Any downsides to using 7" lace wheels on the front of '88's? (Page 1/2)
imacflier OCT 05, 12:20 PM
G'Morning, All,

The title really says it all: if I use 7" lace wheels on the front in lieu of the stock 6" lace wheels are there any downsides? Wheel offset and width differences can be compensated for cosmetics by using 20mm spacers on the rears.

I suppose there will be more stress on the front bearings...but....anything else I might be missing?

TIA,


Larry
Raydar OCT 05, 12:53 PM
Steering effort and kickback will be a bit more. But I know of lots of people who have done it.

[This message has been edited by Raydar (edited 10-05-2020).]

imacflier OCT 05, 01:32 PM
Raydar,

Since I am putting EHPS on the car, effort and kickback should be a non-issue,,,but thanks!

Larry
olejoedad OCT 05, 04:09 PM
I've run 7 x 15 x 40 mm offset on all four corners of my Formula for the last 100k miles or so with no issues.
pmbrunelle OCT 05, 06:03 PM

quote
Originally posted by Raydar:
Steering effort and kickback will be a bit more.



From this, one could conclude that the 88 wheels on early Fieros could be a good modification.
cvxjet OCT 05, 06:05 PM
The only real problem is the offset- the 15 x 6 88 front wheel has an offset of 37 mm while the 15 x 7 wheels all come with a 30 mm offset. That is only a bit over a 1/4" change...It would be better to get some wheels with a better offset. I am running 16 x 7 wheels with 38 mm all the way around (1985 SE V6 with 88 rear suspension)

With the power steering it won't be felt- the wheel RIM tho, will stick out 20 mm farther- a little over 3/4"....Not sure if that will make any visual difference; Older cars had their wheel/tire setups in way too far but the Fiero is closer to flush with the body......Might want to test by mounting a front tire on one of your rear wheels and see how it fits up front.
olejoedad OCT 05, 06:25 PM
This is a Formula with 17x7 / 40mm offset on all four corners.

225 x 45 front
245 x 40 rear

[This message has been edited by olejoedad (edited 10-05-2020).]

Raydar OCT 05, 07:03 PM

quote
Originally posted by cvxjet:

The only real problem is the offset- the 15 x 6 88 front wheel has an offset of 37 mm while the 15 x 7 wheels all come with a 30 mm offset. That is only a bit over a 1/4" change...It would be better to get some wheels with a better offset. I am running 16 x 7 wheels with 38 mm all the way around (1985 SE V6 with 88 rear suspension)

With the power steering it won't be felt- the wheel RIM tho, will stick out 20 mm farther- a little over 3/4"....Not sure if that will make any visual difference; Older cars had their wheel/tire setups in way too far but the Fiero is closer to flush with the body......Might want to test by mounting a front tire on one of your rear wheels and see how it fits up front.



For earlier cars, it is my opinion that 35mm is the optimal offset, front and rear.
For 88s, I prefer something between 38 and 48mm. If I didn't have 38mm wheels (17x7) on the front of my 88, I would say 40-48mm.

One thing that people tend to overlook is that 88s tend to sit a bit high in the front, which seems to exaggerate the wheel sticking out. Fieros - especially 88s - that are lowered in the front tend to tuck the wheels under the fenders a bit, or at least give that illusion.

This is my 88 with 38mm wheels on the front. Lowered by one coil.


And yeah, pmbrunelle... I would certainly expect that the "more tucked in" wheels would help with steering effort and kickback on the earlier cars, too.
Patrick OCT 05, 07:34 PM

quote
Originally posted by Raydar:

For 88s, I prefer something between 38 and 48mm. If I didn't have 38mm wheels (17x7) on the front of my 88, I would say 40-48mm.



I agree, with one caveat. For daily-driving use, I run 16x6 42mm offset Sunfire wheels on my Formula... but with the addition of 1" spacers in the back. IMO, this positions the wheels, both front and back, in/out to where they look best. (205/55/16 tires in the front, 225/50/16 tires in the back.)

[This message has been edited by Patrick (edited 10-05-2020).]

Raydar OCT 05, 09:05 PM

quote
Originally posted by Patrick:

I agree, with one caveat. For daily-driving use, I run 16x6 42mm offset Sunfire wheels on my Formula... but with the addition of 1" spacers in the back. IMO, this positions the wheels, both front and back, in/out to where they look best. (205/55/16 tires in the front, 225/50/16 tires in the back.)




Even better. No argument from me. Different means to the same end, essentially.
All things being equal, the 88 fronts tend to stick out more than is "aesthetically pleasing" - steering/handling considerations notwithstanding.
My white car in the pic above has 17x7, 38mm wheels on the front, with 215/45-17 tires. The rears are 17x8, 35mm, with 235/45-17 tires.
FWIW, my other car (the gray fastback) is the identical setup, except that the fronts are 48mm offset, instead of 38. I really don't notice a great deal of difference in the steering. But it does look a little better, IMHO.

[This message has been edited by Raydar (edited 10-05-2020).]