Help Wanted: Wheel Gurus

[Jyn]

I have some wheels from my previous car. The problem is that that my last car was stanced more aggressively than what I'd like to do with the FR-S. Currently, the wheels are 18x8.5 +27 front and 18x9.5 +26 rear. Questions I have:

1. Would I be better off rebarreling the wheels and going for a square setup? Maybe something like 18x9.5 +38 or something flush?

2. What are the limitations of rebarreling? i.e. - change the width and offset, or just the offset?

3. The old staggered vs. square setup. I think to keep the handling characteristics of the car, square would be better. But I can't say I wouldn't love as much lip on the wheel as possible


aaand this may be a stretch, but anyone know of any good places near Houston/Austin, TX that can work on wheels? Shipping wheels doesn't sound appealing to me.

[King Tut]

Questions I have:

1. Goals for the car?

2. Tire size you want to run?

3. What brand wheels are these?

[executivekoala]

I'd just run same tire size. back will have a bit of a stretch but if you do a 245 Federal it should be fine because they run large

[Jyn]

Originally Posted by King Tut

1. Goals for the car?

Still deciding between air and coilovers, but heavily leaning towards KW V3 with a moderate drop. Want to maintain as much of the stock handling characteristics while still having a good looking car I can bring to shows. I used to show (Wekfest, etc.) with my last car, so I've missed going with the FR-S. But I really have enjoyed driving the Texas country roads with it and want to continue doing that without worrying about rubbing, scraping, bottoming-out, etc.

Originally Posted by King Tut

2. Tire size you want to run?

Nothing too stretched. To make these wheels fit on my last car, I was running 205 front and 215 rear. For the FR-S, doesn't have to be meaty (though that'd be nice), but enough to where I don't get mistaken for hellaflush

Originally Posted by King Tut

3. What brand wheels are these?

Works 3 piece wheel.

Originally Posted by executivekoala

I'd just run same tire size. back will have a bit of a stretch but if you do a 245 Federal it should be fine because they run large

Hmm what would I have to rebarrel to get a 245 on there? x9.5 +38?

[King Tut]

No need for a 9.5" unless you want something bigger than a 245. I think a 18x9 +35 with a 235 will probably work well for you if you like a little stretch.

[Jyn]

Originally Posted by King Tut

No need for a 9.5" unless you want something bigger than a 245. I think a 18x9 +35 with a 235 will probably work well for you if you like a little stretch.

Ah, ok. I was thinking since I have 9.5, if I rebarrel only one of them it would be cheaper, but then I realized I'd have to rebarrel all of them anyway since the offset is too low on the 9.5

[executivekoala]

Stop thinking about a re barrel, you do not need it. You can run a 245 on all four and should be okay as long as the tire you use runs big.

[Jyn]

Originally Posted by executivekoala

Stop thinking about a re barrel, you do not need it. You can run a 245 on all four and should be okay as long as the tire you use runs big.

Misunderstood your first post, got it. What profile do you recommend, 245/40? Obviously would need some camber.

[executivekoala]

Originally Posted by Jyn

Misunderstood your first post, got it. What profile do you recommend, 245/40? Obviously would need some camber.

Tht really depends on your drop. You should check pics on the wheel fitment with the specs you want, odds are they will have tires mounted. 45 for mild drop
40 for a good drop 35 for aggressive drop

[Jyn]

Originally Posted by executivekoala

Tht really depends on your drop. You should check pics on the wheel fitment with the specs you want, odds are they will have tires mounted. 45 for mild drop
40 for a good drop 35 for aggressive drop

Yeah, I've been reading the fitment sticky a lot the past few weeks. Probably will go with a 40 profile since I just want a mild drop on some KW v3. Thanks!

[executivekoala]

There are tire size apps you can download for your phone that really help

[diss7]

They'll fit. Rears will come down to what camber you run. If you're like me, and prefer 0.5 or so, then they wont fit.

If I had those wheels, I would run the 9.5's on the front, cos they'll fit with 3deg or so of camber. The 8.5's will fit on the back at 0.5 deg camber.

If you dont care about rear camber, or like to run as much on the back as the front, then you will be able to fit them the normal way.

FYI I'd run 235/40/18 on both.

[Jyn]

Originally Posted by executivekoala

There are tire size apps you can download for your phone that really help

I'll check some out on iOS.

Originally Posted by diss7

They'll fit. Rears will come down to what camber you run. If you're like me, and prefer 0.5 or so, then they wont fit.

If I had those wheels, I would run the 9.5's on the front, cos they'll fit with 3deg or so of camber. The 8.5's will fit on the back at 0.5 deg camber.

If you dont care about rear camber, or like to run as much on the back as the front, then you will be able to fit them the normal way.

FYI I'd run 235/40/18 on both.

I'd prefer to have the wider wheels on the back and I'm willing to get some LCA if that's what's needed. I don't mind camber, so long as it's not hellaflush levels - not as appealing to me as I've gotten older

[King Tut]

What I really want to tell you to do is sell those wheels and get a square set in a good offset.