I would love to buy these, but the offset is totally wrong, but that can be fixed with 25mm spacers.This is the case with a lot of other wheels aswell. What is all your opinions on wheel spacers? Like how much spacing is an acceptable amount, or should they be used at all?
[This message has been edited by Xenoblast (edited 04-22-2022).]
Lots of threads on wheel spacers. As can be expected, there are differing opinions.
I've used a set of 25mm hubcentric wheel spacers on the back of my daily driver Fiero(s) for at least a dozen years (including two years of autocross before I bought dedicated wheels/tires for the track with the correct offset). No issues whatsoever.
[This message has been edited by Patrick (edited 04-22-2022).]
I am going to tell you spacers are crap there is so much strain you need 3 piece wheels with huge offsets to work properly. Spend the money on the wheel as wheel makes the car. If you do use spacers do not just use the supplied nuts everything needs to be hardened.
[This message has been edited by Australian (edited 04-23-2022).]
I have one vehicle (87 Mera) with spacers (around 1.5") on the rear axle. They have been in use for more than 10 years with no issues. You should note that this is my backup show car and has not been used for racing, autocross, etc. so additional stress on the vehicle is limited to everyday driving.
Nelson
[This message has been edited by hnthomps (edited 04-23-2022).]
A couple of things; A) get the lightest wheels you can find (The ones you linked weigh 25 lbs- the 16x7 wheels I have are 14 lbs)
B) The C8 Vette weighs 3500 vs a Fiero GT weight of (Approx) 2700 lbs....So my 205 width front tires equal a 265 width tire on that Vette...Don't "Over-Tire" your Fiero....(Especially the front = high steering effort)
C) A bit extra offset up front is ok- It will cut down the scrub-radius = less steering effort.
I am running 16 x 7 / 38 mm offset...with the 205/55 tires I have it cut down on steering effort substantially.
You can buy some 3-piece wheels for mega-bucks...Or you can go for some inexpensive wheels for, say a WRX, with "Too much offset" and then use spacers (With proper length studs!!!) (At least SEVEN complete turns of the lug nuts)
A couple of things; A) get the lightest wheels you can find (The ones you linked weigh 25 lbs- the 16x7 wheels I have are 14 lbs)
B) The C8 Vette weighs 3500 vs a Fiero GT weight of (Approx) 2700 lbs....So my 205 width front tires equal a 265 width tire on that Vette...Don't "Over-Tire" your Fiero....(Especially the front = high steering effort)
C) A bit extra offset up front is ok- It will cut down the scrub-radius = less steering effort.
I am running 16 x 7 / 38 mm offset...with the 205/55 tires I have it cut down on steering effort substantially.
You can buy some 3-piece wheels for mega-bucks...Or you can go for some inexpensive wheels for, say a WRX, with "Too much offset" and then use spacers (With proper length studs!!!) (At least SEVEN complete turns of the lug nuts)
It seems pretty hard to beat how light the stock rims are, On my searches they weigh about 15-19 pounds, and most of the wheels I am finding are around that 25 pound area... Also what would you say would be good tire width front and back? Like would 215 in the front and 225 in the back be a good tire width, or is that too much? Or should I stick with the stock widths.
Honestly thinking about just trading my stock silver wheels for stock black wheels with how the selection of wheels that fit our cars are...
I am interested in the drag dr44s, and xxr521s, only problem is they are 17 inches (would much rather have 16 inch rims), and that they are still 25 pounds.
[This message has been edited by Xenoblast (edited 04-23-2022).]
Originally posted by Xenoblast: Sucks because all the good wheels are around +15-25 offset.
Wheels in those offsets are often meant for the tire stretch stanced guys, so that offset helps them achieve the look.
quote
Originally posted by cvxjet: C) A bit extra offset up front is ok- It will cut down the scrub-radius = less steering effort.
I am running 16 x 7 / 38 mm offset...with the 205/55 tires I have it cut down on steering effort substantially.
You can buy some 3-piece wheels for mega-bucks...Or you can go for some inexpensive wheels for, say a WRX, with "Too much offset" and then use spacers (With proper length studs!!!) (At least SEVEN complete turns of the lug nuts)
I drove many years with 48 mm offset wheels on the front of my 85 GT. I liked it.
If the inner lip of the wheel hits a suspension element (such as a control arm), then there would be too much offset, but the chance of this happening is reduced by sticking with narrow wheel widths. Otherwise, I think it would be hard to have too much offset on the front of an 84-87 Fiero.
quote
Originally posted by Xenoblast: It seems pretty hard to beat how light the stock rims are, On my searches they weigh about 15-19 pounds, and most of the wheels I am finding are around that 25 pound area... Also what would you say would be good tire width front and back? Like would 215 in the front and 225 in the back be a good tire width, or is that too much? Or should I stick with the stock widths.
Honestly thinking about just trading my stock silver wheels for stock black wheels with how the selection of wheels that fit our cars are...
I am interested in the drag dr44s, and xxr521s, only problem is they are 17 inches (would much rather have 16 inch rims), and that they are still 25 pounds.
If you plan on keeping the suspension mostly stock, then I would stick with stock-ish widths so the stock suspension tuning still works the same. Perhaps with a 10 or 20 mm difference in width between front and rear.
If you're doing a bigger project where you're choosing tire sizes from scratch and throwing out stock suspension tuning in favour of something else, then you can be more adventurous.
You can stagger the diameters (such as 16" front, 17' rear) in addition to the widths; that opens up the wheel choices somewhat.
For inspiration, on my own Fiero project, I ordered a set of Firestone Firehawk Indy 500 tires. I should be getting them Monday. 195/55R16 front 255/40R17 rear
I have Enkei PF05 wheels. Here are the weights according to Enkei: 16x7 15.4 lbs 17x9 19.6 lbs
Initially, I didn't really like the look of the wheels; I bought them because they came in a size/weight/offset combo I liked. The look did grow on me though.
From the driver's seat perspective, the style isn't something you notice.
Many years ago, when my dad was shopping for a new car, he ended up buying a car he thought was ugly. The ugly car however, was the one he liked the most from his test drives.
Personally, Im willing to give away some drivability and comfort for looks, for example right now my car rides like a luxury car but I am willing to get rid of that for lowering springs in the future. I did some photoshopping to see my options, this is the best looking one I got so far, which is the xxr 521s;
I tried to emulate the sidewall from other examples of 17 inch rims, and I dont really like how big the wheels are imo, but like you said maybe itll grow on me.
cheapest would be black stock wheels:
also sorry for making this thread off-topic lol
[This message has been edited by Xenoblast (edited 04-24-2022).]
I have a new pair of one inch wheel spacers that adapt the 5X100mm Fiero bolt spacing to 5X 115mm Grd Prix spacing.Anybody interested give me an e-mail or post here.
The first time i tried spacers after a while the threads of the nuts stripped and wheel came off. So used better nuts i had to repair body etc which isn't fun since my whole car is molded together.
It is easy to replace studs with longer ones...Make sure you have at least SEVEN turns on lug nuts.
I originally had the 215/60-14 tires all around on my 85 SE V6. Heavy steering effort. Went to 16 x 7s with 205/55 front and 225/55 rear....looks good (Without looking ridiculous) and drives and handles really good (I did some odd things to the stabilizer bars to bias them during throttle-on and off)
The 205/55 and 225/55 (16) tires were used on a number of popular cars so there is a lot of manufacturers still making them in high-performance versions.. (Note; The BFG Radial TA is a crap tire now- just for looks)
I run General G-Max tires- they rate very highly in tirerack testing and are actually lighter than most tires of same size.
[This message has been edited by cvxjet (edited 04-25-2022).]
They were definitely the tire to have back in the late 70s and early 80s...Around 1990-92, they suddenly changed the rubber compound and they were no good after that. My friend who had a AMC Javelin built using Mark Donahue's "Unfair Advantage" book had been using them- so he put them on his '69 AMX.....they squealed like little piglets all the time.
The wear rating went from 300 to 500...They would last for 40,000 miles- but they would not stick...
Any.....Tire.....is....better....than TAs now. BFG(Michelin) is now only selling the name......At least they do contain some rubber...and they are round...
Wheel spacers are 100% safe, IF they're the proper quality and specs.
Remember, HUB CENTRIC. If the spacer/adapter fits SNUG to your hub bore, AND the wheel bore fits SNUG to the spacer/adapter, then it's NO different than running a wheel with that much more offset. Also, be mindful of how the lugs seat on both ends.
I've ran spacers/adapters on just about every car I've owned. That goes for Fieros, AWD vehicles, classic vehicles, modern ones, 20mm spacers on a car to 3inch spacers on lifted trucks, from 75 HP to 750 HP. Never once have I had one break, or have any failure to anything related to the spacer. I have however, seen what happens when they're NOT the correct spacer. I've seen people break them, I've seen them just back themselves off the hub (Mostly in VWs due to that stupid lug design, and the spacer thread pulls out because of garbage material)
I love spacers. They're an affordable way to get the look you want, and the ability to run different lug pattern wheels.
My current Fiero is running 5x114.3 wheels on all 4 corners (custom drilled hubs in front, adapters in the rear) Wheel size is 17x11 up front, and 17x12 in the rear, with basically 0 offset all around.
------------------ Every normal man must be tempted, at times, to spit upon his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin slitting throats.
