How Wide?

[Freddy]

I\'d like to see how wide the rims are for others here running on 17" rims?

Also, for those that know. How would an FD handle with say; 17X8"" rims front and rear. Is 8" wide the least wide someone should put on or is there anyone here running narrower?

 

[Gerry M]

11.5 x17 on the rear 9" on the front, but I have widebody & spacers to let that fill the arches but I think they may fit without but dont qoute me on that. get the right offset & theoretically you could stick anything under but it would probably hit struts

[Frankie]

8" wide wheels on the rear might look a little narrow.  I\'m running 8.5 x 17 fronts and 9.5 x 17 rears and the arches are filled nicely.

[kermit]

I\'m running 17x8.5" all round and it handles great, so I wouldn\'t have thought that 17x8" would be much different.  Not sure I would want any narrower than an 8 though.

[chrisBoid]

Old setup: -

Front 17 x 9.0J with 235 x 45% tyres.
Rear 17 x 10.0J with 255 x 40% tyres.

New setup: -

Front 18 x 9.0J with 245 x 35% tyres.
Rear 18 x 9.0J with 265 x 35% tyres.

with low offsets and wide arches of course  Never used in anger but I noticed slightly heavier steering that was more keen to follow bumps with the new setup over my old setup - I like to call it increased responsiveness  From what I\'ve read, my old setup of tyre was ideal for the FD.

[deanflowers]

i used to run 7.5 front with 8 rear and it did feel a little loose on the front to be honest,

[Freddy]

Thanks guys.

Gerry, the rear rims are very wide. I\'d like to know how it handles?

Chris, any reason why you did not go for wider rears?

 

[chrisBoid]

Thanks guys.

Gerry, the rear rims are very wide. I\'d like to know how it handles?

Chris, any reason why you did not go for wider rears?

 

I was trying to match FEED\'s setup as close as possible, they run 9\'s all round with spacers, but I didn\'t want spacers, so made up the difference with a wider rim and well calculated offsets.

[Gerry M]

deleted double post

[Gerry M]

Well i havent driven it in 2 months as been using the B4 mostly. But i\'ll try & remember........

Before the alignment was done it handled like on rails, you could push it very hard with no probs it never stepped out of line even in the wet

the alignment was done & now its nervous if that makes sense, but controllable the back end tends to slide more  when pulling out of junctions with a heavy foot where as before it just catapulted you on your way with no drama. in the wet i\'ve had a few scares usually thru lack of concentration thou i might add. it now tends to 4 wheel drift or at least feels like it is when cornering

like chris i also would say the steering is heavier, but the car does have a wider track so theoretically it should handle better. But that will probably change when my wheels arrive in feburary & I lose the spacers due to the minus offsets on my new wheels only diff is the rears are 1/2" smaller. I\'ll probably be selling the old ones  as they wont be needed.

if i wasnt out in the north sea I\'d take it out & come back with a smile on my face & be able to tell you excatly how it was.

hope that helps but probably wont

[Freddy]

Thanks for the reply Chris & Gerry.

I like the FEED offset, which is on the Spirit\'s FD but it\'s a little too out there for my usage.

Gerry, did you find what they altered in the alignment. Seems as thou it turned for the worse. What rims are you changing to?

One of my intended mods is to have some proper suspension tuning done next year, only thing is I am having difficulty finding a good place. So far it is the tried and tested method which has worked but a specialist place could do wonders.

[Gerry M]

it was 4 wheel laser aligned & it changed to the short track settings i think, but they ran out of adjustment due to the width of the wheels, i\'ve got its orignal settings as well so its not a prob to change back.  i\'m putting on work vs-ss

[Initial-D]

I\'ve actually found a place within 5 mins of my house lol!! They prep rally and formula cars, so I\'ll give them a go when I get some new springs for my dampers. Gonna go for a fast road/track set up with some nice negative camber for cornering!

If your about on email Freddy I\'ll send you a list of bits I\'m after this evening!!

[Freddy]

Cool mate, sounds good. Drop me a line.

Speak soon.

 

[Initial-D]

One thing that does cross my mind when you think about tracking your car is how much cheaper to repair a standard FD body/rim is compared to a wide one/after market rim!