Are 18" wheels on a 1g no good?

[Chad Giffen]

Hi Guys,

just wondering whats the deal with few 1g's sporting 18" wheels?

I am in the market for a set of wheels and tires soon and just wanted to know.

Wheel well rub when turning?

Offset Problems?

To aggressive of camber adjustment?

What sizes work? I am looking for 255 series

I plan on getting coilovers when I out them on as well.
 


thanks,

Chad

[CamWeiss]

As stated in other threads, it's not so much the wheel size but the tire size.

The biggest factors are incorrect offset, wheels that are too wide, and tires that are too big/wide.

For the rear end, the control arm is the strongest limiting factor.
For the front, the strut, and then tire rub on the wheel well - When I'm at full lock on 225/50-16 tires on even stock wheels, I get a bit of rub on the fender liners.

Another factor to consider is that you'll be stretching rubber bands over those wheels. You'll get shitty ride quality and easily bent wheels.

255 isn't a super common width, but almost everybody makes a 245mm wide tire. You'd be looking at 245/35-18" to keep the correct rolling diameter. 245 and 255 16" tires are rare, but for 17" quite easily found.

A proper wheel width for that would be 8-9"... 8" Wheels are easy - I've got them on in the summer. 8.5" would be doable with the correct offset, and 9" might be difficult. This is assuming you're not wanting to do fender flares and cutting like Zach did on his monster.

(And as a final note, when you find what you want and figure out if it will work or not, let us know! I know I'd consider stuffing 245 or 255's in if I knew for sure they'd fit without major modifications)

[Chad Giffen]

thanks Cam,

right now i'm looking at

- 17x8 5x114.3 enkei rpf1's
- 255/45/17 tires

do you think these would have any problems considering the width and the offset of the tire?


Chad

[CamWeiss]

17x8 should be easy. You may have to grind + reweld the rear control arm, you may have to run spacers. I'm running a 16x8 +50et wheel, I needed to do both.
17x8 +40 might do the trick.

Tires will likely be a tight squeeze. A typical 255mm wide tire has a section width of a hair over 10". Your wheel is 8" wide. You get the point - If the wheel is a tight squeeze, the tire might simply not fit.

When it comes down to it, you need to get a tape measure out and figure out exactly how much room you have to play with, and what offsets/tire sizes will work for you. I'm simply speaking from my experiences on my own car and its' various wheels and tires.
If you're set on a particular wheel (rpf1's are a good choice, I'd love a set myself), then figure out the best offset for you to use (likely in the area of +39 to +43). I'd get the wheels on the car, and measure clearances from there. I'd play it safe with a 225 or 235 wide tire to start with, then with the NEXT set go big. It'll hurt lots less if you find out that a 235 barely fits versus finding out that those 255's sitting on your doorstep don't fit.

[Shane Sawatzki]

I didnt read all of this in detail but the rear control arm you WILL have a problem with unless you cut or notch it or do whatever kind of welding/fabricating you want to do.

I had a finger width of clearance on that rear control arm and I ran 18x7.5 with 215/35zr18's on my 1ga, offset i believe was +38 maurits would be the guy to ask since he has my old wheels ( I think he still does )

other then that, the ride quality wasnt good, it was very rigid and bumpy roads were my enemy, I hated it but i loved the way it looked.





the front tires were some scrap tires I was test fitting in these pictures, 235/40zr18 .. they rubbed on the front strut perch and when the front wheels were locked left or right.


edit/ If you want more clearance id get some coilovers if you dont already have them, I dont see you being able to fit anything wider then a 235 MAYBE 245 upfront with the right wheel and offset if your on stock struts or aftermarket struts.

[Brett Haviland]

unless your zach, then you can fit 385's with super flairs asnd crazy offsets!!  ahhaha  jk

[John Hartman]

245 or 255 will be a lot of tire and I suspect it will rub either on the strut(front) or control arm(rear) on a basically stock 1g.  If you use coil overs, the front should clear, given the correct offset, but not too much you can do in the rear except use lower offsets, eg 35 or lower, but then you will hit the fender.  So you will have to either extremely roll or cut the fenders. 

And then to make it legal(no part of the tire can extend past the fender) you will need to add fender flares of some sort.

So, if your car has nice body work and you want to keep it, then I suggest limiting it to 225 or maybe 235, depending on the tire.

Oh and this is all at stock height too, if you lower it, the rubbing issues will be exacerbated.

[Cole MacDonald]

I have run 225/40 r18 for years now and have now issues other than very slight rub in the side of the front wheel well when turning to lock. I'm not sure what the offset of these rims are though.