Rays Volk Racing GT-C Face 2 and "Attachments".

[chrisBoid]

Hi all,

I\'m looking at the Rays Volk Racing GT-C Face 2 wheels (http://www.rayswheels.co.jp/cgi-bin/cgi2/english/getWheelItem.cgi?maker=VOLK&model=210_GTC2), and I have a few questions: -

1) It lists the following attachments: -
* Valvestem <-- you mean they don\'t come with any?
* Hub Ring <-- what is this?
* C Nut <-- what is this?
* Specific Wrench <-- specific to what?

2) Quite a few offsets are listed (http://www.rayswheels.co.jp/cgi-bin/cgi2/english/sizeGuide.cgi?modelName=GTC2), they recommend column A for RX-7\'s. Bear in mind I want the rears to have a deeper rim than the front (ideally double) what would be the most suitable offsets for FRONT 18x8.0J and REAR 18x9.0J?

Thanks

Chris.

[Fish]

Paging Max, Could Max Taylor please reply to this.

I think he already has these rims.

Fish

[MikeLMR]

my guess

C Nut = Centre nut (trim type part in the centre)

presume the wrench is specific to the centre nut

I seem to recall these wheels needing special valves, hence the valve stems included.

The Hub ring is probably somthing to do with adapting the centre bore of the wheels to fit the hub of the FD (the yanks are always going on about lug centric and hub centric wheels) but basically its to help centre the wheel on the hub.

[maximtaylor]

I was worried for a while there Fish!

Not mine fortunately, I have the GT-7\'s. And under no circumstances is anyone allowed to mimic my fine taste

I would recommend offset +45 front and rear (or slightly more), fits a treat

I have +43 which does fit, fine on the front but only just on the back.

Max

Originally posted by Fish
Paging Max, Could Max Taylor please reply to this.

I think he already has these rims.

Fish

[chrisBoid]

Thanks for the info.

This whole wheel business confuses me;  Rays say the offsets in column A match big calipers on the RX-7, but the largest offset for 8.0J (front) is only +29, which is way off the recommended +45.
However, there is a +44 in column C, but Rays say these offsets have little caliper/hub ring clearence so be careful >sigh<

At the end of the day, I do not trust myself to specify which wheel specifications will fit my car  So I\'ll have to leave it until I can find somewhere that can tell me for sure.

[Initial-D]

Contact Shin at Prospec (sorry I don\'t have his number to hand). I ordered my rims through him and they included valves and caps. He\'s an agent for Rays stuff.

[chrisBoid]

Thanks for the heads up, I\'ll add them to my list!

[Shark]

Chris, the offset of 29 will probably fit on the FD although the wheels will stick out towards/beyond the arches by 2cm more than the stock wheels.  I don\'t think that much would protrude from the arches enough to fail an MOT but you could measure it to be sure.  The lower the offset; the less of the wheel that extends inwards.  

This might help you  handy explanation of wheel fitments

Doubt it would do much damage to handling but you might find that because these will stick out more, they may catch the arches when you turn at full lock if you put fat tyres on them.
 
I am guessing that these have low offsets because of the design of the spokes and the extra space is needed to clear the calipers.

I\'m no expert though so my advice is taken at your peril.
Hope it\'s useful though.  

P.S. - why you want to change your wheels.  The ones you have on the car now are stuning!?!?

[chrisBoid]

Thanks, for that good info, nice clear diagrams - that\'s what I like

As to why I am going to change them; a few reasons: -

* Style.  I am currently running 17\'s with a 10cm-ish tyre wall.  Quite simply I think 18\'s with a smaller tyre wall (thus keeping the overall whell size the same) would look much better

* Style. (again!) I would prefer gunmetal rather than shiny bright chrome, just my preference at this time

* Style.  I would prefer split rims, another personal preference.

Now, because the only reasons I could find were style, I have decided to not change my wheels, yet.  I will coincide the wheel change with the addition of a wide body kit, so getting large positive offsets shouldn\'t cause any problems

Also, I\'ll get a professional to sort it all, thus I can\'t fduk it up!

Thanks all.

Chris.

[chrisBoid]

After talking with Shin at ProSpec (thanks for the heads up Initial-D, he seems to know his business ) I have settled on the following sizes: -

Front 18 x 9.0J with +36 offset and a 55mm rim.
Rear 18 x 10.0J with +37 offset and a 67mm rim.

I am awaiting confirmation from him on these.  In the mean time, what tyre widths are good for these size wheels?

I am guessing: -

Front 255 x 35
Rear 275 x 30

I worked out the profiles to keep the total wheel diameter the same as my current setup (Front 17 235x45 and Rear 17 255x40).  Well almost the same, the fronts will be smaller by 7.6mm and the rear will be smaller by 13.6mm, shame they don\'t do 36.49 and 32.47 profiles!

Don\'t forget I\'ll have wider arches (25mm front and 20mm rear)

Any thoughts?

Plus here\'s some eye candy...

[zevans]

Originally posted by chrisBoid
I will coincide the wheel change with the addition of a wide body kit, so getting large positive offsets shouldn\'t cause any problems

It might do...

Your suspension geometry assumes the centre line of the wheel is in a certain spot. (That is, the car\'s track width is a certain amount.)  The travel in the setup is then designed to make sure the wheels go up and down more than they curve in and out when moving around that certain spot. (Think of Bond\'s Lotus when the wheels are folding in...)

If you move that spot away/towards the centre of the car then your camber and castor will go all to cock affecting handling and tyre wear. If you put a wider track on the vehicle (ie use bigger positive offset) then you\'re also increasing the leverage on the hubs and everything else when you lean on the wheels in corners, which isn\'t a good thing either.

18s will look better, and you\'ll get better handling (and steering feedback) ON FLAT TARMAC, but at the cost of increased NVH and more bump steer. I\'d never go below /45 personally because I enjoy my B-roads too much.

(Plus to put /35s on mine I\'d need 19" rims which is just far too much money. )

[J4P RX]

If you already have wider arches should of got a lower offset than that???  Unless you are going to put spacers on when you get the arches?

Run the same size tyres as now ie 235/255.  255 on the front gives a horrid balance.

Lee

[20B_boy]

The FEED RX7 with wide arch kit front and rear runs:

Front  18x9.5, offset +24
Rear 18x9.5, offset +24 with 20 or 25mm spacers

Not sure how your offsets will effect things? Suck it and see I guess. As Lee says I think less of an offset would be better?

[chrisBoid]

zevans : the British roads debate did come up and I all too briefly thought about it and dismissed a cushioned ride in favour of looks (how silly of me!), Ideally I would not want to drop below 35%...

Lee : yeah, handling was in the back of my mind, I\'d read (I think from Rextreme) that FEED run 255\'s all round, so I thought if it\'s good enough for them

Rich : just worked out that my fronts would stick out 18.35mm less than FEEDs setup and my rears would be 6.65mm less.  I will talk to Shin again and see what he can recommend to be as close to FEEDs setup as possible considering the GT-C\'s don\'t come in 9.5\'s

I am slightly confused as to which tyres can fit which size wheels though.

Will keep you all informed (I\'m sure you can\'t wait!).

[J4P RX]

Seriously you are in a no win situation at the moment.

Specify wheels for the wide arch kit and they might not fit now (they will go on but may rub or stick out a bit far).  Specify wheels for the car now and it will look crap when you get the wide arches unless you use a massive (like 25mm or something) spacer.

You need to make up your mind, or if it was me wait untill I had the arches sorted and then get wheels from it as the arches could be a tough job?

You could run 255 all round if you wanted fit wise.  Put your rears on the front and see if you like it first

Lee