14" to 13" wheels and effect on cycle wings
Discussion
Hi,
I had a play around with a few wheels at Millwood on Saturday when my car had it's MOT (passed again!)as I have long thought about going from 14 x 6" wheels to 13 x 6" & 13 x 8" albeit in a "minilite" style (I've found a nice split rim version) to keep things subtle and classic looking. Jon had a 13 X 7 KN wheel there with a 205/50 tyre and it looked great at the rear, but the matching 13 x 6 with a 185/60 looked a bit lost on the front as my wings are set up for the 14" wheel.
Of course, we discussed the option of "bending" the wing stays down but as I've just had new wings bonded on, that's not really a possibility. I think part of the problem is the smaller wheel makes the yellow underside and black bonding "gunk" all the more visible.
So, any photos of cars with "standard" height wings over 13" wheels would be welcome just so I can have a few more ideas. Alternatively, any ideas on what rubbery coating/stuff I can use to black out the underside of the wings - assuming this doesn't darken the colour when viewed from the top.
Cheers.
I had a play around with a few wheels at Millwood on Saturday when my car had it's MOT (passed again!)as I have long thought about going from 14 x 6" wheels to 13 x 6" & 13 x 8" albeit in a "minilite" style (I've found a nice split rim version) to keep things subtle and classic looking. Jon had a 13 X 7 KN wheel there with a 205/50 tyre and it looked great at the rear, but the matching 13 x 6 with a 185/60 looked a bit lost on the front as my wings are set up for the 14" wheel.
Of course, we discussed the option of "bending" the wing stays down but as I've just had new wings bonded on, that's not really a possibility. I think part of the problem is the smaller wheel makes the yellow underside and black bonding "gunk" all the more visible.
So, any photos of cars with "standard" height wings over 13" wheels would be welcome just so I can have a few more ideas. Alternatively, any ideas on what rubbery coating/stuff I can use to black out the underside of the wings - assuming this doesn't darken the colour when viewed from the top.
Cheers.
Went from 15" wheels down to 13" wheels. I don't think the wheel looks lost in the front wing at all. It's noticably small at the back, but that's pretty normal with 13x6 wheels all round.
What tyres are you going for? Remember the likes of the AO21R will have a higher profile than the CR500 I've got fitted so will fill the arch more.
What tyres are you going for? Remember the likes of the AO21R will have a higher profile than the CR500 I've got fitted so will fill the arch more.
Cheers - are you sure those aren't 10" ers at the rear 
Even with your 175's on the front I think I still had more of a gap with the 185's that were fitted to the ones I tried out. Not sure on tyres - probably CR500s but then I've been really pleased with my unfashionable Falken 912's. Tyres would be 205/50 rears and either 185/60 or 175/55 fronts.
I've seen the set of MB wheels on Classifieds but given their width I assume they are meant for a CSR - 7" fronts would stick out beyond my wings and look stupid anyway - plus I'd probably need 300 bhp to light up the 9.5" rears!
Even with your 175's on the front I think I still had more of a gap with the 185's that were fitted to the ones I tried out. Not sure on tyres - probably CR500s but then I've been really pleased with my unfashionable Falken 912's. Tyres would be 205/50 rears and either 185/60 or 175/55 fronts.
I've seen the set of MB wheels on Classifieds but given their width I assume they are meant for a CSR - 7" fronts would stick out beyond my wings and look stupid anyway - plus I'd probably need 300 bhp to light up the 9.5" rears!
Edited by Mellow7 on Wednesday 11th June 09:42
Mellow7 said:
Cheers - are you sure those aren't 10" ers at the rear
Even with your 175's on the front I think I still had more of a gap with the 185's that were fitted to the ones I tried out. Not sure on tyres - probably CR500s but then I've been really pleased with my unfashionable Falken 912's. Tyres would be 205/50 rears and either 185/60 or 175/55 fronts.
I've seen the set of MB wheels on Classifieds but given their width I assume they are meant for a CSR - 7" fronts would stick out beyond my wings and look stupid anyway - plus I'd probably need 300 bhp to light up the 9.5" rears!
Ha Even with your 175's on the front I think I still had more of a gap with the 185's that were fitted to the ones I tried out. Not sure on tyres - probably CR500s but then I've been really pleased with my unfashionable Falken 912's. Tyres would be 205/50 rears and either 185/60 or 175/55 fronts.
I've seen the set of MB wheels on Classifieds but given their width I assume they are meant for a CSR - 7" fronts would stick out beyond my wings and look stupid anyway - plus I'd probably need 300 bhp to light up the 9.5" rears!
Yes I agree they look rather tiny! No noticeable difference in grip from the 195/55/15 tyres even with spirited driving on the road. Trackday coming up in a fortnight so I'll see how I get on then. Looking for them to be more progressive than the slightly snappy setup I had before. All that said, perhaps a corner weighting is due - but the car is very grippy and neutral at the moment so maybe it doesn't need anything.Good luck in your search
I really like the CXR, I wasn't convinced of the design when I first saw them, but they've really grown on me. The quality of the paintwork is a world above the standard Caterham wheels too.Gassing Station | Caterham | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff