Another wheel question 7J/8J or 8J/9J

[AceOfHearts]

I have found some wheels I like but don't know whether to push it and go wide, or stay safe fitment wise and go with the smaller widths. The car is currently going through a turbo upgrade and might be pushing 400bhp when I am done to give a bit of context. The wheels will be shod with sticky trackday tyres.

The wheels I like are available in the correct et25 / et35 offsets in all sizes so that is not a problem, but my car is non PAS so I am a bit worried about going to wide on the front. My choices are:

Choice 1

7J Front - 205 tyre
8j Rear - 235 Tyre

Should be ok for my non PAS car but is a 235 rear wide enough for the power? I believe the trackday type tyres do work out slightly wider so will be closer to 245 wide

Choice 2

8J Front - 225 tyre
9J Rear - 255 tyre

Should have plenty of rear end grip but will the steering be too heavy?

Choice 3

7J Front - 205 tyre
9J Rear - 255 tyre

Will this big a difference feel unbalanced?

I am leaning towards choice 3 as it should give me some decent rear end grip but not be too heavy on steering. I hopefully plan on starting drag racing with it when it is done, as it will be too loud for regular trackdays and I enjoyed the drag days i have done before. Choice 3 also allows me to buy Federal RSR's which would be my preferred tyre choice. The others I would have to go with Yokohama AD08Rs which work out about £200 more expensive

What do you guys think?

Edited by AceOfHearts on Wednesday 21st September 11:06

[phazed]

Choice number two.

While you are spending your money, convert to power steering. The Subaru option works very well and is a cheap upgrade.

My first 4.6 didn't have power steering and when I converted it it was like night and day, such a nice drive with the power steering and such hard work without!

[AceOfHearts]

Thanks

Yes it may be the best long term solution, but I do really like the manual steering and as I am still in the middle of the turbo build I don't want to take on another project at the moment. I could always buy the wider wheels, live with the heavy steering and do the PAS upgrade over winter though

[QBee]

What tyre sizes are you going for? Not just the 205 or 255, but the aspect ratio and wheel diameter too, please

[AceOfHearts]

16" front 17" rear

205/50 16 on 7J Front
225/45 16 on 8J Front

235/45 17 on 8J Rear
255/40 17 on 9J Rear

At the moment I am running 7.5J front and back with 205/50 16 and 225/50 16

I would like to get Federal RSR but they do not do a 225/45 16 for the front, so if I go for an 8J front I will be looking at Yokohama AD08R

[QBee]

Have you considered mixing your wheel and tyre options and going 7J front and 9J rear, with the tyre sizes you suggest, Ie 205 front and 255 rear?

That gives you the non-PAS manoeuvrability for the front, the extra turbo rubber for the rear, and Federals, which I agree are a top but inexpensive tyre, as they can manage wet, dry, road and track.

[SILICONEKID345HP]

I have a rear set of 235/45/17 Federal 595 rsrs on a 8j ,They are wider the the Falken 452`s 245/40/17

Do you want me to measure them ?

They are a good tyre but find them a bit harsh on the road due to the stiff walls ,other than that they are great.

Can take a picture with the tape measure to show the width .

[AceOfHearts]

Thanks Daz that would be great, maybe the 8j rear and a 235 tyre will be big enough anyways. Also Anthony that was my choice 3 in the first post

I would like to do that as it gives me a wider choice of tyre but was wondering if it would upset the balance of the car

[QBee]

I think 255s are too wide for the space, but Phazed has them on his car......
He has Federals too, so ask him to do as Daz has offered - take a photo with a tape measure across the tyre

[AceOfHearts]

Cheers guys, I am starting to think that maybe a 7J / 8J option is more sensible with 235 rears, especially since trackday tyres do appear to come up wider.

[QBee]

I ran this mix with SP12 wheels, 215/45 17 fronts, 235/40 18 rears.
Just swap the rears for 235/45 17 if you want 17s all round.

[SILICONEKID345HP]

http://www.federaltire.com/en/products_detail.php?...

If you went for 17 " frontz your choice will be 215 40 17 or 215 45 17 .

I sold the 45 section to Anthony , for some reason they caught at the front .I now have 215. 40 17. 235 45 17 with no issues .

[QBee]

SILICONEKID345HP said:

http://www.federaltire.com/en/products_detail.php?...

If you went for 17 " frontz your choice will be 215 40 17 or 215 45 17 .

I sold the 45 section to Anthony , for some reason they caught at the front .I now have 215. 40 17. 235 45 17 with no issues .

They didn't catch on my car.
225/45 17 Toyo R1Rs do catch, on the back of the headlight area.
As you can see, TVRs are all different, and small variations make a big difference.

[SILICONEKID345HP]

A few pictures.

[SILICONEKID345HP]

[phazed]

Just out of interest here on my road 255x40x17 rears against my 265 x 35 x 18 rears.

255s on 8" rims, 265 on 9" rims.

[AceOfHearts]

Thanks for the measurements guys. I think I am going to go 8" rear for ease of fitment and tyre choice. I suppose I can always but some 9" later on if needs be

[QBee]

AceOfHearts said:

Thanks for the measurements guys. I think I am going to go 8" rear for ease of fitment and tyre choice. I suppose I can always but some 9" later on if needs be

IMHO a good choice.

[SILICONEKID345HP]

Any pictures of your new wheels ?

[AceOfHearts]

Gonna be a secret until they are fitted

Not seen them on a TVR before though so could look genius or tragic