18 inch Spiders or SP12's...or anything else?

[da_murphster]

Looking to upgrade wheels from 16 inch spiders.

Second hand 18 inch spiders looking at being about £600 for a set.

Only recommended after market alloys I can find are the SP12's which come in at about £846.00 (although the were doing an offer inc T1's for £1k - assume that was not inc VAT....so allowing £450 ish for a set of tyres...takes the SP12 price to about £725 - any corrections to my calculations appreciated!!)

So are SP12's a worthwhile upgrade?

Will it make a difference being able to put larger tyres on?

I do prefer the look of the spiders but given the chance for lighter wheels for effectively £125 (if I wait for next offer...assuming there is one) should I go for it?

Tuscan standard tyre sizes: Front 235/40; Rear 245/40
SP recommends: Front 235/40; Rear 265/35
Possible upgrades: Rear 275/35

[tuscandom]

the main thing is that the sp12's are stronger and lighter and not as prone to buckling as the 18" spiders,you can put a slightly wider tyre on the rears(according to an advert i read)i am changing to sp12's when i get my car back on the road,i have only heard good things about them

[tuscan_al]

I also want to change to stronger lighter wheels.

With ours being 114.3 pdc means we can use lots of jap wheels from evos or nissan, and they all have nice large 8-0j rim width also. Just need to decide on the perfect ofset really.

Some of these decent made jap wheels come in at 7kgs for an 18" rim. Very light..

[custardkid]

see here:
http://www.pistonheads.co.uk/gassing/topic.asp?h=0...

[S5TVR]

Very impressed with the SP12's. They look great and are light and in my case (T350) enabled me to go with wider rubber at the back - the extra grip is noticeable. Matt at SP is a really good guy to deal with and will sort you out.

[so called]

I'm with SP12's as well.
Made a great difference.
I think they look fantastic on my Tuscan but its always personel taste.

[pfc-tvr]

SP12's made a huge difference to the handling of my Tuscan as unsprung weight is greatly reduced.

If you go with them then suspension will need setting up as offsets are different.

PFC

Edited by pfc-tvr on Sunday 10th February 10:27

[tuscan_al]

So what are the offsets of the SP12 wheels then? If this is the ideal setup but I dont like the look, want to find some with same sizes but more like the spiders in style.