Help: 17" Konig wheels clearance for front Z brakes

[steaminhotryce]

Wheels: 17" Konig TantrumTire Spec: 215/50/17Offset: UnknownCar: S14 SE with front 30mm Z calipers

I'm a total noob when it comes to wheels. Would these wheels fit my car with the front Z brakes conversion? Thanks!

[steaminhotryce]

Also, what would the width of the wheels likely be with those tires?

[steaminhotryce]

^bump

[Rex]

Googled the wheels and here's what I found ...

They're all cast wheels

In 5 lug ...17X7.0 - 5X114.3 - 40 - 19.2lbs17X8.0 - 5X114.3 - 40 - 22.9lbsNot useful to you, but17X8.0 - 5X115.0 - 35 - 22.9lbs

More infoIn 4 lug ... 17X7.0 - 4X114.3 - 40 - 19.2lbs

And in 18's18X7.5 - 5X114.3 - 45 - 23.2lbs18X9.0 - 5X114.3 - 40 or 30 - 25.3lbs

Hope that helps, even though I think it means it's a no go for you .

[nismofly]

id be willing to bet theyre the 17x7 +40, and they dont have a good brake clearing spoke design

my guess would be they probably wont clear

[steaminhotryce]

How can you tell whether or not they have a good brake clearing design? And how can you tell which size and spec would fit (Z32 calipers). Please school me. PLEASE!!!

[elwesso]

Heres the thing you need to look at... in theory, OFFSET DOES NOT DETERMINE IF IT WILL CLEAR THE BRAKES!

The thing you need to look at is the disc where the wheel mounts to the hub. IN my experience you need a little more than 1inch from the disc to the spoke...

You can also see how in this picture, the spokes of the wheels are not straight! they sorta curve outward to accomodate the brakes



you can also see in this picture how the Z32 caliper sticks out from the hub of the rotor...



Most wheels are made for the sliding calipers, and these calipers do not stick out beyond the hub of the rotor...

Size of the wheels have nothing to do with the wheels clearning... right now, im running my stock 15s with a $100 set of spacers.....

[nismofly]

well, clearing z brakes maybe

youre not going to clear a 14.25" ap racing kit with your pie pans

pretty much like that though, the inside has to have good clearance, those konigs have straight spokes

[elwesso]

well, clearing z brakes maybe

youre not going to clear a 14.25" ap racing kit with your pie pans

pretty much like that though, the inside has to have good clearance, those konigs have straight spokes

well DUH!!!!! but with the Z32s the 15s are fine

[steaminhotryce]

Thanks everyone! I'm enlightened.

elwesso: I read a lot of your posts on many, many threads. You're SUCH an asset to the NICO forums. Always posting clear DETAILED answers. Thanks a bunch!

Here's another question. Let's say the spokes curves out a lot just like the picture you posted earlier but the offset is rather high...let's say more than 42 (around 45). Would they still clear the Z brakes? And correct me if I'm wrong please....but from what I understand from reading other posts, offset is the number that determines how far away from the hub (which in terms of looks, how far away it is from the fender). Is that correct?

Also, when do you know spacers are needed? Also, tuner lugs... When are they needed?

Thanks in advance!

[elwesso]

You are confusing offset with the disc thickness!!

Offset is defined how far the hub of the wheel (or the disc to maintain similar nomenclature) is from the center line of the wheel.. Consider the following picture



The far right hand side of the wheel is the face of the wheel, or what you see when its bolted to the car.. The offset is the distance that the wheel's hub is from the centerline of the wheel (the centerline is an imaginary line drawn at the middle of the wheel's width)...

http://www.off-road.com/chevy/tech/wheel/

"Positive offset is how most factory wheels are designed. The wheel center is moves the wheel closer to the vehicle, therefore moving the tire closer to the vehicle, helping to tuck it under the fenderwell. This means the wheel rotates on its axis.

"Negative offset is how most aftermarket wheels are designed. They move the center of the wheel away from the vehicle. Therefore, moving the tires away from the vehicle, and increasing the turning radius. Rather that spinning on its axis, it swings on its axis. There are several inherent flaws with this, while they may be unavoidable. Increasing the offset puts more leverage on the lugs, which means you can break them easier, but it also increases the stance of your vehicle to help keep it more stable."

So if the hub of the wheel is EXACLTY at the wheels centerline, it will have a 0 offset... Consider the following illustrations..



I tried to explain it in writing, but then i found those pictures... Guys usually learn better by pictures anyway...

So moving right along, you can see that more positive offset CAN lead to more clearance..... This is why you cannot rely on offset only to determine if wheels will clear you brakes... you could have a wheel with a ton of negative offset and it may still not clear. LIkewise, you can have a wheel with 45mm offset that will clear brakes.....

What struck me as interesting is that I boguht a set of 2003 M45 wheels for my Q45 and they were no where NEAR clearing my Z32 brakes... It wasnt even close, so much that I didnt even bother bolting them on... Stock Z32 wheels have about 40mm offset (maybe closer to 35mm, i cannot recall off hand)..

Spacers will be needed once you determine that wheels will not clear the calipers due to the spokes hitting the caliper. ON my stock wheels, i only needed a 15mm spacer.. Not very thick, but it was needed!

Tuner lugs are generally needed on wheels, like on my Z33 wheels where there is a hole that the lug goes in...as opposed to stock wheels where theres a center cap and simply a flat (or fairly flat) mounting surface . The stock lugs are too wide at the base to fit in the holes of the Z33 wheels, which is why tuner style lugs are needed.

[nismofly]

offset is the position of the mounting hub relative to the centerline of the wheel in millimeters

for example, +25 means the mount sits 25mm outwards from the centerline, +0 means it mounts on centerline, -20 means it mounts 20mm inward from centerline

outward being towards the fender, inwards being towards the suspension

of course it all depends on wheel width, offset means nothing without width

wes forgot that part, this is why your higher offset wheels could clear better, they were wider

it is possible for the wheels to clear with a higher offset depending on spoke, but the higher the offset gets the more brake-clearing oriented the spokes have to be designed, so a straight spoke wheel like those konigs *maybe* would clear with a much lower offset, but at a +40, +42, +45, whatever they may be, they wont clear

also with that high an offset youre getting into the area where you may not clear coilovers if you ever decide to get them

[steaminhotryce]

As always, clear and detailed explanations. THANKS!!