Wheel question

"PetarVN, GLI Guy, now with stupid power" (petarvn)
07/15/2015 at 06:04 • Filed to: None

i’m looking in to getting a wider wheels for my car. right now I have 18x8.5 wheels, and am looking to get 18x9.5 wheels. the reason for this is I want more rubber to be in contact with the road, to offer better grip when driving.

What should my concerns be with getting a wheel that is that much wider than stock? I’ve never put aftermarket wheels on a car, and would really like tips so I know I won’t have rub before dropping $800-$1200 on a new set of wheels.

pic of the wheels I want for your time (the wheels are Rotiform IND reps, with offset of et35)

DISCUSSION (24)

Flavien Vidal > PetarVN, GLI Guy, now with stupid power
07/15/2015 at 06:21

What tyres do you have in the first place? Changing them for a better set will have much more drastic effects than changing the wheels to get a set 1 inch wider..

HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles > Flavien Vidal
07/15/2015 at 06:51

also you might be able to get a slight wider tire on the same wheel. depending on what you’ve already got depending on what is already there.

PetarVN, GLI Guy, now with stupid power > Flavien Vidal
07/15/2015 at 06:57

right now I have a set of Michelin pilot A/S 2’s. This is basically the All-season supersport. and as much as i’m doing it for extra grip, I also want to do it for looks as well. I’d put Pilot SupoerSports on these rims, and use my OEM set as winter wheels.

I also can't go wider on the stock rims (I have 225-profile tires on my car now)

PetarVN, GLI Guy, now with stupid power > HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles
07/15/2015 at 06:58

I'm about as wide as I can go on the stock wheels. I want the new wheels for extra grip, but also for looks

Flavien Vidal > PetarVN, GLI Guy, now with stupid power
07/15/2015 at 07:08

P-Zeros are miles better than Pilot Sport. Eventhough I’m french, Michelin is not what it used to be anymore. Don’t go for Pilot Sports if you want grip.

Avoid F1 Supercar though, I had some for WAY too long and they just suck.

Supreme Chancellor and Glorious Leader SaveTheIntegras > PetarVN, GLI Guy, now with stupid power
07/15/2015 at 07:10

Might not be flush with the fender

PetarVN, GLI Guy, now with stupid power > Flavien Vidal
07/15/2015 at 07:12

see from my experience, the pilot supersport is a way better tire still. I just prefer the Michelin, and that’s what i’ll get.

On the topic of going an inch wider with the wheels, do you think i’ll be having any rubbing issues with them? also, would an inch drop effect that in any way?

PetarVN, GLI Guy, now with stupid power > Supreme Chancellor and Glorious Leader SaveTheIntegras
07/15/2015 at 07:13

that is a valid point.... I don't want mexipoke.... would adjusting the suspension be able to fix that, or would I need to resort to rolling my fenders out?

Flavien Vidal > PetarVN, GLI Guy, now with stupid power
07/15/2015 at 07:16

I honestly cannot tell... You would have to calculate your wheel size and check how much space you have on each sides. Then play a little with the potential new offset you want to get to know if it would fit or not.

Technic you can use is load the hell out of your car with a shit load of heavy stuff and see how much space you have right now with suspensions compressed. Depending on that results you can fairly easily guess whether or not you will get some rub.

Michelin are “easier” tires to drive if your car doesn,t have too much power. On the other hand for a great turn-in feeling on corner entry, the extra grip and precision offered by P-Zero is quite uncomparable.

Supreme Chancellor and Glorious Leader SaveTheIntegras > PetarVN, GLI Guy, now with stupid power
07/15/2015 at 07:17

Camber kits and/or rolling fenders.

Check forums, I’m sure someone is running that set up and you’d immediately see if they’d poke

LongbowMkII > PetarVN, GLI Guy, now with stupid power
07/15/2015 at 07:31

you can definitely go wider on 8.5 wheels.

Wobbles the Mind > PetarVN, GLI Guy, now with stupid power
07/15/2015 at 07:45

Wheel spacers and switching between summer and winter tires will fix everything. Wider wheels is a needless expense, as are the tires for it, especially since you’ll feel a huge drop in acceleration compared to what you have now.

jkm7680 > PetarVN, GLI Guy, now with stupid power
07/15/2015 at 07:58

The grip difference will be very minimal. Replica wheels are generally crap, ask me how I know.

PetarVN, GLI Guy, now with stupid power > Supreme Chancellor and Glorious Leader SaveTheIntegras
07/15/2015 at 08:25

sounds good, thanks!

PetarVN, GLI Guy, now with stupid power > Wobbles the Mind
07/15/2015 at 08:25

huh, I didn't think it'd effect acceleration... alright good to know

PetarVN, GLI Guy, now with stupid power > jkm7680
07/15/2015 at 08:25

I guess you had a wheel break?

boxrocket > PetarVN, GLI Guy, now with stupid power
07/15/2015 at 08:43

Pretty much what others have said, only going 1” wider isn’t going to make a drastic difference, and going wider than that will make the car feel more like a steamroller than a performance machine. If you’re insistent on it, I recommend getting something solid but able to be temporarily adhered to the outside of the tire (pool noodle, chunk of foam, piece of wood, etc.) and turning the wheel lock-to-lock and check for interference. You also need to make sure the wheels you’re buying has the same offset as your stock wheels, but are simply wider, or, depending on your measurements and where the brake calipers hit, you may have some negative offset to play with (but that’s less likely). Keep in mind adding the wider wheel can mess with suspension geometry, and wider wheels can be heavier, adding unsprung weight.

I had a similar setup with my Volvo, wherein I used the stock wheels and factory tire size during the winter, and a gorgeous set of Moda R6s with 50mm-wider tires (roughly 1.5”) than stock but a squarer tire design. I had to get 30mm spacers to make the wheels fit around the calipers (the wheels were offset for FWD Volvos, mine was RWD, so same bolt pattern), but there was no interference going lock -to-lock, though the tires stuck out from the car, which didn’t look bad, but a set of aftermarket wheel arches could have resolved that, but I never bothered. When it came to driving, there was a lot more effort required to turn the wheel, especially at lower speeds, and I believe it led to a small power steering leak. My turning radius wasn’t quite as great (RWD Volvos have a wonderfully small turning radius thanks to a relatively small wheelbase and a rack that allows for sharp angles at lock), but manageable. The wheels were 17” compared to 15” stock, so same overall diameter and circumference (within 1.5%), but rode harder and I noticed some minor control issues over rougher surfaces and during inclement weather, but not to a dangerous level. I didn’t notice much additional grip except right off the line if the tires were already warm, and during turns on an on- or off-ramp, but they were scarcely perceptible; the difference in tires could have allowed for the same or greater differences.

Do what you want, it’s your car, but there are better cost-effective options for improving grip than bigger wheels. Suspension and chassis tuning can help a good deal as well.

PetarVN, GLI Guy, now with stupid power > boxrocket
07/15/2015 at 08:56

wow, okay, this is VERY detailed. thank you, I appreciate it. I am also looking in to getting some H&R lowering springs, and will do that first. that way, I know the wheels won’t rub (as the springs are designed for the car) and can go on from there to see what is the best course of action.

jkm7680 > PetarVN, GLI Guy, now with stupid power
07/15/2015 at 09:12

Nope, but they're generally bad quality and aren't finished well. Usually painted in a horrible fashion and scratch much easier than that of Oem wheels.

boxrocket > PetarVN, GLI Guy, now with stupid power
07/15/2015 at 09:14

Sure thing. If you haven’t already, look into structural improvements like lower front and rear chassis braces, strut tower bar, stronger anti-roll bars, etc., which yield greater control and more manageable behavior especially under load, as it improves the characteristics of the weights being shifted around the car from one side to the other. They’ll tie into the lowering springs quite well. It’s a slippery slope getting that invested into it, but you may find with the suspension and chassis mods you don’t feel the need for the wider wheels.

PetarVN, GLI Guy, now with stupid power > boxrocket
07/15/2015 at 09:25

my car is almost stock, and honestly I don’t want to go all out on my daily driver when i’m a teen on a budget. maybe down the road, but at that point i'll just buy a better base car (*cough* M3 *cough*

HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles > PetarVN, GLI Guy, now with stupid power
07/15/2015 at 19:28

They do look awesome

boxrocket > PetarVN, GLI Guy, now with stupid power
07/16/2015 at 00:43

Fair enough. Been there, done that, to use the tired cliché.

One of the cool things about upgrading the chassis is that you can do it bit-by-bit: starting with strut tower bars is very common, as it’s relatively inexpensive usually being under $100, and doesn’t require getting under the car in most cases. It’s also an invisible modification, that is, with the hood (or trunk) closed, you can’t really tell it’s there, which makes the car a bit of a “sleeper”, and keeps the eyes of thieves, jealous folk, and police officers less likely to fixate on your vehicle.

A new set of wheels on an older car is a dead giveaway that the owner might be a somewhat vulnerable target; cops who like to stereotype might lump the driver in with a local crowd of known miscreants with tuned cars that are reported to be driven dangerously, for example. Speaking from experience, my best friend from high school did some mild exterior modifications to his car - wheels, small spoiler, tint, and did his own pinstripe, seat covers from Walmart - and we went to see a movie together. We came out and the car had been trashed in the parking lot of omen of the largest theaters, apparently by some kids who had just seen “Jackass” and decided to use his car to recreate some stunts, which involved ripping off the spoiler (we guess it was inadvertent since it looks like it had been sat upon) and throwing gravel rocks (from the planter beds) at the wheels, one of which missed and broke one of the freshly-tinted windows. I don’t say this to scare you or make you paranoid, just as a gentle reminder that there are jerks out there who will do anything to get clicks on YouTube, even if just amongst friends, and even do things for less asinine reasons, especially nowadays (get off my lawn, haha).

That being said, tasteful wheels that complement the vehicle and don’t stand out (like gold wheels on Subarus) can minimize unwanted attention, if you do pursue that route.

PetarVN, GLI Guy, now with stupid power > boxrocket
07/16/2015 at 04:14

jeez, that’s a horror story (mods that got ruined the first day, on your friends car...)

and I don’t think i’ll draw too much attention. most of the “race me bro!” kids at my school don’t have the money to afford a 2012 Hyundai accent, let alone a nice 2012 VW Jetta GLi like mine. I think light aesthetic mods are still in a safe zone, and wouldn’t cause me issues. I do want a set of new wheels on the car, as the ones I have are road-rashed, and not in the best of shape.

currently, my only "aesthetic" mod is a resonator delete that makes the car sound louder, and even that doesn't cause issues