 225/40R18 to get it close to stock as possible

[Church 209]

Standard is ET48 (offset in mm from wheel's centerline to axle's hub) for 7" wide wheel. While also ET48's 8" wide wheel centerline's would go same place as OEM wheel's, it would add extra half of an inch (12.7mm) both to inside and outside of wheel, or in example of ET35, almost same on inside as stock ET48 x7" wheels, but 25.7mm more to outside.

Speedo/gearing wise 225/40/R18 would also be bigger then stock 215/45/R17. For R18 AND of 225 width closest tire diameter to stock 215/45/R17 tire's is 225/35/R18.

Within closest number changes simplest way by rule of thumb to keep somewhat similar overall circumference/diameter is - if rising one number, lower sidewall height (in % of tire's width) by "step". Rise two numbers (in this case both wheel diameter R17>R18 AND width 215>225) - lower sidewall height by two steps to compensate. Or just use some online tire calculator similar to linked in above to compare variants. (liking this particular, that it lets add many variants, not just between the two)

[Johnno92 12]

225/40/R18 will give a 1.8% over read on the speedo, 225/35R18 is a 1.7% under read.. Both fairly negligible as speedo will vary by about 1mph at 70.. However 225/40R18 is a very common Tyre size and is much more readily available with more choice and less cost than 225/35/R18..

[zhuonanli 14]

i run 225/40/r18 front and 255/35/r18 rear

[Willtl 54]

11 hours ago, Tareim said:

17 inch wheel 8 inches wide and et 35 is the offset, standard is 48, you could put 225/45 on the standard wheel but you would get a fair amount of sidewall flex, 225/45R18 would throw out the speedo, you'd need to go 225/40R18 to get it close to stock as possible

Thanks for the help so far, but I'm still being left a little confused. Going back to your comment that 17X8 et 35 would be a perfect fitment, this would be with the 225/45R17 tyre, correct? Church mentioned that this is almost the same on the inside but 25.7mm more outside. So I assume this means it would fit without any danger of rubbing, but stick out 2.5CM more than the current wheels. Is there any danger of MOT failure with this?

[Tareim 343]

2 minutes ago, Willtl said:

Thanks for the help so far, but I'm still being left a little confused. Going back to your comment that 17X8 et 35 would be a perfect fitment, this would be with the 225/45R17 tyre, correct? Church mentioned that this is almost the same on the inside but 25.7mm more outside. So I assume this means it would fit without any danger of rubbing, but stick out 2.5CM more than the current wheels. Is there any danger of MOT failure with this?

I say it's perfect fitment as it's pretty much flush with the arch and won't poke out so no it won't be an MOT failure and yes that with the 225 tyre

[Willtl 54]

On ‎13‎/‎04‎/‎2017 at 10:29 AM, Tareim said:

I say it's perfect fitment as it's pretty much flush with the arch and won't poke out so no it won't be an MOT failure and yes that with the 225 tyre

Thanks for the advice (and also from other people who have commented). I'm a bit concerned on how I'd get the wheels tyred and onto the car. Do most people just order the wheels and take them down to your preferred tyre shop and ask them to fit the tyres and wheels?

[Deacon 1357]

Just now, Willtl said:

Thanks for the advice (and also from other people who have commented). I'm a bit concerned on how I'd get the wheels tyred and onto the car. Do most people just order the wheels and take them down to your preferred tyre shop and ask them to fit the tyres and wheels?

That's what I do 👍

 

[Johnno92 12]

5 hours ago, Willtl said:

Thanks for the advice (and also from other people who have commented). I'm a bit concerned on how I'd get the wheels tyred and onto the car. Do most people just order the wheels and take them down to your preferred tyre shop and ask them to fit the tyres and wheels?

I got my wheels and tyres delivered separate, took them to garage to be fitted/balanced then took them home and put them on the car myself.. The garage offered to fit them but I didn't want to drive home with dirty old wheels in the car.. I would mention if you decide to do the same, you run out of space pretty quick trying to fit 4 wheels an tyres separately into an 86.!

[Willtl 54]

5 hours ago, Johnno92 said:

I got my wheels and tyres delivered separate, took them to garage to be fitted/balanced then took them home and put them on the car myself.. The garage offered to fit them but I didn't want to drive home with dirty old wheels in the car.. I would mention if you decide to do the same, you run out of space pretty quick trying to fit 4 wheels an tyres separately into an 86.!

I had already planned this out. I have a Dodge Journey to do the heavy lifting. Just out of interest, are there any particular wheel brands I should be looking at and likewise, any I should steer clear of?

[Johnno92 12]

4 hours ago, Willtl said:

I had already planned this out. I have a Dodge Journey to do the heavy lifting. Just out of interest, are there any particular wheel brands I should be looking at and likewise, any I should steer clear of?

I can recommend taking a look at Japan Racing but only because that's what I went with, really it's a matter of personal taste and budget.. I've not had any problems with any brand in particular so can't really comment on that..

I would say steer clear of replicas, the kind that are all over ebay, I've seen what can go wrong with them..

[Lauren 2259]

There is a huge choice in regard to wheels out there. Ironically most seem to fit replica wheels like Rota and Japan Racing wheels. This is really due to the real item being hideously expensive. In all honesty whilst replica wheels are not my thing, they tend to work well enough and I very rarely hear of people having problems. I have the odd friend with a cracked Rota wheel, but it has to be said it's a rarity. Replica wheels are cheaper cast copies of forged wheels. The real thing is stronger and lighter but it depends how much you worry about such things. 

Mid range wheels like OZ are fine too and at least they are not copies of other wheels. I guess it comes down to how much you want to spend really. For example a set of Rotas or JR racing can be had for around £600 or less in some instances. A set of OZ's £800-£1000. A set of Enkei or Works wheels around £1200, then you have the upper sector with Rays and Advan costing you north of £2K. 

The other option of course is to buy second hand for a set of a decent make of wheels. There is nothing wrong with this, but check the wheels carefully of course. 

So all of this is subject to how much you just want it for looks, whether performance is important and also how authentic or not you want to be with what you put on your car. Of course the bottom line is how much you spend. 

 

[Cerastes 204]

32 minutes ago, Lauren said:

There is a huge choice in regard to wheels out there. Ironically most seem to fit replica wheels like Rota and Japan Racing wheels. This is really due to the real item being hideously expensive. In all honesty whilst replica wheels are not my thing, they tend to work well enough and I very rarely hear of people having problems. I have the odd friend with a cracked Rota wheel, but it has to be said it's a rarity. Replica wheels are cheaper cast copies of forged wheels. The real thing is stronger and lighter but it depends how much you worry about such things. 

Mid range wheels like OZ are fine too and at least they are not copies of other wheels. I guess it comes down to how much you want to spend really. For example a set of Rotas or JR racing can be had for around £600 or less in some instances. A set of OZ's £800-£1000. A set of Enkei or Works wheels around £1200, then you have the upper sector with Rays and Advan costing you north of £2K. 

The other option of course is to buy second hand for a set of a decent make of wheels. There is nothing wrong with this, but check the wheels carefully of course. 

So all of this is subject to how much you just want it for looks, whether performance is important and also how authentic or not you want to be with what you put on your car. Of course the bottom line is how much you spend. 

 

Thanks, very helpful. 

But even a set of the Rotas or JR wheels has to be better than OEM wheels? 

No idea on weight and quality (I assume cast too?) of OEM wheels. 

[Lauren 2259]

OEM wheels are 9.2kg so heavy and obviously cast. OEM wheels are heavy but strong. 

I think it's a personal choice, in terms of weight JR and Rotas will probably be lighter than OEM wheels, though that isn't hard to achieve. By comparison my forged Rays wheels are 7.2kg though mine are 7.4kg with the powder coat. Obviously expensive wheels means the highest quality, but as I said before I have very rarely seen problems with others using replica wheels. 

[Bfranklyn86 52]

1 hour ago, Lauren said:

There is a huge choice in regard to wheels out there. Ironically most seem to fit replica wheels like Rota and Japan Racing wheels. This is really due to the real item being hideously expensive. In all honesty whilst replica wheels are not my thing, they tend to work well enough and I very rarely hear of people having problems. I have the odd friend with a cracked Rota wheel, but it has to be said it's a rarity. Replica wheels are cheaper cast copies of forged wheels. The real thing is stronger and lighter but it depends how much you worry about such things. 

Mid range wheels like OZ are fine too and at least they are not copies of other wheels. I guess it comes down to how much you want to spend really. For example a set of Rotas or JR racing can be had for around £600 or less in some instances. A set of OZ's £800-£1000. A set of Enkei or Works wheels around £1200, then you have the upper sector with Rays and Advan costing you north of £2K. 

The other option of course is to buy second hand for a set of a decent make of wheels. There is nothing wrong with this, but check the wheels carefully of course. 

So all of this is subject to how much you just want it for looks, whether performance is important and also how authentic or not you want to be with what you put on your car. Of course the bottom line is how much you spend. 

 

So the enkei and works are forged too?

I'd be doing this for performance, I actually think the stock wheels look good (albeit the car rides too high on them).

[Church 209]

Lauren: imho 9.2 kg for 17" is reasonable, yes, Enkey that made them, also has lighter ones for aftermarket, but many stock wheels around are also much heavier. +OE often tend to err on safe side, so certainly would had wanted/ordered as stock wheels with some extra strength, to lessen potential warranty issue count. If i'd fault something to stock wheels, it would be their price if new, nearing that of some forged wheels, way above average cast wheel cost in market.

[CHOSENMAN007 81]

5 hours ago, Bfranklyn86 said:

So the enkei and works are forged too?

I'd be doing this for performance, I actually think the stock wheels look good (albeit the car rides too high on them).

ENKEI custom wheels deliver the latest in wheel designs, composite alloy technology such as, casting/forged processes, rigid testing that must pass stringent JGTC Standards and unsurpassed manufacturing facilities. Enkei is dedicated to perfection and delivers the best in aftermarket wheels.

most are not forged bit run pretty close. To be honest you will struggle to notice the difference in such high levels of manufacturing 

[Lauren 2259]

5 hours ago, Bfranklyn86 said:

So the enkei and works are forged too?

I'd be doing this for performance, I actually think the stock wheels look good (albeit the car rides too high on them).

No, they are not. Somem models may be. I was merely mentioning them as a mid-range wheel that are not replica wheels, i.e., their own original design. That is why Rays and Advans are the price they are. A proper forged wheel is lighter (less material) and stronger in comparison to a cast wheel or somewhere inbetween. 

I think once you put a set of nice aftermarket wheels on you will no longer think the stock wheels look good. Also getting the offset right makes a big difference. The OEM wheels have too much offset, but that's what happens when they have to accommodate snow chains as is the case in some markets. 

[jevvy 40]

26 minutes ago, Lauren said:

No, they are not. Somem models may be. I was merely mentioning them as a mid-range wheel that are not replica wheels, i.e., their own original design. That is why Rays and Advans are the price they are. A proper forged wheel is lighter (less material) and stronger in comparison to a cast wheel or somewhere inbetween. 

I think once you put a set of nice aftermarket wheels on you will no longer think the stock wheels look good. Also getting the offset right makes a big difference. The OEM wheels have too much offset, but that's what happens when they have to accommodate snow chains as is the case in some markets. 

Stock is 7.5j 48 offset if I'm I correct, my ce28s are 8j 44 offset so will probably be 10mm out, im tempted to get 10mm spacers just to give the car better looks and have them flush but I suppose I'll have to put them on and measure to double check how much space there is as I'm not sure how close it will be. Also my second hand set of rays with full new tyres was 1050 which is about the same as a jr set when accounting for rubber. but then if you bought second hand cast wheels they would probably be a lot cheaper as well. I think I'd only buy second hand either way but I'm far too thrifty. 

[CHOSENMAN007 81]

1 hour ago, jevvy said:

Stock is 7.5j 48 offset if I'm I correct, my ce28s are 8j 44 offset so will probably be 10mm out, im tempted to get 10mm spacers just to give the car better looks and have them flush but I suppose I'll have to put them on and measure to double check how much space there is as I'm not sure how close it will be. Also my second hand set of rays with full new tyres was 1050 which is about the same as a jr set when accounting for rubber. but then if you bought second hand cast wheels they would probably be a lot cheaper as well. I think I'd only buy second hand either way but I'm far too thrifty. 

I'm on a 8j +45. I'm pretty sure I run 15 or 20mm spacers on the front and rear. 10mm will not be enough if you want your wheels flush. Oem wheels are so far in.

[Lauren 2259]

2 hours ago, jevvy said:

Stock is 7.5j 48 offset if I'm I correct, my ce28s are 8j 44 offset so will probably be 10mm out, im tempted to get 10mm spacers just to give the car better looks and have them flush but I suppose I'll have to put them on and measure to double check how much space there is as I'm not sure how close it will be. Also my second hand set of rays with full new tyres was 1050 which is about the same as a jr set when accounting for rubber. but then if you bought second hand cast wheels they would probably be a lot cheaper as well. I think I'd only buy second hand either way but I'm far too thrifty. 

It's 7J for a stock wheel. But for you new wheels, 35-38mm offset is what you want, so spacers will sort that I guess.