Enkei Raijin's and rubbing
 

Hey guys. I'm new to all these tire/wheel measurements and I'm learning slowly what goes with what. When I go home this summer I plan on picking up either the Enkei Raijin's 18x9.5 or the RS05-RR Enkeis in 18x9.5.

http://ft86speedfactory.com/enkei-bl...et-of-662.html
http://ft86speedfactory.com/enkei-rs...4pcs-1057.html

I have a few questions.

What is the appropriate tire size for these wheels? I plan on wrapping these in Michelin Pilot A/S3's. I've read great things about that tire. This is strictly a fun daily driver as it is my only car. I don't have the money right now to autocross or track the car and I don't plan on doing any suspension work anytime soon. Ladyfriend already complains about getting out of the car :lol:

With stock suspension am I looking at getting any rubbing or similar issues going up to a 18x9.5? I'm really looking for a direct replacement, just a bit bigger and wider.

Also, what would I have to look into when it comes to swapping over the TPMS?

Thanks in advance for the help. I'm trying to research all this but the only computer I have access to is on a government network so it is very slow and EVERYTHING is blocked lol

I'm pretty sure you will have rubbing issues up front. Check out threads in the wheel directory that have 9.5" wide wheels and see what they have done. You may need to adjust the suspension or add a space to make them fit depending on offset (most likely)

I have this set up. No rubbing issues and I'm on coils and lowered.

Great! Just to be clear you're on 18x9.5 Raijins right? (trying to view your build log but of course it's all blocked) What did you do about the TPMS? Were you able to transplant them from the stock wheels or did you buy replacements? Tirerack just got the RS05-RR's in so I'm thinking about ordering through them so they come with the rubber and TPMS already installed. Only problem is they don't carry 18x9.5. They only have 18x9. Which I'm also ok with seeing as the stock wheels are 17x7 the extra two inches should already make a huge difference.

A word of advice. Dont put anything that is more than 8" wide on a not lowered FRS. Otherwise it will look like an offroad truck

That being said, I dont see you mentioning any offset of the rims, which is important to answer your question.
If you dont lower your car on coilovers, you will have problems clearing the front inner struits. Anything with a highter offset than +38 will rub. Also be aware that a 9.5X18 with +38 (or lower) will poke out quiet a bit. It will not rub outside, but it will look offroadish if not lowered.

Now on the tire side, on a 9.5" wheel you should fit at least 245/35/18 tires. It will strech a bit, but not much you can do about it as the front is limited again by the inner struit.

So bottom line:
If you do not plan to lower your car, take 8" Wheels max.
If you plan to lower your car with springs, take 8.5" Wheels and have no tire strech, or 9.5" wheels and have some tire strech
If you plan to lower on coilovers, take whatever option you like since you will have more room in front (the coilover struits are smaller than the stock struits) and can also play a bit with camber settings

EDIT: Just saw the offset was in the links you posted. +43 and +45, the will rub in the front with stock supsension

Thank you very much Killerbee! That info helps out a lot. I'll look into some springs then, if I go 1" or 1.5" lower am I looking at sacrifice a lot of the ride comfort. Like I said this is strictly a DD for the next few years. Could I fit 18x9.5 with a larger spacer? Say 50mm. Does adding a spacer hurt (by adding stress to the suspension) the car's suspension at all or sacrifice handling? Bear with me, I am very new at wheel fitment. I would like a similar setup to this: http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=43705

I would like to run 9.5 and 255/40 all around. A square setup is a must as I would like to be able to still rotate my tires when the time comes. In that thread, he said with 255 all the way around the fronts to rub at full lock. Could a 50mm spacer fix this?

Sorry that answering my questions just leads to more questions. Like I said, I am new to rims and tires. I really appreciate the help and advice.

Well, being honest, if you go just for the looks, you should look at 8.5 or 8.75" wide wheels. Since you're going for 245 or 255 tires, there is no need to go for 9.5 unless the wheel design fits you better. There are however also concave designs out there in 8.5" sizes (look at my journal for a example, link in my signature)

If you insist on 9.5" be aware that they will poke out quiet a bit due to their size. You can add spacers, however, this will add to the amount the wheel is outside the wheel arches.
Example. A 8.5" +35 wheel is about flush. Take a 9.5" wheel +35, it will 12.5mm poke outside your fenders. Do a 9.5" wheel +48 and it will be flush again, but will be rubbing inside. You can add now spacers (like a 10mm each side) however this will add again 10mm, so it will poke again 10mm. In the end, a +48 wheel with 10mm spacer is like a +38 wheel.
If you want a "dummy guide on wheels and offset" check this post I made some time ago http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showp...&postcount=995

Spacers do add stress to your suspension, specially the ballbearings (I hope they're called like that in english). If you have the choice, you should buy wheels that fit without spacers.

If you take the right springs your daily ride confort will not be compromised. Generally you can say the stock dampers are good for a lowering up to about 1", if you go below that (some springs are 1.5") the dampers should be changed to sport dampers. If you do not do this, the ride confort will suffer.
My suggestion, take the Eibach Pro Kit (Not the sports line!), they are very good in quality and also ride confort

Killerbee....you. are. awesome. Thank you. Looks like I'll be picking up an Eibach prokit and the Enkei RS05RR's in gunmetal this summer. The Enkei's only come in 18x8.5 +43 or +50. So I guess I'll just have to deal with a little bit of poke with the +43's. As long as theirs no rubbing and it is suitable as a DD I'll be happy. Thanks again for the expertise! :cheers:

To clarify, when running stock struts with Eibach prokit 1" drop...

18x8.5 +43 will fit stock struts just fine, and will be nearly flush on the front, when running factory spec alignment. 18x8.5 +43 on the rear will be ~10mm inset from being flush when running factory spec alignment.

18x8.5 +50 will likely rub the stock struts, as the +50 wheel will sit 7mm further into the wheel well. Not to mention this wouldn't look as good as the +43.

The larger the offset +n number, the more the wheel is pushed into the wheel well.


Flush Wheel Offset Charthttp://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=7535

I believe you still have to get the TPMS programmed to your car. So as much as it is appealing to buy them with tpms already installed, I think you'll have to take it to a tire shop, them pull the tires off, and program them. I'm not 100% sure on this, but I think that's what I remembered because I too was interested in buying a complete wheel + tire + tpms package but that really turned me away from it.

As long as they are in the wheels they can be programmed... no need to re-mount / re-install to program.

Thanks again for the answers everyone! I'll be picking up the 18x8.5 +43 for front and rear. I'll just have to deal with the rears looking a bit sunken since I need a square setup.

Two final questions (I hope) is it possible to have a shop take the stock TPMS off the stock wheels and refitting them to these new wheels, effectivly saving me $200 or will I just have to shell out the cash.

Will these new wheels effect my speedometer? The new rubber will be 225/40-18. Will this throw off my speedo since the stock tires are 215/40-17?

Tire shops can transfer TPMS over to new wheels, usually free, but they'll likely charge you $5-10 per wheel for a TPMS rebuild kit. Discount Tire charged me ~$24 total for the rebuilds when my TPMS were transfered to new wheels.

Any wheel diameter different than stock will affect your speedo, just some more than others. To see the exact change, plug your numbers into the below tire size calculator. Generally agreed spec is try to stay 3% or less change.

225/40/18 Diameter Variance: 1.90%

http://www.1010tires.com/Tools/Tire-Size-Calculator

Thank you so much everyone!!! You guys answered all my questions and I learned a lot! FT86club FTW!! :thanks: