Replacement wheels
- Thread starter StephenW
- Start date
kmead
Old enough to know better
It depends on many factors. Among them are the type of struts you have on the car, OE or coil overs with smaller diameter springs.
Generally the largest is a 185/45 15 tire on a 6” wide 15” diameter wheel with a positive offset of around 20-25. You may still run into interference at the extremes of lock with the tire hitting either the extreme front or back of the wheel opening as a result of the caster setting of the suspension.
When I get some time later today I will post an image from a tire/wheel calculator which can help Illustrate this.
Generally the largest is a 185/45 15 tire on a 6” wide 15” diameter wheel with a positive offset of around 20-25. You may still run into interference at the extremes of lock with the tire hitting either the extreme front or back of the wheel opening as a result of the caster setting of the suspension.
When I get some time later today I will post an image from a tire/wheel calculator which can help Illustrate this.
DanielForest
True Classic
Also, some tires are wider than others, even with the same numbers. When tires were easily available in 13", many were using 13x6 wheels with 185/60 in front and 205/60 in the rear. Wider than that, you may have to bend the wheel lips. Offset of the wheels is also important.
Hi Todd,
I had seen your recommendation in old threads on the subject. Tirerack doesn't even list 195/45/15 as a possibility today. A few weeks back, they had the Toyos and Federals listed and I was going to order the Toyos from them. Walmart still lists the Toyos and Federals, so maybe I will try ordering and see what happens. Tireeasy has the Federals and a few choices all season tires. This will likely become the same quest we had with 185/60/13.
The general thought is that a 15x6 wheel specifically designed for a Fiat, along with a 195/45/15 tire will fit the front wheel well without modification. However, as Karl mentioned, there are factors to be watched. I threw one of the 15x6.5 Fiat wheels from Allisons on my stock 86 X and I have to say "I don't know". It looked like it was going to be tight, but I dont have tires on the wheels and couldn't really test. I will try to get some tires ordered and get them mounted. The most likely modification, if one is needed, will be rolling the fender lips. Rolling the lips won't change the look of the car.
toddr124
Hagerstown, MD
Tirerack never has carried Toyo T1R in this size. I have gotten them from tire easy (out of stck) and https://www.discountedwheelwarehous...ROXES+T1R+195/45R15+WW+78V&partno=Toyo-250760Hi Todd,
I had seen your recommendation in old threads on the subject. Tirerack doesn't even list 195/45/15 as a possibility today. A few weeks back, they had the Toyos and Federals listed and I was going to order the Toyos from them. Walmart still lists the Toyos and Federals, so maybe I will try ordering and see what happens. Tireeasy has the Federals and a few choices all season tires. This will likely become the same quest we had with 185/60/13.
I hope they are still available. I might need to buy a set to hold. So sticky.
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Tirerack definitely had 195/45/15 tires recently, but only 1 or 2 choices. I thought that is where I saw the Toyos. It was probably Tireeasy. I am getting old.
Thanks for the Toyo link. I have been looking at a lot of tire sites lot since I got the wheels. The Federals seem to be fairly available, while the Toyos are getting harder to find.
Dr.Jeff
True Classic
As other have said, it depends on several factors. In addition to the ones already noted, another factor is the front suspension track rod (otherwise known as torque strut, brake rod, trailing arm, radius arm, and other names). Perhaps more specifically the bushings on the leading end of that rod. They determine the exact location of the rod's pivot point, which directly affects caster. However it also affects the physical location of the front wheel within the fender arch. If you stand back and look at it you'll notice the X's front tires don't sit in the center (front to back) of the opening. They are more toward the front of the car. This often causes wide tires to hit the lowest point of the leading edge of the fender (bottom front corner) when the steering is turned toward full lock. So depending on all of the factors involved, this seems to be one of the most common areas where some clearencing is required.
Dr.Jeff
True Classic
I have a set of wheels/tires that are designed for FWD applications, so the offset is totally wrong for the X. Therefore I had custom spacers (adaptors for the 4x100 pattern) made to locate them correctly for my setup. They are 6" wide x 15" diameter, with 195/50 tires mounted. For the most part they fit, with the exception I just noted in my last post - the lower front corner of the fender opening. But I also have coilovers and unknown final offset, so this size tire may not work for most X's. I'm also still building the car, so I may find they rub under certain driving conditions once everything is finished. The tires came on the wheels and need to be replaced anyway, but I'll wait to see how they clear before buying new ones. I'm not concerned with the overall circumference; to me the bigger rolling length will help the short final drive on the X.
kmead
Old enough to know better
A thing to think about is that the rear can be a wider and taller tire than the front (a staggered setup) to compensate for the rear weight bias and not interfere with the wheel opening (205/50 15 section seems to be the near limit here) which gets at Dr Jeff’s desire regarding the final drive.
195/50 15 in front is just that little bit too far. A 195/45 should fit depending on tire, different makers sizing can vary a bit as well as how ‘square’ the tread profile is.
195/50 15 in front is just that little bit too far. A 195/45 should fit depending on tire, different makers sizing can vary a bit as well as how ‘square’ the tread profile is.
Bobkat
1979 x1/9
I run 15x7 et 20 with no spacer on the back and the 5mm spacer on the front. I have dunlop direzza dz102 195/15 50s on the front and 205/15 55s on the back. I have no rubbing anywhere but like Dr.Jeff said all other alignments have to be set. I did roll the front fenders just in case I wanted to go lower but at this height it was not needed. I love the extra size on the back as it makes highway cruising tolerable. It will be a perfect size for the motor and trans swap but for now I love the extra legs. As for the speedo I have tested head unit and external performance GPS and the speedo is just 1 kph off the dash speedo even with the tall tire. So in effect it has corrected the OEM reading fast. Now the look I am going for is for a stratos and may not be the look for everybody but I have had no issues running the big setup with out flairs or fender work.
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Dr.Jeff
True Classic
@kmead and @Bobkat bring up a good point - staggered sizes for fronts vs rears. Typically I do not like to do that for my vehicles. I prefer the same size all around. Just makes things easier for me in terms of routine tire rotations, replacements, spare tire, etc. To give you an idea, I have my directional tread tires dismounted and remounted on the opposite side (i.e. flipped over) about half way through the tire's life so I can run it on the other side of the vehicle (retains the directional tread orientation) to maximize tread wear and tire life. Over my lifetime of owning somewhere in the neighborhood of 100 vehicles I've kept decent records and found tires to be one of the most expensive components consumed in regular wear/tear servicing of the car. So I try to maximize that investment.
However, that being said, my X's do not get driven enough to be as concerned about tire replacements. They will die of old age long before the tread wears out. So I may look into getting staggered sizes to accomplish exactly what those two members referred to; larger rear (driven) circumference for taller gearing, and an improved look for the car. All four wheels are the same dimensions though, so I may be limited on how big I can go on the rear.
However, that being said, my X's do not get driven enough to be as concerned about tire replacements. They will die of old age long before the tread wears out. So I may look into getting staggered sizes to accomplish exactly what those two members referred to; larger rear (driven) circumference for taller gearing, and an improved look for the car. All four wheels are the same dimensions though, so I may be limited on how big I can go on the rear.
