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Just to set the scene ABY OEM wheels/tyres are 7.5Jx16" ET37 205/55.
One of the first mods i did was to change to 7.5x18" ET35 225/40 which i ran happily on the car for years.
A little while ago i changed the wheels/tyres to 8Jx18" ET35 235/40. The combination of having changed to KW's and the extra wheel and tyre width mean this setup fouled the suspension (4.3mm closer) and required 5mm spacers to fit. This in turn meant longer bolts and importantly 13.4mm further out towards the arch above OEM, which resulted in having to have the arches crudely rolled as a temporary measure.
The car is now going in for some bodywork, including some work on the arches to make them fit, and has made me think what other options are available to even wider wheels, if i'm getting the arches modified anyway, and the pros/cons of running such wider wheels.
As an extreme example you could go to 9.5Jx18" ET10 265x35. This would result in the wheels being only -1.68% on the diameter (speed measurement) and within tolerance, plus being 1.6mm further away from the suspension than OEM and 6mm further away then the previous setup i required spacers with, meaning no spacers would be required.
The outside face would poke 52.4mm further out than OEM, but as the arches are having some work anyway this isn't a consideration.
So assuming wheels are available that match these specifications (and they seem to be) the question is how on earth would this effect handling?
My thinking is more traction under acceleration and braking and better distribution of lateral loads under cornering, but this might be thinking far to simplistically when you include tyre pressures and other possible unforeseen cons.
Thoughts, gents?
One of the first mods i did was to change to 7.5x18" ET35 225/40 which i ran happily on the car for years.
A little while ago i changed the wheels/tyres to 8Jx18" ET35 235/40. The combination of having changed to KW's and the extra wheel and tyre width mean this setup fouled the suspension (4.3mm closer) and required 5mm spacers to fit. This in turn meant longer bolts and importantly 13.4mm further out towards the arch above OEM, which resulted in having to have the arches crudely rolled as a temporary measure.
The car is now going in for some bodywork, including some work on the arches to make them fit, and has made me think what other options are available to even wider wheels, if i'm getting the arches modified anyway, and the pros/cons of running such wider wheels.
As an extreme example you could go to 9.5Jx18" ET10 265x35. This would result in the wheels being only -1.68% on the diameter (speed measurement) and within tolerance, plus being 1.6mm further away from the suspension than OEM and 6mm further away then the previous setup i required spacers with, meaning no spacers would be required.
The outside face would poke 52.4mm further out than OEM, but as the arches are having some work anyway this isn't a consideration.
So assuming wheels are available that match these specifications (and they seem to be) the question is how on earth would this effect handling?
My thinking is more traction under acceleration and braking and better distribution of lateral loads under cornering, but this might be thinking far to simplistically when you include tyre pressures and other possible unforeseen cons.
Thoughts, gents?
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