yam got a scooby

Thinking about getting a new set of wheels & tyres as my T1's have seen better days. Just wondering what people think is the best suited wheel and tyre size to fit an early classic.

JCScooby

Well i have R17/205/40 which i kind of got by mistake, but i have been fairly impressed. Im sure there will be other folks opinions that differ though. At the end of the day i suppose its what suits your driving style.

Jay m A

iTrader: (2)

IMO 17" with 205/45, but most go for 215/40 due to price / availabity

CEL

iTrader: (1)

Check out the group buys on wheels. There is an excellent deal on Rota Tarmacs fitted with Toyos. My advice, go to 18's if you haven't already got them. Make sure you have 215/35/18 tyres though. 225/35/18 can rub on the rear arches under load.

Chris

wide

I dont think 18 is great for classic, stuck with 17s but thats personnal choice . Many seem to be going 18 but its more expensive again, ride and handling is great on 17s

LegacySTi

iTrader: (13)

Yeah i stayed 17s due to loss handling etc on 18s. Not worth as impreza got for driving ability and not a show car.

JTaylor

When the good people at Prodrive asked exactly the same question they went off and did lots of R&D. They put 205/45/17 on the RB5 and this alone transformed the UK Turbo's handling. They kept with this for the P1. As mentioned price and availability dictates most peoples choice of 215/40/17.

As for 18s on a classic, well, if I had an irrational desire to have wheels that are too big for my car then I'd consider them. Julian at RareRims provided me with 205/45/17 REO40s for only slightly more then the Toyos - unfortunately everyone in the country seems to have Rotas (copies of well known designs) now, so mine may well be up for grabs soon.

HTH

J

yam got a scooby

Cheers for the replies. Sounds like the 17's are the ones to go for then.

john banks

P1 WR had 18" upgrade from Prodrive and this was widely acknowledged to dramatically improve it, however, the dampers and springs probably match them better than a Turbo 2000 AWD model's would, although the same dampers were on a 4 door STI with different springs that would have come with 16" wheels from the factory.

Anger

iTrader: (4)

Got 18's on mine and it handles mile's better then the original 16's, ive got 215/35/18 tyres, cant say anything about 17's as ive never tried them.

People ive spoken to say 18's give more grip but are less forgiving if you give it to much, once it goe's it take's quite a bit to get it back, on the twistie's that is.

Ive had the back slide out a couple time's, but that was giving it quite a bit and let in off the throttle half way through a bend

JTaylor

You right that more grip doesn't always improve handling of course. A bigger surface area in contact with the tarmac will normally give greater outright grip, but this may not necessarily compensate for the loss of tactility associated with the larger size. Personally I like a bit of progressive slip, feedback, limited tram-lining and a little bit of give in the sidewalls. I think Richard Meaden commented that the Prodrive 18s made the P1 feel a little heavy footed - it's all down to the individual I suppose

yam got a scooby

Ive just ordered a set of the Rota Redlines, black with the machined face in 18's with 215/35/18 Toyo's from the Group Buy thread. Bargain. I thought I would go for the 18's in the end, they do look better and for only £100 more than the 17's. Bargain

Tone Loc

iTrader: (1)

I've just gone from Prodrive ST2s (205/45 R17) to Prodrive P-WRC1s (215/35 R18) and i can say i've not noticed any real increase in tram lining or deterioration of ride quality.... turn in however has most definately improved.

Also not noticed the wheels being too big for my car, or the WR upgrade wheels being too big for the P1 either. Those foke at Prodrive do know a thing or too

Tony.

PS my suspension is Leda coil overs so above is not an opinion based on standard suspension.

mg driver

my classic handled and gripped better with 18's on but its hard to say how much of it was the wheel size and how much was the better tyres.Not a lot in it tbh,and i bet a lot of drivers couldnt tell either way.

gpssti4

iTrader: (6)

I've gone from 205/50/16 to 215/45/18 (yes 215/45/18!) on my type R. One reason was to increase the rolling diameter - to give higher gearing and also to bring the speedo to near the correct reading.

On 18's to keep the correct rolling diameter you should use 215/35/18 - but, IMHO, there is not enough side wall; yes, you'll get sharper turn in, but once the suspension is fully loaded and the car leans over the side wall can't compress enough to keep the tyre fully in contact with the road. This is why these 35 profile tyres are not so progressive as say 205/50/16's.

With my car, I've kept roughly the same side wall height. However, I now loose a little on acceleration etc etc.

Can't win 'em all!!!!!!!!!

Graham

Jim_B

iTrader: (1)

Had both 17'' and 18'' on my classic - actually prefer the 18''s for handling / turn in - but you do have to watch the tyre pressures closely as our lovely potholed roads can end up damaging the rims on a 35 profile ! There isnt a lot of give on bad roads at that tyre size.

Bing_2004

Depends what your going for. Larger wheels give better handling, but smaller ones give better acceleration.
Larger size of tyre wall also helps make your ride a bit smoother over the bumps.

JTaylor

Larger wheels don't necessarily give better handling. The move to 205/45/17 were the only addition to the chassis of the UK Turbo with the release of the RB5 and transformed the grip AND handling. Likewise on a simple motor like a KA the use of 14s improves both of these. However it's widely acknowledged that the 18s on a new Mini spoil turn in, make it leaden footed and detract from the tactility of the drive, with the car being ruined on 19s. Although I've never driven one, numerous motoring journalist say the M3 offers much greater feedback and involvement on the 18s but acknowledge increased grip with the 19s.

There are other factors like tyre compound, sidewall stiffness, chassis set-up and the conditions to consider.

I run 215/45/17 PZero Corsas for track days and the outright grip is superb. I've also used my 205/45/17 RE040s on the track and all though the grip was reduced the increased involvement and feedback gave the confidence to drive at 9/10ths rather then 8 which improved my lap times.

All of these variables and consideration of the minutiae makes tyre choice very personal and only experimentation and experience will say what's best for the individual.

silver sonic

iTrader: (4)

i have just changed from p1-wrc 17s fitted with 215/40/17 toyo,s to p1-wrc 18s with same tyres 215/35/18 , marked improvement in feel ,but feel potholes more!
but look the nads and now i can clean round my Godspeed 335s easily