Can I put 16" wheels & tires on an "85 Fiero Coupe with no problems? (Page 1/2)
flyntus OCT 15, 07:57 PM
Can I put 16" wheels & tires on an "85 Fiero Coupe with no problems?
pmbrunelle OCT 15, 08:09 PM
In the broadest sense, yes.

If you had a particular size in mind, then folks could give a more precise answer.

Not all 16" wheels/tires fit the same way.

wftb OCT 15, 08:13 PM
Yes. I have 16" on my 86 gt and they fit with no problem. Probably need a 40 profile to get the speedo right, check the tire rack for fitment options.

On the other hand even 16" wheels have limited sizes available. I would go with 17's myself if I was in the market.

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86 GT built 2.2 ecotec turbo
rear SLA suspension
QA1 coilovers on tube arms

fierofool OCT 15, 09:50 PM
You will need to check the offset. Rear strut spring perch comes pretty close to the wheels and the wrong offset could be a catastrophe.
cvxjet OCT 15, 11:32 PM
I am running 16 x 7 (38 mm offset) wheels on my 85 SE V6 (Which has substantial body changes (But all Fiero parts and stock wheel wells)...I am running 205/55 and 225/55 tires on them- these are sizes that were common on a lot of popular cars so there is a good selection of tires; I am using General G-max all-season tirs at the moment which are highly rated (Tirerack and Me!)

The offset is critical; Between 35 mm and 45 mm.....the 35 should be acceptable while 40-45 would be good especially up front- better steering and less kickback thru the steering wheel over bumps...

Dennis LaGrua OCT 17, 12:45 PM

quote
Originally posted by wftb:

Yes. I have 16" on my 86 gt and they fit with no problem. Probably need a 40 profile to get the speedo right, check the tire rack for fitment options.

On the other hand even 16" wheels have limited sizes available. I would go with 17's myself if I was in the market.




I'll agree that 17" wheels look nicer and are more available but they ride pretty hard. On the other hand 16" tires with a bigger sidewall will ride smoother. As sizes are available with the same OD as the original 15" tires; both 16" and 17" can be used to keep the speedometer reading accurate,
pmbrunelle OCT 17, 01:29 PM

quote
Originally posted by Dennis LaGrua:


I'll agree that 17" wheels look nicer and are more available but they ride pretty hard. On the other hand 16" tires with a bigger sidewall will ride smoother. As sizes are available with the same OD as the original 15" tires; both 16" and 17" can be used to keep the speedometer reading accurate,



I would not necessarily fixate on keeping the same OD as stock for speedo reading.

In my case, my speedo reads too high; a bigger than stock size (245/45R17) will get the reading accurate.

I suggest checking the speedo's accuracy with a GPS before committing to staying with a stock OD; it could be that changing the OD will result in a more accurate speedo.
cvxjet OCT 17, 04:13 PM
An addendum; The diameter of the 225/55-16 tire is larger than the original 215/60-14 tires (25.7" vs 24.1") that were on my 85 SE V6 4 speed....My Speedo is absolutely dead on....

[This message has been edited by cvxjet (edited 10-17-2020).]

altownsend OCT 18, 11:27 PM
Thanks for the wheel tire discussion. I have a request for wheel and tire combonation;

1986 Fiero, V-6, 4-Speed Manual transmission.

I have a very wide wheel well in the rear - see photo.

I am asking for recommendations on wheel and tire combo that will fit my application. In the rear, stock suspension, I have a total of 15 inches between the inside well and the outside of the fender lip. I want to get a wide enough wheel and tire to fill up the space. Thanks

I want to get an off of the shelf solution. Please comment

cvxjet OCT 19, 04:08 PM
You need to pay attention to the measurement I marked in red; Distance from mounting surface to strut for WHEEL clearance.....That is if you are running coil-overs. If you aren't then you need to watch the clearance between the spring seat and the tire.

I was running 15 x 7 with 215/60s and 225/60s....the wheels and tires were HEAVY. So then I switched to 16 x 7 Voxx Monza wheels (No long made) which were lighter than those 15 x 7s...and switched to General G-Max tires which were a couple of lbs lighter than the BFGs I was running before. Total weight cut was 3 lbs for each rear and 6 lbs for each front (Went slightly smaller tire up front (205 vs 215 mm).

The car went from being a clumsy riding/handling car to a actual sports car feel......Ford did a similar thing when going from GT350 to GT350R.....Composite wheels cut unsprung/rotational weight and made a huge difference in performance

Recently (2017) I re-tired with BFGs and they weighed 2 lbs + up front and 3 lbs + in back....Although the tires were rated very highly on TireRack, the car felt "Club-footed" and so in 2019 I switched back to General G-maxs...Much better!

Try to stay as light as possible (Newer cars have more advanced suspension-especially Shocks....And aluminum suspension components)