How well would these wheels fit ?

[GT Wagon]

225/40 18 with a 55 offset on a 97 GT wagon ? Came across a possible deal and I'm wondering how well they'll work or if they'll rub.

[ooberdoob]

better suggestion:

+53mm offset, and if you run 18s you better avoid potholes like the plague, because you'll have tire-condoms, not sidewalls.

go with a 17"x7 rim with 215/50-17s (maybe 7.5" wide rim?)

that way you'll still have a little meat on the tires for small curbs, it'll ride much better, the tires are cheaper, so are the rims, usually cheaper to mount, and most often look better on a scooby.

what exact wheels are they, can we get a pic?

correct me y'all

[Huffer]

in answer to the question, how well will they fit?

If they match the bolt pattern of 5x100 and are no wider than 7.5", they'll fit fine.
Any wider than 8" and you might run into trouble.

As for practicality, I'm not gonna say a thing.

[BAC5.2]

A +55 is kind of a high offset. I'd worry about rubbing the struts.

You could probably get away with them, and run a small spacer to bump the offset down to something like between a 48 and a 53.

[Cajual]

The diameter of the wheel doesn't make a difference since the overall rolling diameter will be pretty much the same (i.e. 205/55/16, 215/45/17, 225/40/18 are all within 2% of each other)

It is the width of the wheel in combination with the offset that makes all the difference... i.e. if you go from a 6.5" width with +55 offset (stock GT size) to a 7.5" width with +55 offset, you will have 13mm (0.5") less inner clearance towards the strut and the wheel will also extend 13mm (0.5") toward the fender. That's why if you go with a wider wheel, you generally want to go with a slightly lower offset so you can clear the strut.

On top of all that, you still have to consider the width of the tire. Generally, 225 is too wide for the BD/BG... I haven't heard of one person running 225's on a BD/BG that didn't get some sort of rubbing.

For reference, I had STi wheels (17x7.5 +53) on my BD with 215/45/17 and it fit with no rubbing. I have some pics somewhere if I can find them...

[GT Wagon]

Thanks for the info guys ! I was in a time crunch and had to know last night within an hour (and you guys came through). The wheels are 18" **Gold**Kosei K1 TS with Kuhmo MX's 225/40 18. If they were 17's I would have jumped on them for the price alone but I wasn't really sure how well the 18's and the wider tire would work for me.

Here's the kicker, these wheels were almost new with 6k on them and cost $1500 @ tire rack. He was willing to sell for $500 SHIPPED and is a well known person so he was reliable. Again, if the wheels were 17's I would have bought the setup for the wheels , resold the tires and bought the proper size tire. The setup is now sold.

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2005/12/c8_1JPG-1.jpg

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2005/12/ea_1JPG-1.jpg

[BAC5.2]

I would have purchased them to try it out and see if you liked it. If not, resell them for profit.

But either way, you are now a little wiser to choose your best aftermarket option.

[GT Wagon]

I would have purchased them to try it out and see if you liked it. If not, resell them for profit.


You know the thought did cross my mind. If I hadn't just purchased a Nikon D100 digital camera I'd had snapped these up in an instant. What I really want/need is a set of 17x7.5's which will easily fit the GT and also fit the 06 WRX we're planning on getting next fall

I was going to buy these wheels/tires with autocrossing in mind so any rubbing issues would have been magnified.

[EXP1787]

If I hadn't just purchased a Nikon D100 digital camera
Bastard. I've been watching for a deal on a D70 or D100.