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Wheels - how wide can you go?

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23K views 34 replies 14 participants last post by  Von Twinzig  
#1 ·
Hi

I'm new to the forum and recently purchased my first TT (225) with some mods:
8x18 on 225/40
Spacers: 20mm front and 30mm rear.
Coil over front and separate spring/shock rear - 50mm

I need to sort out the rear camber with some adjustable tie bars as the tyre wear looks very poor on the inside edge. These seem like a rip off for what they are (especially Forge). What's the cheapest out there?

Also, I want to take off the rear spacers to the point where it allows me to use 9x18 and keep the front as is. Would spacers still be required? Should I go with a 225/40 tyre to be consistent with the front or can I use a 235/40?

Ive seen some talk about the Cupra R top mounts and bump stops. What benefits will this provide?

Thanks again

here's a pic
 

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#2 ·
So many questions, I'll answer the ones I know for certain or from experience. I'm far from a suspension guru by the way, I consider myself lacking the most in that aspect. So take what I say lightly and not as gospel. lol.

With that said, the widest tire you can fit will depend on the widest wheel you can get your hands on. I can think of a few people who've ran 275, 295, etc. For this at the very least you'd want 9j width on the wheel.

As an example, I've already done the number crunching, and I plan on fitting some 275/40/17 tires onto some Rota wheels that are 17x9j with a +42 offset and retaining my spacer setup. Should be amazing. :twisted:

As far as adjustable control arms/tie arms go, You don't want to cheap out on these imho. With that said, the cheapest I've seen are the megan racing ones @ $180 usd.

With that in mind, many people here swear by running 4 adjustable control arms, which I think isn't necessary unless you are ridiculously low and have a lot of negative camber to pull back in. I'm doing just fine on 2 arms, one on each side of the car and in the bottom position. Every setup is different as well though so keep that in mind.

Hope that helps :)
 
#5 ·
A guy posted not long a go that staged wheels had upset the handling on his TT and had returned to the same size wheels front and rear
 
#7 ·
The actual track on the rear(standard) is narrower than the front.Hence I guess the wider spacers rear than front.

Me on a 335 mm approx suspension height 245(tyre) on the front.
Im using 245 tyre on the back also .
Actual wheel widths without clown car tyres something like 245 front max with 8-9 in wheel width
Rear maybe 265? tyre on a 9-10 in wheel width, and including excessive camber at the rear so your 10 j wheels dont rub.

Thats around the max Ive seen on here and elsewhere.
Im not saying whats good or bad..285 , 10-11 in rear sticky out beyond the arches , Im sure its possible with a "dune buggy" look and pump up the height.
Not for me thx.
 
#8 ·
3TT3 said:
The actual track on the rear(standard) is narrower than the front.Hence I guess the wider spacers rear than front.

Me on a 335 mm approx suspension height 245(tyre) on the front.
Im using 245 tyre on the back also .
Actual wheel widths without clown car tyres something like 245 front max with 8-9 in wheel width
Rear maybe 265? tyre on a 9-10 in wheel width, and including excessive camber at the rear so your 10 j wheels dont rub.

Thats around the max Ive seen on here and elsewhere.
Im not saying whats good or bad..285 , 10-11 in rear sticky out beyond the arches , Im sure its possible with a "dune buggy" look and pump up the height.
Not for me thx.
This is 285 on 18x9.5", fits flush in the back, needed a spacer in front to clear standard KW coils spring perch.

Image
 
#10 ·
Pash said:
That's some serious width to tackle on the B roads. I reckon I'll go with 18x9 all round with 225 all round. Keeps the Quattro system happy and hopefully stops any major rubbing issues.
You're gonna have some serious stretched tires if you go 225 on a 9j wheel...

Not to mention the quattro system does not depend on you having 225 wheels... If anything, the more traction and grip with wider tires will make it happier. Along with your cars handling.
 
#12 ·
Gonzalo1495 said:
You're gonna have some serious stretched tires if you go 225 on a 9j wheel...
9" is the upper limit on tyre manufactures specs for a 225/40R18, so I wouldn't describe it as "serious stretch".

How they look will depends on the design of the specific tyre you decide to use.
Some have very narrow tread, which will make them look stretched, some have wider tread, so would look less stretched.
 
#13 ·
David C said:
Gonzalo1495 said:
You're gonna have some serious stretched tires if you go 225 on a 9j wheel...
9" is the upper limit on tyre manufactures specs for a 225/40R18, so I wouldn't describe it as "serious stretch".

How they look will depends on the design of the specific tyre you decide to use.
Some have very narrow tread, which will make them look stretched, some have wider tread, so would look less stretched.
Post those manufacturer tyre specs, I've never heard of 225 being recommended for a 9" wide wheel...
Image


Not saying this table is gospel, just that it's a very realistic representation and "safe"
 
#16 ·
i just bought some new 225's for the front as they were shot and ideally wanted to keep this the same at the rear as heard the Quattro system will get upset. Looking through some various posts, some people have issues and some dont....so not sure if it's worth the risk. I'd gladly go with a staggered set up with F 8x18 on 225's and R 9x18 on 235's, but it seems like a risk.

This is what i'd like the end result to be:
 
#18 ·
Gonzalo1495 said:
David C said:
Gonzalo1495 said:
You're gonna have some serious stretched tires if you go 225 on a 9j wheel...
9" is the upper limit on tyre manufactures specs for a 225/40R18, so I wouldn't describe it as "serious stretch".

How they look will depends on the design of the specific tyre you decide to use.
Some have very narrow tread, which will make them look stretched, some have wider tread, so would look less stretched.
Post those manufacturer tyre specs, I've never heard of 225 being recommended for a 9" wide wheel...
Page 50 of this from Continental: http://www.conti.nl/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Technical-Databook-car-4x4-van-2014-2015-EN.pdf
Also,
Avon: http://www.avon-tyres.co.uk/car/zz5
Toyo: http://www.toyo.co.uk/tire/pattern/proxes-t1-r (click on "specifications" to bring up the size chart)

You'll see that for a 225/40R18 7.5" to 9" is the permitted rim width range.
Dunlop/Goodyear don't have any info on rim width at all on their website that I can find (I've been looking, which is why it has taken a while to reply!).
 
#19 ·
Pash said:
i just bought some new 225's for the front as they were shot and ideally wanted to keep this the same at the rear as heard the Quattro system will get upset. Looking through some various posts, some people have issues and some dont....so not sure if it's worth the risk. I'd gladly go with a staggered set up with F 8x18 on 225's and R 9x18 on 235's, but it seems like a risk.
225/40R18 on the front with 235/40R18 on the rear would be different diameters, so not a great idea.

If you really want staggered, then you'd have to go to a 255/35R18 on the rear (ideal on a 9" rim, but will go to a 10").
 
#20 ·
David C said:
Gonzalo1495 said:
David C said:
9" is the upper limit on tyre manufactures specs for a 225/40R18, so I wouldn't describe it as "serious stretch".

How they look will depends on the design of the specific tyre you decide to use.
Some have very narrow tread, which will make them look stretched, some have wider tread, so would look less stretched.
Post those manufacturer tyre specs, I've never heard of 225 being recommended for a 9" wide wheel...
Page 50 of this from Continental: http://www.conti.nl/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Technical-Databook-car-4x4-van-2014-2015-EN.pdf
Also,
Avon: http://www.avon-tyres.co.uk/car/zz5
Toyo: http://www.toyo.co.uk/tire/pattern/proxes-t1-r (click on "specifications" to bring up the size chart)

You'll see that for a 225/40R18 7.5" to 9" is the permitted rim width range.
Dunlop/Goodyear don't have any info on rim width at all on their website that I can find (I've been looking, which is why it has taken a while to reply!).
Okay I see what you mean. I still think they're gonna be noticeably stretched, but looking at OPs car, I think he needs them to be :lol: .
You learn something new everyday eh. Thanks for the info David. I appreciate you taking the time to show me! Cheers.
 
#21 ·
Gonzalo1495 said:
Okay I see what you mean. I still think they're gonna be noticeably stretched, but looking at OPs car, I think he needs them to be :lol: .
You learn something new everyday eh. Thanks for the info David. I appreciate you taking the time to show me! Cheers.
They wouldn't be ideal. "Ideal" for a 225/40R18 is an 8" rim, but as they are within the manufacturers spec, they are legal and not what kids on the street would describe as "stretched"........ they'd be putting a 215/40R18 on a 10" rims..... which is bonkers!!! :lol:
 
#22 ·
David C said:
Gonzalo1495 said:
Okay I see what you mean. I still think they're gonna be noticeably stretched, but looking at OPs car, I think he needs them to be :lol: .
You learn something new everyday eh. Thanks for the info David. I appreciate you taking the time to show me! Cheers.
They wouldn't be ideal. "Ideal" for a 225/40R18 is an 8" rim, but as they are within the manufacturers spec, they are legal and not what kids on the street would describe as "stretched"........ they'd be putting a 215/40R18 on a 10" rims..... which is bonkers!!! :lol:
My definition of stretched is when the tire starts bending inwards and isn't flush with the rim. But I get what you mean. :lol:
 
#23 ·
What I don't understand is what is the point of using wide wheels, and having to deal with fitment, if you don't plan to fill the wheels with rubber? We can sit here and look at all the manufacturer recommended specs in the world and it is nothing but a set of suggested guidelines with large margin of error/safety accounted for in them.

In the real world that we live in, A typical 225 street tyre does not need more than a 7.5J wheels ... that's with near-perfect square shoulders on the sidewalls and no crown on the contact patch. If you're ponying up for wide wheels, don't do so to run small rubber in them because of "recommended specs". The whole stretching tyre on wide wheels is a joke in terms of functionality. If you run 9j, 10j, or whatever wheels, fit tyres that make sense in real life in them.

The max tyre spec (on the right of the chart posted by Gonzalo) is closer to what is realistically sound to run... and even that is on the conservative side of things (which is not a bad thing). I have used the following wheels/tyres combos personally with close to perfect mechanical support and virtually no stretch or squeeze... real life... with real functionality since I tend to also use them in motorsports as well. Not gospel, but food for thoughts!

315--10.5
295--10
285--9.5
275--9
265--8.5
255--8
 
#24 ·
Madmax199 said:
What I don't understand is what is the point of using wide wheels, and having to deal with fitment, if you don't plan to fill the wheels with rubber? We can sit here and look at all the manufacturer recommended specs in the world and it is nothing but a set of suggested guidelines with large margin of error/safety accounted for in them.

In the real world that we live in, A typical 225 street tyre does not need more than a 7.5J wheels ... that's with near-perfect square shoulders on the sidewalls and no crown on the contact patch. If you're ponying up for wide wheels, don't do so to run small rubber in them because of "recommended specs". The whole stretching tyre on wide wheels is a joke in terms of functionality. If you run 9j, 10j, or whatever wheels, fit tyres that make sense in real life in them.

The max tyre spec (on the right of the chart posted by Gonzalo) is closer to what is realistically sound to run... and even that is on the conservative side of things (which is not a bad thing). I have used the following wheels/tyres combos personally with close to perfect mechanical support and virtually no stretch or squeeze... real life... with real functionality since I tend to also use them in motorsports as well. Not gospel, but food for thoughts!

315--10.5
295--10
285--9.5
275--9
265--8.5
255--8
Ok so this is potentially really good news for me as i have two sets of Oz lightweight alloys (18x8) and 8kg (Alleggerita) and 9kg (Oz Racing) per wheel. Given what they are worth i didnt really want to buy another set.
So - currently running 225/40/18 on both sets. I could reasonably change to 255 tyres and grab a bit more rubber for free.

Is 255 really viable or would 245 sit more squarely?
 
#25 ·
Matt B said:
Is 255 really viable or would 245 sit more squarely?
Just like the case of being able to fit skinnier tires, you can also go a bit over as well.

255's I would imagine would just poke out more, sorta like american muscle car setups (not that much, just a tiny bit).
You're right on the fact that 245 would be more flush though, I have no idea what differences that would have on performance or grip though.

I've seen people run 245 on 7.5" wheels so I can imagine you can get away with it on 8". :)
 
#26 ·
Gonzalo1495 said:
Matt B said:
Is 255 really viable or would 245 sit more squarely?
Just like the case of being able to fit skinnier tires, you can also go a bit over as well.

255's I would imagine would just poke out more, sorta like american muscle car setups (not that much, just a tiny bit).
You're right on the fact that 245 would be more flush though, I have no idea what differences that would have on performance or grip though.

I've seen people run 245 on 7.5" wheels so I can imagine you can get away with it on 8". :)
Only just seen this response. I think you are right about 255 being kind of bulging so I think 245 is the one.
I will try the 245/35/18 I reckon. Federal RSR or similar and it's less than 400 quid for all 4 :)

May not be a fantastic improvement on grip but every bit of extra rubber has to help