Size of race wheels

kinkyllama · Post by **kinkyllama** » Thu Jul 21, 2005 5:10 pm

I need help deciding what size would be best. Ive been told you want an even balance between your tires and suspension. Like if you have a really stiff suspension you would want small stiff sidewalls for tires. Well i thought id have the stock suspension must longer so i was going to go with 15" wheels for my race set. But now that Chip said the KW suspension should be out at the end of summer i wanna buy the wheels to fit that stiffer suspension. With 15" wheel it would be a 205/55 or 225/50. 16s would be 205/50-16, 215/45-16, 215/50-16, 225/45-16. 17s would be 205/45-17, 215/40-17, 225/40-17. And of course 18s 215/35-18, and 225/35-18.

Personally i think the 225/45/16 sounds good. But even a 40 might be better. Im not sure. Id likke any input and any kind of additional tips. Before i buy the wheels im going to check to make sure there is a wide selection of tires available for that wheel

Thanks!
Danny

kinkyllama · Post by **kinkyllama** » Mon Sep 19, 2005 7:47 pm

The time is coming really soon. Im having a hard time finding 16inch wheels in my size and weight that i want. I want cheap track wheels but will pay maybe 200bux each at the very very most, maybe.

15 inch is easy to find.. but the problem is finding it wide enough.. most 15s are 6 or 6.5 wide. I need at LEAST 7 inches wide, but rather have 7.5.

So the perfect wheel would be 16x7.5 and weight 15lbs or less

Looks like the konig colors are my best bet.. still. Dont really want bright orange or yellow though.. and the graphit versions only come in 17s and 18s (Konig colors-15x7-15lbs and only like 100bux a wheel). Other problem is would be that id wanna get at least 45 tires which would through the speed off and i dont want that.. so 15s wont work. blaahhh

kinkyllama · Post by **kinkyllama** » Mon Sep 19, 2005 11:37 pm

Well i think i foudn wheels i maybe getting for the track.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/16-inch- ... enameZWDVW

With shipping its just over 500bux which is kinda what i was looking to spend.. and they weight a few pounds less than i thought id end up with (they weight just over 12lbs).

But is a 45+ offset okay in 16x7 for my car?

Also these are very popular wheels.. does anyone know the exact weight by chance? i only know its little over 12lbs by "word of mouth" so obviously i wanna be sure

Audacity Racing · Post by **Audacity Racing** » Mon Sep 19, 2005 11:39 pm

you should be fine

rotas = t3h SeX

AcingTeam · Post by **AcingTeam** » Tue Sep 20, 2005 12:16 am

Here's the wheels that I bought (but mine are 15"), I found you a link for 16" from the same seller.... for $599 you get Free Shipping. Free Mounting. Free Valve Stems (already come with brand new tires mounted). They are cheaper and same exact rims with very similar weight (if not the same).

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/16-Race- ... dZViewItem

kinkyllama · Post by **kinkyllama** » Tue Sep 20, 2005 3:12 am

AcingTeam wrote:Here's the wheels that I bought (but mine are 15"), I found you a link for 16" from the same seller.... for $599 you get Free Shipping. Free Mounting. Free Valve Stems (already come with brand new tires mounted). They are cheaper and same exact rims with very similar weight (if not the same).

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/16-Race- ... dZViewItem

I didnt see the weight... ??

also can you pick different tires? thesee are my track wheels.. at the very least i want some amazing street tires (if not R compounds)

and my bolt pattern is 4x114.3.. i didnt see any with that bolt patter

thanks!

AcingTeam · Post by **AcingTeam** » Tue Sep 20, 2005 5:48 am

I did a search when i was buying wheels, and found the weight to be pretty close (speedy was just a bit heavier).

Jolly8286 · Post by **Jolly8286** » Tue Sep 20, 2005 10:52 am

Check these out and tell me what you think, if you havent already bought your rims.

http://www.motorsporttyres.com.au/t-td.htm

kinkyllama · Post by **kinkyllama** » Tue Sep 20, 2005 6:23 pm

Jolly8286 wrote:Check these out and tell me what you think, if you havent already bought your rims.

http://www.motorsporttyres.com.au/t-td.htm

Nice! but the only one in my size is a little heavyier.

Im gonna go with the ones i had the link from.. cuz there a very very proven brand and as audacityracing said everyone intos racing and many into tunning know that the rotas are the sexyiest wheels alive

Stefan · Post by **Stefan** » Thu Sep 22, 2005 8:59 pm

I got the Rota Circuit 8's for my Astra. 16"x7.5" - very lightweight, could pick up all four wheels in one go! They fit in the wheel arches well too.
Make sure you get some decent spigot rings to centre the wheels properly and prevent any wheel shake.

As for selecting wheels and tyres, I was always told to pick the tyre first. To get the best tyre to suit the application.......then pick the wheels using what was left of the cash.

Stef

kinkyllama · Post by **kinkyllama** » Thu Sep 22, 2005 9:27 pm

Stefan wrote:I got the Rota Circuit 8's for my Astra. 16"x7.5" - very lightweight, could pick up all four wheels in one go! They fit in the wheel arches well too.
Make sure you get some decent spigot rings to centre the wheels properly and prevent any wheel shake.

As for selecting wheels and tyres, I was always told to pick the tyre first. To get the best tyre to suit the application.......then pick the wheels using what was left of the cash.

Stef

Yeah... but its harder to find lightweight wheels in a size i want.

are you sure there 7.5 wide though? cuz i looked on there site and they have none available in that size. Thats the size that i actually need. What ive found in tires is most are either 205 or 245 for competition tires.. with a 7.5 wide rim i could fit 245 :twisted:

Stefan · Post by **Stefan** » Thu Sep 22, 2005 11:45 pm

kinkyllama wrote:Yeah... but its harder to find lightweight wheels in a size i want.

Generally speaking, for a car like the Lanos/Astra I probably wouldn't go any larger than a 16" wheel for the track. I tend to look at getting the smallest wheel that will fit over the brake setup that's being used with adequate clearance for airflow i.e. 1/2"-1" over the caliper size. Going for the smallest size helps keep the weight down and also the wheels inertia, helping accelaration and reducing powertrain losses. Also, I've known some steel wheels to be lighter than so-called performance alloy wheels so for race use I'd look at those too.

kinkyllama wrote:Are you sure there 7.5 wide though? cuz i looked on there site and they have none available in that size. Thats the size that i actually need. What ive found in tires is most are either 205 or 245 for competition tires.. with a 7.5 wide rim i could fit 245 :twisted:

Probably 7" wide actually, using a 205 tyre. Try looking at other Jap wheels, thats where I found the Rotas as the Astra had the same stud patten as Honda. This has also allowed me to use the skunk2 alloy wheel nuts after fitting studs to the hubs. The likes of Enki, Rays, Spoon, etc. may have a suitable lightweight wheel in the width you want.

Stef

kinkyllama · Post by **kinkyllama** » Fri Sep 23, 2005 3:30 am

Yeah i know what you mean. But you also want stiff side walls too. i think 16s are best for me.

Ive spent about 15 hrs looking for track wheels and i think im done. i have not seen any 16x7.5 that are anything near the weight i wont or that fit and going up to 17s is too much weight and money (especialy in tires)