9.5" or 11" rears?

[Tenrocca]

The wheels I am looking at come in 7,8,9,9.5 and 11" widths (17's). I am planning on 8's for the front, and 9.5's or 11's on the rear. Both come in a minimum front side setting of 3.5", which is pretty tight with the fender edge.

Heres their tyre dimensions chart.

http://www.team3wheels.com/ac/

If Im interpreting this right, if I want to minimise distance from hub to outer edge of tyre then I should probably go with 11's. eg, 285-40-17 has an overall width on 11.4", and can be fitted to either 9.5" or 11". On a 9.5 wide rim the bulge would be 0.95", but on a 11" it would only be 0.2". With the same minimum front space on both rims, then the 11" would give me a smaller overall tyre offset (face of hub to outside of tyre). Even using the smallest width on a 9.5" rim, 255-45-17, gives an overall width of 10", with means 0.25" of tyre bulge, so marjinally further out then using the 285-40-17 on an 11" rim. Does this sound right?

The other question is will there be any clearance issues on the inside using 11" rims, and will I have to second mortgage the house to pay for my rear tyres. Price isnt an issue on the rims as its the same 9.5 or 11. I think the 11's would look better too.



Cheers

[Philm]

HI Andrew,
I have 295/35 18s on an 11 inch rim on the rear, they are a tight fit as they did rub on the inner guard.

There is also camber of the rear to concider, if you run with a lot of negative camber this will affect things as well.

If you like try one of my rears and see how they fit then you can measure the offset and front face etc.

phil

[Tenrocca]

Thanks Phil - i might take you up on that, should give be a better idea then the temp wheels I have at the moment. Do you re-call what camber you currenly run on the front and rear of your car?

Cheers.

[Gav]

Have a look at what tyre sizes are popular.
I have 275 40 17's on the back on 9.5" rims, they are just what I wanted but the tyres are not so easy to find, or at a reasonable price.
Go online or better still talk to your tyre type dealer and they will soon point you in the right direction.

Gav

[Plums]

On the tyre scene, I believe that in 17 inch sizes there is nothing between 275 and 315. I really wanted a 295 or 305 but had to settle for 315's. As it turns out they fit quite well....

[richardferguson]

Just don't buy your tyres in Australia.
Richard

[Aussie Mike]

I've got 315/35/17s on 17x11" rims. I should have some better pics from the rear in the next day or so. It was a tight fit but everything looks like it clears. We'll find out what rubs this week end.

Cheers

[scootter]

I have 275/40 17 on the front with 9.5" wheels and 335/35 17 on the rear with 11" wheels. No rubbing at all.
Gav,
I have four 275/40 17 Goodyear Eagle F1 Super car tires for sale. They are in the for sale forum.
Scott

[Tenrocca]

Hey Mike do you recall what offsets you used on yours. The smallest front space available in my wheels is 3" (hub face to inside if rim, or 3.5 to outside of rim), and Ians recommendation is 2.5" front and rear.

Plums your not wrong about hard to find sizes. At a few online places I put in the widths I wanted, and 17's didnt even come up as an option, only 18's and above. I dont want 18's.

Richard....just so much cheaper from the US? I am think of getting the rubber fitter over there as well

[Philm]

Hi Andrew,
I just had the cobra wheel aligned and this is what we ended up with.

Front,
Camber -2'06 -2'13
Castor -5'08 -5'11
Total Toe 2.00out


Rear
Camber -1'56 -1.57
Toe 1.00 out 1.00 out

As plums said tyres are the usual stumbling block, also check out side diameter, if you can the clostest you can get to 680mm outside diameter the better the look, also that is the dimension of 295 50 15s.

Phil

[Tenrocca]

Thanks Phil - 235 45 17 on the front is only about 640mm.

2 degrees on front pulls the top of the wheel in about 11mm off centre. At full bump does the wheel get pulled further in at the top, or would it move straight up and down? (I think I need to jack it up, pull the shocks off and move it up and down to see how it moves in and out with suspension travel)

[Plums]

I have 235/45-17 on the front (because they were free), but I reckon the best "look" is with 245/45-17. They are the biggest overall diameter 17 inch tyre you can buy... (from memory, I think)...