New Wheels & Tires for my GT... HELP

[bgdowski]

Alright everyone. I am pretty new to the aftermarket wheel/tire combos for GTs. A close friend of mine is getting a new set of rims for his honda civic ( i know i know, honda ) His bolt pattern is 4x100 so it matches my gt. the rims are 17 inches tall and 8 inches wide. They have very low profile Hankook racing tires on them, good tread left. My question is will they fit my GT with the appropriate spacers? And if so, how goofy will they look on my stock ride height. Any Input would be greatly appreciated...

I kinda figured these rims would give my GT a "mean" stance. He will give them to me for a price nobody in their right mind can deny and weigh 26lbs a piece including rubber, so unsprung weight shouldn't be changed much (should it?)

I know ride quality will suffer and without a slight lowering, it may look a little out of place. Will anything else suffer/be gained from these rims?

I plan on respraying them Gloss Black so ignore the "flat black" look.

Thanks for baring with me through my ignorance...

[jvandyke]

Here's what I've learned by searching and asking in the past.
The offset will be WAY OFF of course. You'd need pretty massive spacers to push the rim out far enough to not rub everywhere, especially on front. Steering geometry is important. Running spacers to get it close is often frowned on given you have got two sets of lugs to keep tight and the ones on the spacers are hard because there's no wheel on to help torque against.
I've got 15" rims on mine with 1" or so worth of spacers and I've not had a problem but even now they rub the inner fender at full lock. Some say running the spacers and putting the center of weight outboard like that is hard on the wheel bearings. Wide rims with low profile tires don't feel as good on the road either I'm told. Not as much side wall to absorb the road.
I personally don't like the look so much either and am trying to move back to more period correct rims, 13" and appropriate offset and tire size for many of the above reasons.
There's lots of threads on the issue.

PS here's a diagram I made to help me understand it, those rims (front wheel drive) probably have massive positive offset you'd have to correct for (you may not even be able to get spacers/adapters to handle it, even if you could, the question remains, SHOULD you, don't know.

[bgdowski]

He isnt sure on the offset, but he said they are somewhere around 44 i believe. For the price i am getting them for, i can sell them for twice as much if i end up not liking them, so it wouldnt be a financial loss at all. Its just making the initial investment because, well, my GT is in MI and i am at college in FL where the rims are... The GT isnt coming to college with me until i spray it this summer, so i want to bring the rims home with me for the summer and spray them...


More info/help PLEASE!

[jvandyke]

This list of threads (especially the "sticky" at the top) will keep you reading for a while.

[Ooooner]

Go here to see what 17" wheels with 40 low profile tires look like...

Row of Opels 07 (2) - Opel Photo Gallery

[bgdowski]

Ive been reading up on some of these treads ever since the buying opportunity presented itself. Im just not finding much info on 17" rims with low profile tires other than they are a rough ride... Thank you for the link and i am continuing to read. From what ive gathered, the largest spacer i will probably need is 1.5", maybe?

[jvandyke]

If you have the rims there, you can actually measure where the hub surface is in relationship to where the center line of the rim is, compare this to what the stock Opel should be and you'll know what spacer (actually an adapter at this point is probably the right term, although you don't want to change the lug spacing as is what adapters are usually used for, you just want the spacing, spacers are really just shims and you'd need to stack several to get close that 1.5" and your lugs would never reach anymore anyway.) Adapters have recessed holes for the stock lugs then they have their own lugs sticking out for the wheel.
Here's another homemade picture and then I'd better shut up because I don't really know enough to be dispensing advice.

[bgdowski]

Ooooner, thanks for the picture post! do you have any other pictures of GTs with 17's? Do you have any info on the gt you posted (spacers, tire width, ect.) Also is that GT running stock ride height?

[Ooooner]

Originally Posted by bgdowski Ooooner, thanks for the picture post! do you have any other pictures of GTs with 17's? Do you have any info on the gt you posted (spacers, tire width, ect.) Also is that GT running stock ride height?

The picture is my car. The 17" wheels with 40 low profile tires are stock height. I wanted to make sure the outside diameter was the same as the stock 13" wheels so it would not mess up the speedometer or the height of the car. As for using spacers, I have .200 spacers on the rear just to get the wheels out far enough so they would not rub the inner fender. They were not rubbing before I put the spacers on but I thought it would look and perform better with the wheels out a little more. I made the spacers myself in my school machine shop and went with .200 thick spacers so I would not have to replace the studs on the wheels. Any thicker than .200 and I would have had only about three turns of the lug nut on the studs. Not good. With the .200 spacers, I have around five to six turns. Hope this helps...

[bgdowski]

It definately helps alot. I like the look. Are the rims you have FWD or RWD rims? Offeset on them?

[Ooooner]

Originally Posted by bgdowski It definately helps alot. I like the look. Are the rims you have FWD or RWD rims? Offeset on them?

To be honest, I am not sure of the offset. I would have to check on that. But as far as FWD or RWD wheels, I didn't know there was a difference. Maybe I am out of touch with that... Hummmm...

[bgdowski]

From my understanding FWD rims have more of a + offset than the RWD rims, but maybe im just stupid. I dono!

Any more pictures of GTs with 17's would be awesome guys!

[dcm013]

Roy may have big rims and low profile tires on his GT but I bet his roads are LOTS smoother than we have here in MI. I don't know if you've been back lately but the roads around Detroit are simply terrible. My son hit a pothole with his Acura a couple weeks ago that took out not only the tire but the rim as well, so there's more to consider than just ride comfort. Given the economic situation here in MI I suspect the roads will not improve much for a long time. I'd avoid any rim requiring really low profile tires, assuming you plan on driving the car around here.

Don

[bgdowski]

Dcm013, thanks for the concern regarding MI's roads. They are truely horrible, arent they? I took that into account and thankfully the roads down in Daytona Beach are significantly better than back at home! Last time i was home, a few weeks ago, my truck nearly fell into a pothole...

[Ooooner]

The roads here in North Carolina aren't much better. The drawback to the low profile tires is that it is a much harsher ride. You feel every bump on the road. It doesn't help the ride to have polly bushings either but it is a "sports car" and you are supposed to feel the road. So I don't mind at all. I enjoy it.

[bgdowski]

I enjoy feeling the road also, and dont mind having my teeth rattled a bit. Im young, i can handle it.

[oldopelguy]

I ran 16's on my Kadett in upstate NY for almost a year with 40-series tires, and ruined all 4 ball joints, both outer tie rods, and trashed all the rubber bushings in the front suspension.

Rim diameter really doesn't have much to do with fitting the wheels on the car. A cylinder is a cylinder, and as long as you keep the outside diameter of the tire the same all that's different for 13s or 17s is the wheel width. A 13x7, 16x7, or 20x7 rim are all going to need the same offset. As a general rule, with a 7" wide rim, you need roughly 20-25mm of positive offset, but you can usually get by with as little as 0 on the rear and 10-15 or so on the front of a GT IIRC. Since you are starting with 44mm or so, 44mm-20mm=24mm, which is pretty close to an inch worth of spacer. Widest possible would be 44mm-15mm=29mm or about 1.25" spacer.

I had 16x7" rims with 38mm of offset on my GT and tried 1.5" spacers on the front (0 offset total) and had rubbing issues, but they were fine with 1" spacers (13mm offset total.) Either set of spacers worked on the back, but the rims would not clear without at least 1/2" of spacers (25mm maximum offset, 0mm minimum.)

[heimue]

Originally Posted by bgdowski From my understanding FWD rims have more of a + offset than the RWD rims, but maybe im just stupid. I dono!

No you are not stupid. You are completely right.

Dieter

[bgdowski]

Thanks for the info guys, and Dieter, thanks for clarifying that for me

[bgdowski]

Before going and getting the rims i wouldnt mind seeing some more pictures? anyone? rear end shots?!

[opelwasp]

Originally Posted by bgdowski Before going and getting the rims i wouldnt mind seeing some more pictures? anyone? rear end shots?!

Boy you just left that wide open.

[Ooooner]

Originally Posted by bgdowski Before going and getting the rims i wouldnt mind seeing some more pictures? anyone? rear end shots?!

Is this what you had in mind?

[torito]

Hello,

Just to give you an example, I've 15 inches wheels on my GT (see attached pic).

Those wheels are 4x100, 7" width and the ET (Einpress Tiefe) is 25mm (almost 1").

Tires are 195/50R15 and 205/50R15. This is important and i think this is also one of the key factors (that you need to take into account with the 17").

Till right now, no problem and no need for wheel spacers. I was scarred initially that they would touch the suspension system at the front side but it's ok.

Hope that helps, Bye

Torito / Belgium

[Dallas]

check these out on my Spyder GT. 1970 Opel GT I have got the biggest wheels I have ever seen on a GT. I don't have the specs on me, but if this is the route you want to go I can get them for you. The tires are flush with the fenders and do not stick outside the car. I did have to add air shocks to get it up and away to keep from hitting.

Dallas

[bgdowski]

Oooner, that picture is just wrong, especially the fact that you sought it out to post it. Just wrong... I mean nobody minds a GOOD rear end shot, if you know what i mean. Can you guys with the 17 inch wheels measure tread to tread chord across the wheel for me? mine measures 23.5 inches. what is it stock?

Dallas, your car is damn wild man, absolutely crazy!