17s on an 88 (Page 1/2)
snake88 JUL 29, 02:15 AM
So after digging through the forums for a while I have seen lots of opinions... I have an 88 that will be getting coils in the rear and a 1.5in front drop spring setup in the front. From what I've gathered, the best 17in wheel setup for this would be a 17x7 40mm in the front, and 17x8 35mm in the rear. Does anyone have decent knowledge on this, and whether it is a good setup or not? Thank you!
olejoedad JUL 29, 08:09 AM
I run 17x7 with 40 mm on all four corners on my Formula.

225x45 front, 245x40 rear

No coil overs. No issues.

I might add a 5 or 10 mm spacer to the rear at some point.
cvxjet JUL 29, 10:48 AM
I just want to suggest that you go for the lightest wheels you can find. The Fiero is not the most highly advanced car, so it does not react well to added un-sprung weight. I am running 16 x 7s and General G-Max AS-05 tires- when i first swapped from my old (After-market) 15 x 7s and BFG Comp TAs, I took 3 lbs off of each rear, and 6 lbs off each front corner. The car went from feeling like a tractor to feeling like a modern car- huge improvement!

Also, me personally, would not go under 4 inch sidewall height; Back in the 80s, a co-worker won a Dodge Charger Shelby (FWD) that had 15" wheels and 195/50 tires- on a cloverleaf on-ramp he hit a 2x4...stripped the tire off the rim, then he slid off into the bushes damaging a fender.

The General and Continental tires are generally lighter than other manufacturers- especially BFG- their tires are very heavy.
snake88 JUL 29, 05:35 PM

quote
Originally posted by olejoedad:

I run 17x7 with 40 mm on all four corners on my Formula.

225x45 front, 245x40 rear

No coil overs. No issues.

I might add a 5 or 10 mm spacer to the rear at some point.



Ok so would a 35-30mm on the rears work better you think?
snake88 JUL 29, 05:38 PM

quote
Originally posted by cvxjet:

I just want to suggest that you go for the lightest wheels you can find. The Fiero is not the most highly advanced car, so it does not react well to added un-sprung weight. I am running 16 x 7s and General G-Max AS-05 tires- when i first swapped from my old (After-market) 15 x 7s and BFG Comp TAs, I took 3 lbs off of each rear, and 6 lbs off each front corner. The car went from feeling like a tractor to feeling like a modern car- huge improvement!

Also, me personally, would not go under 4 inch sidewall height; Back in the 80s, a co-worker won a Dodge Charger Shelby (FWD) that had 15" wheels and 195/50 tires- on a cloverleaf on-ramp he hit a 2x4...stripped the tire off the rim, then he slid off into the bushes damaging a fender.

The General and Continental tires are generally lighter than other manufacturers- especially BFG- their tires are very heavy.



Ok thanks for the info. The wheels I’m looking at are roughly 20lbs without tires. Do you know what the numbers for the stock setup is?
cvxjet JUL 29, 07:04 PM
The stock wheels weigh 18-20 lbs depending on how accurate the scale is and who you have interpreting the reading.

My VOXX Monza wheels (16 x 7) weigh approx. 13.5 lbs.....My General G-Max tires weigh 21 & 23 lbs (Sizes 205/55 and 225/55) These sizes were used on a number of popular cars so there are a lot of options. here is a pic of how mine looks. (Note; VOXX has stopped making the Monza wheels (Because I like them)

[This message has been edited by cvxjet (edited 07-29-2022).]

cam-a-lot JUL 30, 08:02 AM
I am having the same dilemma. Looking at 17" tires for an 88, but don't want to go too low on the profile, since my last set of wheels were trashed when going over a pothole and the tire didn't "flex" enough to absorb the impact, and damaged the wheels. The PO put 35 series tire height, very little room for error on rough pavement

I am trying to find 245 50 R 17 tire pictures on a Fiero rear to see how it looks. I am thinking 215 50 17 for the front.
cvxjet JUL 30, 12:23 PM
Those tires will be very tall; 245 = 9.6 inches, times 50% =4.8 inches per sidewall, and obviously you have two sidewalls so back to 9.6 inches....PLUS 17 inches = 26.6 inches tall.

My rear tire/wheel combo is 25.74 inches tall- that is basically as high as you should go on the rear. What you need is a 245/45-17 tire....that will come in at approx' 25.6 inches tall (With a 4.3 inch sidewall).

Just by way of comparison; The new Vette weighs 3500 lbs, while most V6 Fieros weigh approx' 2700 lbs...That is a 1.3:1 ratio....So the Vette's 245 front tire equals 190 mm wide, while the rear 305 equals 235 mm wide on the lighter Fiero.....Although looks are somewhat important, don't over-tire.....Your car will >>LOOK<< great but drive like a tractor.

The tire sizes I am using were very common and numerous companies make tires in these two sizes; 205/55-16 and 225/55-16....I picked the General G-Max tires because A) They did well in Tirerack testing, B) They were cheaper than most, and C) they are lighter than most other tires...I am on my third set over a 13 year span (I do drift thru every on- and off-ramp...and take it for drives on windy backroad (Basically, daily driver)
Kitskaboodle JUL 30, 12:51 PM
One negative of going wider at the rear is you cannot rotate front to back. (to maximize mileage on your tires. (and yes, you may not care)
Regarding CVXJet's car......I don't know how you manage to keep running 16's.
From my experience, 16" tires are getting hard to find!
Lastly, me personally I have 225/45/17's on all four corners and I dont know how some guys run even lower profile tires on a Fiero.
The ride on my Fiero's is already punishing enough.
Kit

[This message has been edited by Kitskaboodle (edited 07-30-2022).]

Raydar JUL 30, 01:04 PM
17x8 with a 35mm offset will be just fine on the rear.
I'm running 17x8.25 with 35 offset on the rear of mine.
I actually broke my own "rule" by using a 17x7 with 35mm offset on the front.
If the front is lowered, it tends to tuck the wheels under the fenders a bit more - or at least it gives that illusion.