Mazda Rotary Club

General => General Technical => Wheels & Tyres, Suspension & Brakes => Topic started by: Brighton-Rex on February 20, 2011, 08:42:22 PM

Title: Wanting some new alloys but have a question
Post by: Brighton-Rex on February 20, 2011, 08:42:22 PM
Hey people, i\'m looking to invest soon in some new alloy wheels for my FD3S and was just after some advice really.

The car is track/performance based so wont be going for large wheels such as 18\'s etc and have pretty much decided to ditch the standard 16" rims for something a little lighter and in 17".

My only concern is that the car had bilsteins shocks/springs fitted before i bought it and from looking at other standard RX7\'s i think it is defo lower than it was out of the factory. This isnt a problem as i plan to upgrade with coilovers eventually anyway, was just concerned that it might be  problem fitting 17" wheels? Cant imagine there is much difference in overall rolling radius as what i gain in rim size i lose in tyre sidewall but the increased width is what concerns me.

I know that the standard 17" wheels fitted to the later FD3S were only 17x8 at front and 17x8.5 at rear but most aftermarket wheels seem to be 17x9 so would these be ok taking into account the fact that the car is lowered?

I have read the thread on offsets etc but still unsure.

Any advice would be great

Ta
Title: Wanting some new alloys but have a question
Post by: philiwily on February 21, 2011, 03:52:15 AM
The 9" on the rear will be fine, ET 34-38 is common with 255/40/17(rear),225/45/17(front).
The standard wheels are very light so you will struggle to get lighter but 17\'s look better and tyres are usually cheaper.
Title: Wanting some new alloys but have a question
Post by: Brighton-Rex on February 22, 2011, 08:17:09 PM
So would 17x9 be a problem at front probably then?

Cheers
Title: Wanting some new alloys but have a question
Post by: SiH on February 22, 2011, 08:20:07 PM
17x9 fits relatively easily, but depends on tyre size. Witha  255 on stock arches, for instance, I\'d head for an et38ish and you may be close on the strut.
Witha  225/235, it\'s a piece of ...... with something like an ET35.

If you want a more aggressive fitment you\'re looking in the mid to low 20\'s at least.
Title: Wanting some new alloys but have a question
Post by: trotter on February 23, 2011, 03:46:00 PM
Dunno if you are wanting a brand new set, but I just took a set of REALLY lightweight 17s of mine that were designed by \'drift king\' keiichi tsuchiya.

sort of \'for sale\' thread here with details:

http://www.mazdarotaryclub.com/forums/showthread.php?t=67622

gives a shout if interested :)

graeme
Title: Wanting some new alloys but have a question
Post by: Brighton-Rex on February 26, 2011, 07:59:58 PM
So 17x9 with 225/45 or 235/45 tyres should be ok at front without rubbing etc provided i get the right offset?

Cheers
Title: Wanting some new alloys but have a question
Post by: philiwily on February 27, 2011, 06:38:08 AM
Rim and tyre width are a personal taste thing, some people like the rims to stick out further than the arch and have the tyre\'s stretched going under the arch and some people don\'t.
You have to decide what look your after, what your using the car for and how much rubbing of the arches you can tolerate.

Phil
Title: Wanting some new alloys but have a question
Post by: Brighton-Rex on February 27, 2011, 06:17:09 PM
Well car is performance based so don\'t want to compromise that too much for looks. If anyone has any pics showing different styles would be helpful as hadn\'t given offset/rim width options much thought.

Ta
Title: Wanting some new alloys but have a question
Post by: neil_jdmr on February 27, 2011, 07:12:23 PM
Dont bother with 225 on the front as the tyres stretch and if its function over form your looking at, the stretch doesnt assist performance and best left to the hellaflush crowd.

I have 17x9.5 on the rear and 17x9.0 on the front and found  the standard 235/255 set-up perfect without any rubbage even on hard cornering.

Car is around 25-30mm lower on eibach coilovers

Offsets are 25/30
Title: Wanting some new alloys but have a question
Post by: philiwily on February 27, 2011, 11:31:43 PM
I had 8.5 on the front 235\'s ET30 and they rubbed on bends so I went back to standard, but I think tyre brands can make a difference. I found it tram lined a bit as well but that could also have been down to the tyres, and my car is pretty low.