The wrong wheels?

[mbrown5]

Does my car have the correct wheels?
I always asumed that a 4.5 built in 2000 (new shape)would have had 18" spiders when it was built, so I had no reason to think the wheels had been changed until the other day when I took it to get new tyres and I found that the center caps don't fit properly on the rears. The stub axles are about 5mm through the center of the wheels so the center caps had just been glued on and don't clip in like the front ones.

Are they all like this or does it sound like my car has the wrong off set rear wheels?

[Olly]

I think a 2000 car would have originally come with RL7's, but the 18" variety were found to be made of cheese (porous) so they were replaced with Spiders.....

So, your wheels could well have been supplied from the factory, but probably weren't the wheels fitted at 0 miles.

Hope that helps?

[mbrown5]

Thanks olly, i've never seen a new shape one on RL7s. I thought they all had spiders after 2000.

Still seems a bit strange that the wheels I have are the wrong off set for the center caps to fit.

[morebeanz]

If I recall correctly the Cerb normally uses four "front" Tuscan wheels. Maybe yours are not, and hence the problem?

Mine is a 2000 4.5 and I am fairly sure it was like that from purchase - no probs with the wheel caps for me.

[Gazzab]

Your car would have had RL7s (the early lightweights were that way). So the stub axles will be too long for Tuscan fronts. Simple job to saw off.

[mbrown5]

Morebeanz, does yours have the same size front and rear wheels? Mine are wider on the rear, im not sure of the exact wheel sizes but mine has 225 tyres on the front and 255 on the rear so can't be four Tuscan fronts.

[Gazzab]

The tyre widths are not an indicator to the wheel width. You can tell if they are fronts by removing the wheel and looking inside the the inner centre where it will say 'front' or 'rear'.

[Allandwf]

You can tell just by looking up close, the offset can be seen as the space between the hub/disc and where the wheel meets it between the raised sections, ( If that makes sense.) the fronts will have a smaller gap than the rears, if fronts are fitted all round then the gaps will be the same for both.

[morebeanz]

Gazzab said:

The tyre widths are not an indicator to the wheel width. You can tell if they are fronts by removing the wheel and looking inside the the inner centre where it will say 'front' or 'rear'.

He speaks the truth...

Mine are 8.5" width front and back, but with the same sizes of tyre that you quote. Of course the fronts look "stretched" and the rears "fat". They are the same wheel though...

[plumAJP]

mines the same as morebeanz, 4 tuscan fronts but bigger widths on back tyres.

i do want to try on some tuscan rears though to see how beeft the back end would look.

anyone wearing tuscan rears that could host a photo for me

[itsallyellow]

I would have thought this would promote quite a lot of understeer.

I think it would be more of a benifit in looking at ways to make the front tyres/ wheels larger.

Mike

[Allandwf]

Tuscan rears are the same diameter but with a slightly larger offset. I have them on mine. They will increase the track at the rear by about 20mm. You also run the risk of the tyre rubbing the arches with 255s as they sit that bit further out.(some cars rub some don't.)

Edited by Allandwf on Saturday 11th July 17:15

Edited by Allandwf on Saturday 11th July 17:54

[plumAJP]

any pics showing side view (looking from rear to front or vice versa) so i can see how far they stick out?

[Allandwf]

Best I can do, at the moment. I can take one when I get back from work but will be 8 days, If no ones posted another. On tuscan rears the tyre will just be inside the top lip of the arch and may rub going over bumps or hard cornering. Mine rubbed with Bridgestones but doesn't with the Goodyears.

[plumAJP]

the fibreglass there is pretty thick so you could sand a few mm away to clear the tyre wall.

[Allandwf]

plumAJP said:

the fibreglass there is pretty thick so you could sand a few mm away to clear the tyre wall.

If the tyre doesn't do it for you first.

[plumAJP]

yeah lol

[ro_butler]

itsallyellow is on to something here. if you are going to the effort of replacing the rear wheels with Tuscan rears then why not get some proper wheels (and improve the handling)?
I had the Tuscan rears on mine and they didn't rub but that isn't the issue, it's the front wheels, they are too wide for the tyre size and also the wrong offset.
They are also very soft. In short they are crap.