WANTED – Set of "Estroril" FRONT wheels in 16" - WANTED

[frenchie TVR]

WANTED – Set of "Estroril" FRONT wheels in 16" - WANTED

Hi, for my Chimaera I am looking for a set of "Estroril" FRONT wheels in 16" (also know as "Griffith wells - see attached photo).

If you only have 1 wheel, I would consider buying just the one until a second one come along...

Thank you.


Frenchie

[Chris71]

Are you planning to run 16s all round or 16s/17s Frenchie?

[frenchie TVR]

Hi,

I am planning to run 16" all around...

I want to keep my car as original (in the look) as possible, so I just would like to same set of wheel as I have, but need to replace the 15" at the front by 16".

Cheers.

Frenchie

[Chris71]

...to make it easy to get the tyres?

(I'm looking at swapping the slightly 'Fast and Furious' looking 18s on mine for something a little more subtle so facing a very similar dilema and interested to see what people are doing with regards wheel and tyre sizes)

[JR]

frenchie TVR said:

WANTED – Set of "Estroril" FRONT wheels in 16" - WANTED

You mean a 16" wheel. For the few end of line cars that TVR sold with 16" all round they simply put four rear wheels onto each car. (With steering stops.)

[Chimpafrolic]

As explained elsewhere I run 16" Imolas all round and I can confirm the steering lock stops are essential.

Without them the inner edge of each front wheel catches the lower wishbones on full lock.

The lock stop washers are cheap & easy to fit and inflict no discernible loss in steering lock.

http://www.clever-trevor.net/tvr-part-category/13-...

PART NO H0756

Or you could just go hunting through the plumbing section at B&Q to save about £15.00 ;-)

[phillpot]

Chimpafrolic said:

As explained elsewhere I run 16" Imolas all round and I can confirm the steering lock stops are essential.

Are you running lower profile front than rear so overall diameter at front is approx same as with 15's ?

[goodytvr]

Fella

I have a set of IMOLA's from a 400 Chimera, with tyres - good tread allround.
May be interested in a swap for yours............

Let me know?

[Chimpafrolic]

phillpot said:

Chimpafrolic said:

As explained elsewhere I run 16" Imolas all round and I can confirm the steering lock stops are essential.

Are you running lower profile front than rear so overall diameter at front is approx same as with 15's ?

Goodyear Eagle F1 directionals all round.

Fronts: 205/50 ZR16 87Y

This size may be considered a bit skinny by some.

However in my opinion the 205's give lovely steering feel (I have power steering) without excessive understeer, I drive briskly on the road but have never taken the car on a track.

Rears: 225/50 ZR16 92Y

The Y rating means all the tyres are approved for speeds of up to up to 186 mph.

Eagles give excellent grip in the dry a shed water brilliantly which is essential in a TVR if you ever get caught in a downpour.

[Chimpafrolic]

Here is how 15" front wheels compare with 16" front wheels with my tyre choice.

Standard 15” Front wheels
Tyre width: 205mm
Aspect ratio: 55
Tyre wall height: 112.75mm
Final rolling dia: 493.75mm

16” Front wheels
Tyre width: 205mm
Aspect ratio: 50
Tyre wall height: 102.5mm
Final rolling dia: 508.9mm

[Chimpafrolic]

In summary:

• The contact patch exactly the same as the standard setup

• Final rolling dia is increased by 15.15mm

• Tyre wall height is reduced by 10.25mm

The additional rolling dia only serves to lift the front of the car slightly.

I have a full set of the latest Gaz Gold Pro adjustable dampers so its a simple case of lowering the front ride height by 15.15mm to bring the front end ride height back to exactly where it was with the standard 15" front wheels.

The sidewall height has been reduced by almost 10%, which in theory should give a tyre wall that's 10% stiffer and therefore 10% more resistant to cornering deformation.

I would say its a nice compromise between improving the sidewall deformation without compromising ride quality.

In my humble opinion fitting very low profile tyres on bigger after market wheels often leads to a really harsh crashing ride on Chims & Griffs that's just not nice at all.

So the benefits of moving to 16" front wheels are:

1) Improved availability of quality front tyres at a decent speed rating

2) A stiffer tyre with less sidewall deformation during cornering

3) Retention of ride comfort

4) Original look of the standard wheels is retained

5) Should work out a lot cheaper than buying a full set of after market wheels and the inevitable four new tyres to go with them

When you look at it like this its no wonder TVR decided to fit 16" front wheels to the last run of Griffiths & Chimaeras.

Definitely a worthwhile mod.

[JR]

Chimpafrolic said:

Here is how 15" front wheels compare with 16" front wheels with my tyre choice.

Standard 15” Front wheels
Tyre width: 205mm
Aspect ratio: 55
Tyre wall height: 112.75mm
Final rolling dia: 493.75mm

16” Front wheels
Tyre width: 205mm
Aspect ratio: 50
Tyre wall height: 102.5mm
Final rolling dia: 508.9mm

Your maths is out http://www.toyo.co.uk/productdetail.php?identity=p...

Chimpafrolic said:

In summary:

• The contact patch exactly the same as the standard setup

• Final rolling dia is increased by 15.15mm

• Tyre wall height is reduced by 10.25mm

The additional rolling dia only serves to lift the front of the car slightly.

I have a full set of the latest Gaz Gold Pro adjustable dampers so its a simple case of lowering the front ride height by 15.15mm to bring the front end ride height back to exactly where it was with the standard 15" front wheels.

The sidewall height has been reduced by almost 10%, which in theory should give a tyre wall that's 10% stiffer and therefore 10% more resistant to cornering deformation.

I would say its a nice compromise between improving the sidewall deformation without compromising ride quality.

In my humble opinion fitting very low profile tyres on bigger after market wheels often leads to a really harsh crashing ride on Chims & Griffs that's just not nice at all.

So the benefits of moving to 16" front wheels are:

1) Improved availability of quality front tyres at a decent speed rating

2) A stiffer tyre with less sidewall deformation during cornering

3) Retention of ride comfort

4) Original look of the standard wheels is retained

5) Should work out a lot cheaper than buying a full set of after market wheels and the inevitable four new tyres to go with them

When you look at it like this its no wonder TVR decided to fit 16" front wheels to the last run of Griffiths & Chimaeras.

Definitely a worthwhile mod.

So it's only 4mm difference in rolling dia or 2mm in rad so closer than you thought.

[spend]

Many of your points are to say 'pointless'... In reality the actual rubber in use (tyre selection) will have far greater effect than the finite maths models you are using as an argument on either contact patch or geometrical cross section IMHO. The parameters of chassis roll centre location and wishbone + rack geometry are far more important than simply the Rolling radius. To get these in the 'sweet spot' seems quite affected by the angles created during squish as well as the offsets & contact patch, so I would say tyre selection is effectively the most crucial point to start with in any planned change?

IMHO this is why we see so many differing opinions on tyres / wheels / geometry as well as expectations on handling ability.

[Ribol]

Chimpafrolic said:

Here is how 15" front wheels compare with 16" front wheels with my tyre choice.

Standard 15” Front wheels
Tyre width: 205mm
Aspect ratio: 55
Tyre wall height: 112.75mm
Final rolling dia: 493.75mm

16” Front wheels
Tyre width: 205mm
Aspect ratio: 50
Tyre wall height: 102.5mm
Final rolling dia: 508.9mm

I realise you may have a different preference for whatever reason but when they left the factory with the 16"/16" wheels they fitted 225/45ZR16 with rack stops.
That said all those cars would have had PS because at that point they all did.

[JR]

Ribol said:

when they left the factory with the 16"/16" wheels they fitted 225/45ZR16

That's because they were utilising the rear wheels which were 7.5" wide.

[Ribol]

JR said:

Ribol said:

when they left the factory with the 16"/16" wheels they fitted 225/45ZR16

That's because they were utilising the rear wheels which were 7.5" wide.

I think it is common knowledge that the factory running out of 15" rims prompted the move but that is not to say it wasn't an improvement.

Having tried it both ways I prefer the later setup, you pays your money, you picks your wheels I guess

[spend]

JR was intimating that the tyre sizes are also affected by the rim width I think? ie if TVR had fitted 7" rims they may well not have used 225/45 (although they also had stockpiles of those Toyos along with the 16" rims)

[Badmutha]

So, replacing the Imola front rims with Imola rear rims, on a non pas car,there is a choice of 205/50ZR16 or 225/45ZR16, and on these options the sidewall height is almost equal,around 10/11mm less than on the original rears. Aesthically they would look the same side-on so the choice would seem to be tyre width. Would there be a significant advantage in fitting the wider tyre or would this be lost in heavier steering and 'feel'?
(Apologies for reviving this old chestnut);)

Edited by Badmutha on Wednesday 29th December 15:58

[SILICONE KID]

I have a front pair of pro race 1.2 in high power silver

17" 4x108 ET 25 7.5 J with Falken 452`s 215/40/17 Tyres

There like new..I now have 16" on the front with 225/45/16 Tyres.
PM me if any one is interested

Edited by SILICONE KID on Wednesday 29th December 16:45

[900T-R]

So again - the factroy cars with 16"all round had no spacers or anything changed at the hubs to erm, offset the 2 x 9 mm difference in offset (ET26 -> ET35)? That would change the steering geometry a fair bit I would say...