Next month I will be ordering a set of wheels for my 1g tt. Going with 18s 8.5 front and 9.5 in the rear. I am planning on upgrading the suspension with kyb struts, megan lowering springs and adj. rear control arms. I want a decent amount of drop on my vehicle, thus why I am choosing the megans over the teins. My question is: what tire profile can I go with this setup to avoid the tires rubbing with the fenders and throwing the speedo off.
It's AWD, staggered set-up is pointless IMO... make things difficult with tire sizing and you can't rotate them LOL. Well you can, but it might look stupid. Just make sure when you do get tires, they have the same circumference (rotating diameter) or you risk blowing your VCU. I assume you are going to get a wider tire on the back, so you will need a shorter sidewall than the fronts. You don't want the circumference difference to be more than 5mm I believe. It also helps to know the offset and exactly how much drop before determining if it will hit suspension/fender components.
Your speedo is going to be off unless you have it re-calibrated since the original wheels were 17"... but the difference is negligible.
I went with the staggered setup because of the limited amount of wheels that can fit the front calipers and budget. Wheel offsets are 30, but I'm going with 5mm spacers all the way around so the final et is 25. The megans supposedly drop about 2.5".
What wheels did you get? a +30 offset should clear the calipers without spacers... at least the 8.5" wheels should. Still doesn't answer why you would get the staggered setup, since you are putting the narrower wheel on the front... why not just get 8.5 all the way around?
Hmm, an 8.5 and 9.5, I suggest a 255/40/18 or 265/35/18 on all 4 corners. Do not mix sizes.
The 265 will have a smaller diameter and most likely have more clearance if that is what you are worried about.
Dont go too low, springs should be fine.
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93 R/T - Modded, Full Suspension, Full Exhaust, Quaife Diff., Turbo brakes, Alpine/Boston Sound. One of 25
98 VR-4 - Downpipe, EBC, Tein's, 2" Koyo, SAFC2, Defi Gauges, RC 550's, Supra Pump, Hotwired, Splitter, Hardpipes, XYZ 355mm 6 piston brakes (Black) Alpine/Infinity/JL Sound. One of 13
I was planning to go 9.5 all around but like I said budget issues. I don't want to sacrifice the rear at least. I'm going with the xxr 962 wheels and from I have read they need 5mm spacers in the front to clear the calipers. I'm also going with spacers on the rear because I want to be as flush as possible.
I have been researching and there are a lot of members here that go with 245 40 tires with 8.5 9 and 9.5 wide inch wheels but are using teins and eibach springs. I can go with this profile but I'm afraid they might be to big and end up with rubbing issues that's why I'm asking.
Congrats on the new wheels and suspension! The whole look of your car is about to change.
A few things:
(1) A staggered setup is not pointless, and won't look stupid, so don't let any outspoken negativity get you down!
(2) Like April said, in order for a staggered width setup to work, your rotating diameter must be the same front to back. Anything within ~1-2% should work.
(3) Your speedo is not affected by the diameter of your wheels, but will be affected by the difference in your rotating diameter from the stock 245/45/17.
(4) There are a great many tire profiles that will work front to back, but whether or not it will rub depends how low you want to go and what kind of fender work you have in mind.
(5) My advice based on what I've read so far is 245/40/18 front and 265/35/18 rear. You should have no problem with brakes or fenders on either end with that offset! Although the diameters are 1.6% off, others have ran the combo before without problems. Your speedo will be about dead balls accurate, only off by 0.1%, e.g., at 100mph your speedo will read 99.9mph.
Hey Ryan thank you very much for the advice! While I am not planning to roll fenders, I might do it considering the situation. As for how low, well the megans supposedly drop 2.5 inches. I'm probably thinking it will be as low as the car in your sig.
You should be in great shape. If you aren't looking to tuck in the back, then you could run a 275/35/18 which is only 0.5% off of 245/40/18 and gets a little more meat on the road!
^thats what I plan to run if I go staggered. Add a little camber up front and take some out in rear and I bet you can get the car to handle pretty neutral.
I have stock tire/wheel setup with that camber setup and the handling is great. Neutral or slightly rear-biased and will power on oversteer at will in tight turns. It also helps for launching grip.
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