Best setup for 18x9.5 on a budget

[Tim86UK]

Hi all, i'm based in the UK (not that it matters much) and looking for the best value option for maintaining near-stock performance with 9.5" wheels.

It's common knowledge that in order to run wheels this size that just springs wont cut it -i'm supposed to use coils. However, i'm weary about buying budget coils because bad handling and reliability issues at the low-end price bracket.

I'm wondering if there's any combo of struts & springs i can buy that will allow more clearance over stock??

I've been wanting to do this for a long while, but my budget is very limited, so i'm hoping somebody can advise me.

[j0307]

Originally Posted by Tim86UK

Hi all, i'm based in the UK (not that it matters much) and looking for the best value option for maintaining near-stock performance with 9.5" wheels.

It's common knowledge that in order to run wheels this size i'm supposed to use coils. However, as i'm on a budget then cheap coils are definitely out of the question for anything close to stock handling. Therefore i'm wondering if there's any combo of struts & springs that will allow enough clearance?

I've been wanting to do this for a long while, but my budget is very limited, so i'm hoping somebody can advise me. Saving up more money is not an option, as i'm currently on minimum tread on my stock tires.

For your clearance issues a 9.5 will fit with a 235 or 245 tire and an offset of +38 or less.


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[Tim86UK]

Originally Posted by j0307

For your clearance issues a 9.5 will fit with a 235 or 245 tire and an offset of +38 or less.


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Thanks for the reply! I'm going for Rota Pro R 18x9.5 +38. So you're saying that i'm good to go on stock?

Can you confirm no rubbing?

Also, I'm going for Nankang NS-2R tyres and i'm no expert, what would you recommend out of 235 and 245?

[ajcarson11]

I think you need to define your goals a little more -- 9.5" wide wheels (unless they are expensive) won't be light, and won't offer stock performance. I went up from stock to 18x9.5" wheels and the car was noticeably more sluggish off the line due to wheel weight, and less stiff (depending on your tire choice... most tires are less stiff than stock as far as sidewalls are concerned). If you must run 9.5" wheels on stock struts, the most you'll be able to run in width is 245x35 (if going 18"). You need to be careful about brand of tire, as different brands have different measures of width/height even with the same technical size.

In my case, I went with Hankook Ventus V12, and i'm happy with the performance. When fitted to the wheels I had to remove all camber, and on the right front I barely passed the credit card test (could barely fit a credit card between the tire and the strut perch). Unless you are going on track you will not see the tires flex enough to fill this gap and cause trouble.

Is there a certain reason you want to fit 9.5" wheels? Do the ones you want come in any other sizes?

[j0307]

Originally Posted by Tim86UK

Thanks for the reply! I'm going for Rota Pro R 18x9.5 +38. So you're saying that i'm good to go on stock?

Can you confirm no rubbing?

Also, I'm going for Nankang NS-2R tyres, i'm no expert, what would you recommend out of 235 and 245?

Well, I test fit Ambit RE82 with BFGoodrich Sport Comp 2's in a 245/40 R18 and there was about 2mm of clearance between the tire and the strut, but that distance won't change in any movement of the suspension and other people have confirmed that it fits with a 235/40, I have lowering springs but that shouldn't effect that distance. I am buying the wheels and tires next week so hopefully they fit and don't rub, but from just a test fit and quick run down the street to full lock both directions, it didn't seem like it was rubbing or would rub. To answer your question about tire size, probably a 235 to be safe.


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[Tim86UK]

Originally Posted by ajcarson11

I think you need to define your goals a little more -- 9.5" wide wheels (unless they are expensive) won't be light, and won't offer stock performance. I went up from stock to 18x9.5" wheels and the car was noticeably more sluggish off the line due to wheel weight, and less stiff (depending on your tire choice... most tires are less stiff than stock as far as sidewalls are concerned). If you must run 9.5" wheels on stock struts, the most you'll be able to run in width is 245x35 (if going 18"). You need to be careful about brand of tire, as different brands have different measures of width/height even with the same technical size.

In my case, I went with Hankook Ventus V12, and i'm happy with the performance. When fitted to the wheels I had to remove all camber, and on the right front I barely passed the credit card test (could barely fit a credit card between the tire and the strut perch). Unless you are going on track you will not see the tires flex enough to fill this gap and cause trouble.

Is there a certain reason you want to fit 9.5" wheels? Do the ones you want come in any other sizes?

Unfortunately not, i wanted to get Rays 57C6, the Rota Pro R are basically replicas that i can just about afford, but only come in 9.5". I'm also very happy with the concave look of the wheel that comes with this size.

I don't want to buy crappy coils to fit these wheels, i'd rather be able to fit them now and upgrade from stock springs+struts to some KW or similar when i can afford them, so news of them fitting with no rubbing pretty much feels like Christmas to me. I just gotta fit new wheels now rather than later to save on having to buy extra tyres in the long run.

You guys are awesome, thank you for being so helpful.

[ajcarson11]

Originally Posted by Tim86UK

Unfortunately not, i wanted to get Rays 57C6, the Rota Pro R are basically replicas that i can just about afford, but only come in 9.5". I'm also very happy with the concave look of the wheel that comes with this size.

I don't want to buy crappy coils to fit these wheels, i'd rather be able to fit them now and upgrade from stock springs+struts to some KW or similar when i can afford them, so news of them fitting with no rubbing pretty much feels like Christmas to me. I just gotta fit new wheels now rather than later to save on having to buy extra tyres in the long run.

You guys are awesome, thank you for being so helpful.

OK -- makes more sense. I had the same issue. I wanted some Enkei wheels, but ended up going with replicas (Ambit RE02), which only came in 9.5" at the time. The wheels weigh 21 pounds, which is up from the stock wheels by a few pounds. They fit fine on stock struts with 245x35 tires -- I chose this size as I didn't want to go too wide (to clear struts) but not too thin that it was a big stretch. The 245s weigh a bit less than something like a 255 as well (which helps against the sluggishness on takeoff). I did lose about 3mpg going from stock to the 9.5s, due to weight.

My original goal was to put the wheels on first, and save up for coils so that I could tuck the 9.5" wheels with a bit of camber. Exactly one month after getting the wheels and tires installed I sprung for Tein Flex Z coilovers, because I didn't like how much the tires/wheels poked out with no camber. The Flex Z's had just come out around the time as well, and in my opinion are the end-all-be-all for this car if you are only daily driving. No reason to go any more expensive than what the Flex Z's offer... but I suppose that is for another topic/thread. The Flex Z's set me back $750 shipped.

If I had to do it all again, I would have gone with wider tires (255) knowing that i was going to go coilovers so soon. The concave-look looks much better with a wider tire than a slightly-stretched tire. That's just my opinion!

PS: Really do the research on the tire brand you are going with -- It can be the difference between fitting and not-fitting. I had to convince the motorsport shop that things would fit -- Upon initial inspection they didn't think things would.

[Tim86UK]

Originally Posted by ajcarson11

OK -- makes more sense. I had the same issue. I wanted some Enkei wheels, but ended up going with replicas (Ambit RE02), which only came in 9.5" at the time. The wheels weigh 21 pounds, which is up from the stock wheels by a few pounds. They fit fine on stock struts with 245x35 tires -- I chose this size as I didn't want to go too wide (to clear struts) but not too thin that it was a big stretch. The 245s weigh a bit less than something like a 255 as well (which helps against the sluggishness on takeoff). I did lose about 3mpg going from stock to the 9.5s, due to weight.

My original goal was to put the wheels on first, and save up for coils so that I could tuck the 9.5" wheels with a bit of camber. Exactly one month after getting the wheels and tires installed I sprung for Tein Flex Z coilovers, because I didn't like how much the tires/wheels poked out with no camber. The Flex Z's had just come out around the time as well, and in my opinion are the end-all-be-all for this car if you are only daily driving. No reason to go any more expensive than what the Flex Z's offer... but I suppose that is for another topic/thread. The Flex Z's set me back $750 shipped.

If I had to do it all again, I would have gone with wider tires (255) knowing that i was going to go coilovers so soon. The concave-look looks much better with a wider tire than a slightly-stretched tire. That's just my opinion!

PS: Really do the research on the tire brand you are going with -- It can be the difference between fitting and not-fitting. I had to convince the motorsport shop that things would fit -- Upon initial inspection they didn't think things would.

Awesome post, thank you.

A pic of both with and without coils would be great if you could . I'll consider the coilovers at a later date.

I didn't know that there was such a variation with manufacturers on tyres so that worries me a little. The NS-2R (street compound) is only available in 235/40 and 255/40 so looks like i'm stuck with 235 without coils. From what i've read this tyre has incredible value vs others for what it offers as a semi-slick street tyre, and people using them on track have come back very positive. I'll need to do more research to see if anything else comes close at the price.

[ajcarson11]

Originally Posted by Tim86UK

Awesome post, thank you.

A pic of both with and without coils would be great if you could . I'll consider the coilovers at a later date.

I didn't know that there was such a variation with manufacturers on tyres so that worries me a little. The NS-2R (street compound) is only available in 235/40 and 255/40 so looks like i'm stuck with 235 without coils. From what i've read this tyre has incredible value vs others for what it offers as a semi-slick street tyre, and people using them on track have come back very positive. I'll need to do more research to see if anything else comes close at the price.

I had to dig a while to find these! 1" lowering springs (same width as stock perch)

You can see the 0deg camber up front. The rears are fine:








Same wheels with coilovers:









Ride quality was worsened (stiffened) with 1" drop springs. Flex Z are (in my opinion) more comfortable than stock, even at a 1.7" drop (which is what i'm running in the coilover pictures there).

EDIT: You should be OK with 235x40. Those should run just a bit skinnier than 245x35 if i remember correctly. I'd just jump on the website for the tyre manufacturer and compare to Hancook Ventus V12 245x35x18 tires. Look at the specifications for the tire dimensions, if your tires are same or smaller then I can almost guarantee things will fit fine at 18x9.5 +38.

[tyler_win_photo]

+1 or +2 for the Tein Flex Z, hands down one of the best sub 1k coils I have ever ridden. I'm not sure if you've ever driven on lowering springs before but the ride is horrible - especially with anything greater than 1 inch drop.

I guess another budget tire you might want to check out is the Achilles ATR Sport II, arguably one of the best but unknown budget tires around. Daigo Saito used to use them on his 1200hp drift car. Also the tires come in 235/40 18

[Tim86UK]

Originally Posted by ajcarson11

I had to dig a while to find these! 1" lowering springs (same width as stock perch)

You can see the 0deg camber up front. The rears are fine:








Same wheels with coilovers:









Ride quality was worsened (stiffened) with 1" drop springs. Flex Z are (in my opinion) more comfortable than stock, even at a 1.7" drop (which is what i'm running in the coilover pictures there).

EDIT: You should be OK with 235x40. Those should run just a bit skinnier than 245x35 if i remember correctly. I'd just jump on the website for the tyre manufacturer and compare to Hancook Ventus V12 245x35x18 tires. Look at the specifications for the tire dimensions, if your tires are same or smaller then I can almost guarantee things will fit fine at 18x9.5 +38.

Really appreciate you digging those photos up!

So i've changed my mind on the tyres, i'm gonna go with Yokohama ADVAN Sport V105. I looked at the measurements of the Hancook and yours are 9.8" wide, whereas the V105's run at a healthy 9.6".

Should be making this order over the coming weeks. Will post pics when i got them fitted.

Again thanks for the posts. PM me your paypal so i can send beer money

Originally Posted by tyler_win_photo

+1 or +2 for the Tein Flex Z, hands down one of the best sub 1k coils I have ever ridden. I'm not sure if you've ever driven on lowering springs before but the ride is horrible - especially with anything greater than 1 inch drop.

I guess another budget tire you might want to check out is the Achilles ATR Sport II, arguably one of the best but unknown budget tires around. Daigo Saito used to use them on his 1200hp drift car. Also the tires come in 235/40 18

Alright thanks, i've been looking at these and i'm tempted, hopefully buy them over the coming months. In the meantime i'll be on stock springs.

[ajcarson11]

Originally Posted by Tim86UK

Really appreciate you digging those photos up!

So i've changed my mind on the tyres, i'm gonna go with Yokohama ADVAN Sport V105. I looked at the measurements of the Hancook and yours are 9.8" wide, whereas the V105's run at a healthy 9.6".

Should be making this order over the coming weeks. Will post pics when i got them fitted.

Again thanks for the posts. PM me your paypal so i can send beer money




Alright thanks, i've been looking at these and i'm tempted, hopefully buy them over the coming months. In the meantime i'll be on stock springs.

Not a problem! Let me know if you have any more questions. Those tires should work out fine! Let us know when you get everything on!

[Tim86UK]

Originally Posted by ajcarson11

Not a problem! Let me know if you have any more questions. Those tires should work out fine! Let us know when you get everything on!

Ok so i've an update for you guys and have some questions.

I've decided on a different wheel, and gonna go all out as i don't want to be disappointed with my choice.

I'm opting for a genuine Work Emotion CR Ultimate "Kiwami" rim. However, ET38 is on backorder with an eta of 5 months and the closest they have is ET30. However this is also a deeper concave if you look at the spec sheet and looks just awesome in the examples i've seen (below).

However, i've already ordered the tires (doh) 245/35 all round and need to 100% make sure these will fit with those ET30's. Also, this means me taking the plunge on the Flex Z coils ASAP as IF i go for these then i'm gonna need that camber on such an extreme setup.

Why is everyone running such skinny tires on these in the links below? Seriously will i be alright with the 245/35 all round? In link two below somebody briefly commented yes but i want to know what to expect before ordering obviously.

For reference: I did some digging and there's a few threads showing 18x9.5 ET30, first one shows the same wheels to give an idea.

1: http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=7237

2: http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=60585

Just to re-iterate this is my first time doing this stuff, appreciate the help.