16" or 18"?--bzzzzzzzz!!

[Supertim]

Hi all (again)

I wish to slap some spiders on me 1999 Griff 500. I, hopefully, am being sorted for the 5 stud conversion by a top chap called Hans from Holland, but am undecided as to what size spiders to go for. Looks wise the 18" cannot be bettered, but are there hidden probs (fitting, clearance, handling issues)?
Which should it be? 16" or 18"? Dish the dirt!

[David H]

I went for 16s, I too was worried that they'd not look right but I really couldn't be happier. I made the right choice

[antonyj]

This is mine on 16"s



And on 18"s



I prefer the look of the 18"s , but have heard about them not handling as well.

Edited by antonyj on Tuesday 10th October 19:46

[tvr4ever]

antonyj said:

This is mine on 16"s




And on 18"s

damn why arent my pics working this time??????

Edited by antonyj on Tuesday 10th October 14:56

Hmmm, can't see any photos.

[antonyj]

Sorted....

Edited by antonyj on Tuesday 10th October 16:10

[Guillotine]

mines on 16s (see my profile)

stick with them, but if you want to want to check out some silver 18s look on zz top 's profile.


his went alright at Spa/Hockenheim (when set up properly )

andy
tvrmonster

Edited by Guillotine on Tuesday 10th October 17:05

[DarkMatter]

antonyj said:

Sorted....

Edited by antonyj on Tuesday 10th October 16:10

I don't think so.... I can't see any pictures, and if I click on the space where they should be I get a PhotoBox window saying "You are not logged in" - maybe your pictures have not been made 'public'?

[LastLawyer]

great looking car david.

am also thinking about new rims but unfortunately i live in germany the TUV-Country. so the 5 stud conversion will never ever be accepted :-(

have mounted 17" rims front and rear on my s1 (215 front, 235 rear). not only a great improvement to the look but also to the handling on country-roads.

BUT pretty bad drive on the autobahn / motorway, especially at speeds over 100 mph. the car behaves to nervous. since my griff 4.3 is still equiped with the standard rims, tires shocks and dampers and is much faster than the s1 i would never mount larger rims than 16" front and 17" rear without changing the rest too.

in my opinion to expensive for just that little optical improvement. and equal rims front and rear would somehow kill that special look of the original griffith rims.

but only my personal opinion...

[antonyj]

Right my pics should be working now . Hopefully.....

[mongoose]

I really liked the look of Steve Prevetts Griff at the Growl.It had 18" rear and 16" fronts,courtesy of the great Neil Anderson i believe.Looked lovely in Anthracite

[bagpuss 996r]

Went for 18" all round 235 back and 215 front no problems with clearance with these.Do want to go same all round but when trying backs on front tyres hit the inner lip on the outrigger only the fiberglass though so when respray due with some other mods will grind it off.Handling grip and looks are great would only knock it on one point the ride is a bit jiggy have changed to poly bushes s/h drop links gaz dampers adj and all have done there job and improved its only on rough roads manly on way to work and is better when warm, have heard same story from other people going to 18" on other cars mine is now ok for me but it will never be a caddy and a sports car.

[Supertim]

Thanks all

Think I'll go for the 16s. May be less trouble. Some good looking cars, those.(David- cut your hedges!)

Edited by Supertim on Wednesday 11th October 21:32

[fat griff]

Very modest modification is required to fit the 18" spider over the 16". Just a minor body work modifcations, correct tyre size and a spacer depending on what off-set of wheel you use. In my opinion, the 18" spider alloy really does suit the griff styling above the 16" spider alloy with no detrimental impact on the ride quality or handling over the standard set-up. See my profile for a picture of my griff on 18" spiders.

[LastLawyer]

i like the look of antonyj´s griff on 16" more than that on the 18". looks modern but also more classique than on 18". to big rims fit a modern porsche or ferrariin my opinion. but have you ever seen a not-so-classic ferrari (308 GTB f.e.) with 17" rims ? even on a porsche 993 they look somehow funny (like those who drive around with a bmw 3er series with 19" rims - that is what the turkish guys do here in germany - the larger their rims the smaller probably their pe*is ;-).

but please don´t missunderstand that.

since i`ll definitely change my rims over the winter i´d like to ask you guys with the 18" if your handling-experiences are those from track-days or those from "normal" road driving at higher speeds over 120 mph and that also for a longer drive (f.d. 300 miles).

just don´t want the car going anywhere and jumping over the road like a frog under cocaine.

kind regards

LL

[zz top]

As Guillotine said, car handles great when set up by experts.

I took part in the TVR SPA/HOCKENHEIM MONSTER this year driving 2000 miles in one week.

This was a combination of A roads, Motorways and the 2 GP track days and had no trouble whatsoever once the race mechs at Dulford Automotive had set the car up properly.

However, the boys have now gone one stage further and put NITRON Shocks all round, which make a HUGE (positive) difference.

I would not change, as the car is exactly how i want it.

Hope this helps. zz