Discussion
Hi all
Apologies in advance for posting about something that’s no doubt been covered in the past, but I’m struggling to find any recent threads that will ensure any answers you may have will relate to products that are available to buy currently.
Got a 2000 450 Chimp which is currently on 15 / 16 inch Estoril wheels. Been doing various upgrades since I bought it earlier this year including faired in headlights and MS ECU. Early doors I replaced all 4 tyres, but now thinking I might want to move to larger wheels for aesthetic reasons.
I know there’s a school of thought that sticking with original wheels is the “purist” thing to do, and may well end up doing that, but looking for advice / suggestions (and ideally some pictures) of what you guys think would be an easy and sensible way forwards.
Full disclosure….I’m not handy or technical in any way. A little bit of forum trawling has made me aware of factors like offset, wheel size and width, use of spacers, fouling on wishbones etc…..so what I’d really like to know is what my options might be, probably in 17 inch all round, if I wanted to do a straight swap from existing without any further modification being needed. All suggestions in terms of brand, model wheel and tyre sizes welcome !
Cheers
Apologies in advance for posting about something that’s no doubt been covered in the past, but I’m struggling to find any recent threads that will ensure any answers you may have will relate to products that are available to buy currently.
Got a 2000 450 Chimp which is currently on 15 / 16 inch Estoril wheels. Been doing various upgrades since I bought it earlier this year including faired in headlights and MS ECU. Early doors I replaced all 4 tyres, but now thinking I might want to move to larger wheels for aesthetic reasons.
I know there’s a school of thought that sticking with original wheels is the “purist” thing to do, and may well end up doing that, but looking for advice / suggestions (and ideally some pictures) of what you guys think would be an easy and sensible way forwards.
Full disclosure….I’m not handy or technical in any way. A little bit of forum trawling has made me aware of factors like offset, wheel size and width, use of spacers, fouling on wishbones etc…..so what I’d really like to know is what my options might be, probably in 17 inch all round, if I wanted to do a straight swap from existing without any further modification being needed. All suggestions in terms of brand, model wheel and tyre sizes welcome !
Cheers
I cant help with sizing sorry but there is a thread here on wheels, some of the photos are dead but there is a link on this site somewhere on how to repair that feature.
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
I think they look good on 16 inch all round and Estorils and RL7 are my personal favourite, i think they really suit the car.
They dont look quite right on anything larger than 17 inch to me.
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
I think they look good on 16 inch all round and Estorils and RL7 are my personal favourite, i think they really suit the car.
They dont look quite right on anything larger than 17 inch to me.
Belle427 said:
I think they look good on 16 inch all round and Estorils and RL7 are my personal favourite, i think they really suit the car.
They dont look quite right on anything larger than 17 inch to me.
I'm running 16" all round, handling is a touch better and it looks good. Improves tyre choice too. They dont look quite right on anything larger than 17 inch to me.
PCD 4 X 108
OFFSET 35.38
BORE 63.3
The main question is how much money are you willing to throw at this? If you're doing it on a budget then second hand wheels with the correct PCD and then you can have high quality spacers made for less than £100 and a set of longer wheel bolts for £50.
If you're throwing money at it then https://www.demon-tweeks.com/uk/performance/wheels... and put 4x108 into the filter and go from there.
I don't know where you live but another option is to take it to a decent shop and get them to do it all. My wife took her little MK1 golf to https://maps.app.goo.gl/CMQLtAAoew9oNkQi9
and got wheels, tyres, spacers and bolts for £150 more than I would have done it all and I didn't have to touch a thing. She just drove the car in one day, picked a set of wheels and then went back a week later to have them fitted, which is a pretty good option if you don't want the hassle.
OFFSET 35.38
BORE 63.3
The main question is how much money are you willing to throw at this? If you're doing it on a budget then second hand wheels with the correct PCD and then you can have high quality spacers made for less than £100 and a set of longer wheel bolts for £50.
If you're throwing money at it then https://www.demon-tweeks.com/uk/performance/wheels... and put 4x108 into the filter and go from there.
I don't know where you live but another option is to take it to a decent shop and get them to do it all. My wife took her little MK1 golf to https://maps.app.goo.gl/CMQLtAAoew9oNkQi9
and got wheels, tyres, spacers and bolts for £150 more than I would have done it all and I didn't have to touch a thing. She just drove the car in one day, picked a set of wheels and then went back a week later to have them fitted, which is a pretty good option if you don't want the hassle.
The most annoying issue is the staggered offset of the wheels. Standard are 33mm (or maybe 35mm) rear and 25mm front.
Witohut having to buy two sets of 2, you may have to fit spacers on the front or have the rears sit more inboard. There is the space and if you go a bit wider, this will compensate.
The last run out models had 16" on the front too so I assume (?) that 33mm offset on the front is OK for clearance. They are 7.5" wide instead of the 15" wheels that are 7" wide, so they look correct.
ETA: My error, if you do 25 ET all round, the rears will sit more outboard, so wheel arch fouling becomes a possibility.
Witohut having to buy two sets of 2, you may have to fit spacers on the front or have the rears sit more inboard. There is the space and if you go a bit wider, this will compensate.
The last run out models had 16" on the front too so I assume (?) that 33mm offset on the front is OK for clearance. They are 7.5" wide instead of the 15" wheels that are 7" wide, so they look correct.
ETA: My error, if you do 25 ET all round, the rears will sit more outboard, so wheel arch fouling becomes a possibility.
Edited by sixor8 on Sunday 10th November 11:51
I’ve used concentric 5mm spacers on 17’s for years with no ill effects and no need to add longer studs unless you need to use 10 mm spacers.
To help you choose wheels use “ will they fit” wheel/tyre calculator which allows you to put in your original dimensions and offset and calculate what your new sizes of wheels and tyres will do.
It has a handy tool that shows you in diagram form what those sizes/ offsets do to the actual wheel/ tyre position on the hub or just use a company as suggested above.
To help you choose wheels use “ will they fit” wheel/tyre calculator which allows you to put in your original dimensions and offset and calculate what your new sizes of wheels and tyres will do.
It has a handy tool that shows you in diagram form what those sizes/ offsets do to the actual wheel/ tyre position on the hub or just use a company as suggested above.
Futura Blue said:
Thanks Andrew….look smart. Do you happen to know make / model / width off top of your head ?
To confirm….these have been fitted to standard hub without any spacers or other modification ?
They are Raceline RL7, no longer made unfortunately, they were used on the Cerbera too in 5 stud format. It took me around 2 years of searching to find them. The fronts are 7 inch wide with an offset of 25, and the rears are 8 inch wide with a 30 offset. Both running on the standard hubs, but I did install longer wheel studs as my RL7s use a different type of nut, although this wasn’t strictly needed.To confirm….these have been fitted to standard hub without any spacers or other modification ?
Andrew.
Trying to get myself up a steep learning curve I’m afraid…..so pardon the basic questions.
Comments so far really helpful…..I’m trying to get myself to a position where I have a clear understanding of the wheel (and then associated tyre) specs that will then allow me to start searching in anger for what I need.
As things stand, I’m thinking either 17s all round, or 17 front and 18 rear…..is there a strong view on which would be better ?
Once that’s been decided then next bit of jigsaw is:
a) What wheel widths will fit / look right without spacers ? Specifically, will 7.5 front / 8 rear work…..or do in need to be looking for 7 front / 8 rear…..or maybe a different combination of the above ?
b) Depending on answer to the above, what tyre make / sizes would be best for front / rear ? Not looking to use car on track…..so looking for best handling / comfort / grip rather than out and out performance.
TIA…..again !
Comments so far really helpful…..I’m trying to get myself to a position where I have a clear understanding of the wheel (and then associated tyre) specs that will then allow me to start searching in anger for what I need.
As things stand, I’m thinking either 17s all round, or 17 front and 18 rear…..is there a strong view on which would be better ?
Once that’s been decided then next bit of jigsaw is:
a) What wheel widths will fit / look right without spacers ? Specifically, will 7.5 front / 8 rear work…..or do in need to be looking for 7 front / 8 rear…..or maybe a different combination of the above ?
b) Depending on answer to the above, what tyre make / sizes would be best for front / rear ? Not looking to use car on track…..so looking for best handling / comfort / grip rather than out and out performance.
TIA…..again !
It may be worth asking your insurance company if it would affect your premium much, it will depend who you are with. Footman James accept it as a non standard modification for me with no charge. Others may may want an admin charge and a small additional premium; others may not accept it at all. 
My fronts are 215/40/17, rears 245/35/18.
This is within a few mm of the original wheel plus tyre diameter, with 15 inch on the front, and 16 on the rear.
My reason for going for larger wheels was because I wanted to upgrade the brakes too. I got a bit carried away with 6 pot APs with 355 discs on the front and 325 on the rear, but they're great on track.
Andrew.
This is within a few mm of the original wheel plus tyre diameter, with 15 inch on the front, and 16 on the rear.
My reason for going for larger wheels was because I wanted to upgrade the brakes too. I got a bit carried away with 6 pot APs with 355 discs on the front and 325 on the rear, but they're great on track.
Andrew.
Just to add to the confusion Im running
215/45/17 F 7.5 in rim
235/45/17 R 7.5 in rim
This gives a slightly larger tyre circumference than standard 15/16 tyre sizes but helps keep a deeper profile as the larger wheel size means your running lower profile tyres than on the standard 15/16 making bumps feel more pronounced.
I used to run 215/40/17 on the fronts and they felt very hard and non compliant over bumps where as 215/45/17 on Rainsport with a soft tyre wall handles rough roads better and less likely to buckle a wheel.
It’s all personal preference mind so not gospel.
215/45/17 F 7.5 in rim
235/45/17 R 7.5 in rim
This gives a slightly larger tyre circumference than standard 15/16 tyre sizes but helps keep a deeper profile as the larger wheel size means your running lower profile tyres than on the standard 15/16 making bumps feel more pronounced.
I used to run 215/40/17 on the fronts and they felt very hard and non compliant over bumps where as 215/45/17 on Rainsport with a soft tyre wall handles rough roads better and less likely to buckle a wheel.
It’s all personal preference mind so not gospel.
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