Perfect S13 Wheels & Tires

[Edub1]

I have a connection for wheels & tires at cost and I can order the wheels custom.

The car is a ~270HP S13 with Eibach Pro Kit springs. It's just a weekend toy and I don't mind rolling the fenders.

I want to over size the rear by one size for top end - say 17" with a 50 series tire. Or???

My question: What is the best size wheel & tire I can fit with only a fender roll? I am concerned with performance and looks and I don't mind staggering. Plus, I like the rear wells filled with rim.

[onosqv]

depends on offset too, but I believe ppl are running 265's easy. Maybe even 275's in the rear.

[Edub1]

Yes, front & rear wheel / tire size & offset.

[whiterps13]

zerothread?id=154942

zerothread?id=147132

17x9 +20 if you have 4 lug.

you can order these in 4 colors at a NICO sponser; www.splparts.com

if youre running 5 lug, you shouldnt have any problem finding a wide set of wheels with offsets that will work.

[McRussellPants]

17x9 +15 Front 17x10 +25/35 Rear.

Done and done. Anytire you want will fit on the rear, and up to a 255/40 will fit on the front as long as you dont need to get to the steering lock.

[Edub1]

17x9 +15 Front 17x10 +25/35 Rear.

Done and done. Anytire you want will fit on the rear, and up to a 255/40 will fit on the front as long as you dont need to get to the steering lock.

Sweet. But we have bad roads so I'd like to go with a 45 in front. I don't need to go that wide in front although it would probably look bad ***. What would you recommend in front for a 45 tire?

Also, what do you mean "get at the steering lock"?

Which is better in the rear 25 or 35 offset?
Modified by Edub1 at 10:46 AM 2/8/2006

[youngmanvr4]

Steer lock means when your steering wheel is as far as it will go.

[lv kaotic]

Steer lock means when your steering wheel is as far as it will go.

or "full counter-steer"

[nismofly]

Sweet. But we have bad roads so I'd like to go with a 45 in front. I don't need to go that wide in front although it would probably look bad ***. What would you recommend in front for a 45 tire?

remember that that number isnt a measurement, its a percentage of the width of the tire

therefore the sidewall of a 255/40 is actually larger than the sidewall of a 225/45

[Edub1]

remember that that number isnt a measurement, its a percentage of the width of the tire

therefore the sidewall of a 255/40 is actually larger than the sidewall of a 225/45

True.

I don't want to lose any functionality. I do want to be able to turn my wheel enough to flip a 180 in a parking lot. What is the largest size in front I could go with and not rub at all?

How about a 225/45/17?

Does rim width affect offset? If I go with a 10" wide rim, will the 25 offset be almost touching the fender? Will the 35 give a little more gap?

I do want to oversize my rear tire for higher gearing.

[240sxjeff]

You can go as wide and big as you want, it all depends on how much fenderwork you want to do. 225-45 should fit on the front if anything just roll the edge. Offset is just a measure of how far the mounting hub is from the center of the wheel. The lower the offset number the more the wheel will poke out from the fender, the higher it is the more it will have the sunken in look. The +35 will give you 10mm more clearance from the fender to the wheel lip than the +25, BUT it will move the wheel 10mm closer to your spring/shock/coilover.

[youngmanvr4]

zerothread?id=157921I started this thread for FN fitment on s13's. You might find something useful in there. Even if your not looking at those sizes you still can base off of there. Help it helps.

[Edub1]

Excellent. I just want to be sure I do it right the first time. I just with I could see what all those numbers look like. When I do get them, I'll post it up.

On a seperate note, what kind of numbers are you getting from that 11.1 N/A motor?

[youngmanvr4]

I'm going to try to even get some more wheels on their to make it easier for people, maybe that thread will even be stickid.

I haven't taken it to the track yet so I dont know what my 1/4 mile is but as far hp/tq I'm not totally sure but I'd guess 165-170ish hp and 170ish tq, but thats a total guess. It might be lower.

[Edub1]

So, if I'm understanding this correctly, the offset or distance from the mounting face to the center line of the wheel, remains constant regardless of wheel size. So, it follows that the increased wheel size is split evenly on each side of the wheel relative to it's current position.

So 1" = 25.4mm increase on each side. So, increasing from a 6" rim to a 8" rim will give 25.4mm on each side of the wheel.

So, bringing the face 20mm closer to center as in a +20 offset would push the rim out leaving a only a 5.4mm increase on the inside and a 45.4mm/1.8" increase on the outside. A +35 offset would still yield a increase of ~ 1.2" to the outside of the rim.

Going to a +20 10" rim would add ~2.8" to the outside and ~1.2" to the inside. A +35 offset would bring it to ~ 2.2 outside and ~ 1.8" inside.

I think I'm going to make a wood disk and take some measures.

But then again this says nothing about the tires.

By the way, what is the largest size tire that fits properly on a 8" & 9" rim?

[240sxjeff]

Widest I would ever put on an 8 is 255 and on a 9 is 275. But then you to take into consideration that a tire that wide might rub the fender or coilover depending on your offset

[Edub1]

I just have an Eibach Prokit. I bet those 275s would look badass from the back. And I bet some 255s would look badass on the front.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that wide as hell tires just look badass.

No fun if you rub though.

I'm going to crawl under the car and see what measurments I can come up with.

[nismofly]

if youre just getting wide tires because you think they look good and arent considering the difference in performance, then you shouldnt get wide tires

[youngmanvr4]

So, if I'm understanding this correctly, the offset or distance from the mounting face to the center line of the wheel, remains constant regardless of wheel size. So, it follows that the increased wheel size is split evenly on each side of the wheel relative to it's current position.

So 1" = 25.4mm increase on each side. So, increasing from a 6" rim to a 8" rim will give 25.4mm on each side of the wheel.

So, bringing the face 20mm closer to center as in a +20 offset would push the rim out leaving a only a 5.4mm increase on the inside and a 45.4mm/1.8" increase on the outside. A +35 offset would still yield a increase of ~ 1.2" to the outside of the rim.

Going to a +20 10" rim would add ~2.8" to the outside and ~1.2" to the inside. A +35 offset would bring it to ~ 2.2 outside and ~ 1.8" inside.

I think I'm going to make a wood disk and take some measures.

But then again this says nothing about the tires.

By the way, what is the largest size tire that fits properly on a 8" & 9" rim?

I think you got it.

I also agree with Chris that getting extra wide tires and not considering the performance unless this is a show car. IMO, If your getting that wide (275) tires then you need a wide wheel as well. I dont like strecthed tires but they do perform better then non-strecthed. But like what I'm going to do is just get 17x8 and put a 235/45 on it, no really need for a wider tire. Now for looks and being a show car then go for it but I dont think thats what your after here.

I've always said I would rather have a good perfomance part then a good looking part and pour performance. But if you can have a good performance part without giving up to much looks then I might choose that route.

[nismofly]

stretched will be better, to a point

running a 225 tire on a 6in wide wheel, no

running that same 225 on a 9.5in wheel no

running that 225 on say, an 8in wheel, yes

that said, on an 8/9 combo, id run either a 215/45/17, 235/45/17...or a 225/45/17, 245/45/17

[Edub1]

stretched will be better, to a point

running a 225 tire on a 6in wide wheel, no

running that same 225 on a 9.5in wheel no

running that 225 on say, an 8in wheel, yes

that said, on an 8/9 combo, id run either a 215/45/17, 235/45/17...or a 225/45/17, 245/45/17

Is that a good blend of performance & looks? Remember, I don't have coilovers. What offsets?

[youngmanvr4]

It matters if your going staggered or not, I'll be running 17x8 +35 all around on 235/45's. That will give me pretty good performance a really sweet look.

Yesterday I saw a really good chart that showed tire sizes and what the factory of the tire makers recommend to put it on. I'll try to find it.

[nismofly]

without coilovers, the 235 front will be close with +35 offset, but id say its possible

if you dont ever plan on getting coilovers, youll at least need a better spring than eibach, those are softer than stock

but if you ran a 8/9 stagger, id say +25/+35, then you could run a 235/45/17 and a 255/40/17

[youngmanvr4]

I'm sorry I should have said that I'll be running a 5mm or a 8mm spacer in the fronts to clear coil-overs. Unless it does clear but I doubt it.

[Edub1]

without coilovers, the 235 front will be close with +35 offset, but id say its possible

if you dont ever plan on getting coilovers, youll at least need a better spring than eibach, those are softer than stock

but if you ran a 8/9 stagger, id say +25/+35, then you could run a 235/45/17 and a 255/40/17

Everybody loves to bash Eibach. I'm not 100% on this but I think that overall ride firmness has to do with the spring rate & the actual height of the spring. So, a stock spring when shortened becomes much, much firmer. So, when a slightly lower spring rate is combined with a shorter spring, the result is a ride that is more firm, but not too firm. Like I said, I'm not 100% on this but I think that's how it works.

At any rate (no pun intended), I'm quite pleased with the performance of these springs. We have bad roads here and I think stiffer springs would be at least a harsh ride and possibly bounce me right off the road.

[nismofly]

well first of all thats not the case because if it was people could see vast improvements with cut springs, obviously completely false

second youre only the second person ive heard say that eibach springs feel stiffer, everybody else thinks they feel like stock if not softer, so i dont know what to tell you about how they feel

but anyway, if roads are horrible and you care that much about ride quality then go right ahead, that just means you can run the setup i told you, but also remember you dont need tires that wide really, so youll be spending more on the tires in the first place and then only getting to keep them for half the time because you do have a stagger

[youngmanvr4]

Yea what Chris said, I mean I dont know totally what your going to be doing with the car but if you get a 275 tire for the rear and your drifting then you'll be broke in no tire. Why pay more for something you dont gain? Chris can back me up on this but extra width changes the shape of the contact patch but doesnt add more total area.

[Edub1]

My only reason for going that wide is appearance. I have thought about not being able to rotate but I can get tires cheep.

In the long run it would probably be wiser to go with a non-stagered setup.

[Edub1]

well first of all thats not the case because if it was people could see vast improvements with cut springs, obviously completely false

No, think if you compressed the stock spring an inch and started with that.

My springs have more turns than stock even though they are shorter. Almost like the spring was heated, compressed and allowed to cool in the compressed state.

Believe me, with those springs and KYB GR2s, the handling is amazing over every type of road surface. People bash Eibach because they are popular. But all I'm saying is that I'm happy with them. Even if I went stiffer, it wouldn't be a coilover.

[nismofly]

if youve got 270hp its an extremely bad idea to get cheap tires

if you cant afford a $500 set of tires every 6-9000 miles you cant get staggered

youd be much better with a set of 17x8 wheels, and getting sticky rubber