500LE

[Mr Haribo]

I have 16" wheels on the front of my Chimaera im told the Griff LE had these as standard.
I thought I could put them straiht on ? they rub on full lock and the offset is wrong ? as the handling has changed also I dont think rack stops are the answer.
Is there spacers on the LE ? if so how much ?
Many Thanks in advance..........

[loud430]

no luck then mark?

[Mr MoJo]

No spacers as far as I'm aware, can't think why you'd have clearance problems. Different offsets on a Chim maybe, but wouldn't have thought so.

[Mr Haribo]

Eh no ! Rear wheels are ET35 and the old 15,s are ET25 does that mean its 10mm out ?
Being the last LE Griffs had 16" all round due to no more 15's being made, how did TVR get round it ?

[macdeb]

That's a bit of a puzzle. I have 17" all round on my Chimaera with an ET of 35 with no problems at all. There is a wheel offset calculator knocking around on here somewhere, and I don't think the difference between ET25-35 means 10mm. Also, can't see TVR having just 200 wheels made [100 pairs] with a different offset. Be interested to know how you get on.

[Mr Haribo]

After 3 days of looking on past posts Ive found it ! ET35 and ET25 ! the difference is 4mm ! set of spacers Mr Davis ?
Im still not sure what what tvr done on the last 100 Griffs ?

[loud430]

yeah, set of 4mm spacers would work i think, mine only rubs slightly on full lock. plus should be able to get away with having normal lenth studs still.

[rigga]

Your forgetting one small problem regarding the offset differences mentioned ... The et 25 was on a 7 inch rim width , the et 35 was on a 7.5 inch rim hardly any difference at all and why normally its a straightforward fit when changing to these wheels , i run et 35 wheels on the front with no issues , no rubbing and no spacers or lock stops needed or longer studs .... There are other issues here

[scorcher]

Using a wheel offset calculator like this one http://www.1010tires.com/WheelOffsetCalculator.asp you can see what the problem is. By using the 7.5 x 16 wheel it gives you 16mm less inner clearence and pushes the wheel in by 4mm. So if you use 4mm spacers the outer edge of the wheel will at least sit in the right place but you will still have quite a bit less inner clearence hence why some people will experience some rubbing ( each car may be slightly different due to them being hand built etc )The original Griff LEs I've seen seem not to use wheel spacers as the wheels are sat in further so I'd guess they use lock stops instead.Personally I'd use a spacer so the wheel actually looks like its sat right to begin with.

[macdeb]

Mr Haribo said:

Im still not sure what what tvr done on the last 100 Griffs ?

Probably not a lot. I'd go with spacers but get the ones with longer studs supplied.

[Mr Haribo]

I have gone with the spacer option and I am told its going to be a good weekend ?
So I can put the TVR through its paces, as Ive found the car at high speeds was twitchy !

[rigga]

I know its only my personal opinion but spacers are a bodge and are something i would not be happy with , indeed i wasnt with the wheels my car came with and fitted some that didnt need any

[Mr Haribo]

Well the spacers went on for a trial run ! Full lock sorted !
handling ? no different at high speeds so the wheel offset idea is in short a waste of time and money !
I think I will check the drop from front to rear.

[Del 203]

Mr Haribo said:

I think I will check the drop from front to rear.

What heights are your main rails? Infront of front & beind rear wishbone mounts ?

[Mr Haribo]

150mm front and 160mm rear.
I might give it 165mm rear so a 15mm drop, im not sure if it will make much of a difference ?

[scorcher]

Have you got a matching set of tyres all round? What size? What pressures are you using? What suspension? All these will make a difference to its high speed handling/twitchyness. Are you holding on too tight?