Tyre sizes

[Nissanman]

Can anybody tell me what the largest tyre that will fit under standard 'classic' Stylus front bodywork? I've already widened the rear arches but am hoping not to have to widen the front.

And incase you're asking 'why' it's because it has a 280-300bhp nissan engine under the bonnet and I'm gonna need some serious traction. The rears will be 245 CR500's and I was hoping to fit 205's on the front.

Thanks
Jasper

[stylussprinter]

Firstly , I think it's going to look very odd with widened rear arches only , secondly it will be out of balance ' understeer wise ' . It would then need quite a wedge to counteract it. Turn in would be poor without set up to suit which you might not like . Then , what tyres will fit under the front with no alterations ? ---------------- 195 x7x15 BUT , not if you have to lower the car for set up. So there are no single actions without consequences , i.e. higher lbs springs and bodywork trimming/arches.
The whole wheel/tyre set up was 185x14x6 at 1995 design stage , assuming there would be no changes and body designed to match.(wheel arch size/shape)
If you want to make changes , and I did too , then you have to change set up and bodywork to suit. With 300bhp grunt via a turbo all weight transfer will be massively greater/faster so you will be forced to change all the 'above' pointers to be able to use the power.

Sorry Jasper , there are no easy solutions , chassis must be sorted before power.
Rob. (V8 Westy runs 205 front / 225 rears --- 320 bhp ditto ft/lbs)

[Nissanman]

Hi Rob

Ok, that does make some sense to me. I can widen the fronts without too much hassle, I'm already doing so much bodywork as it is. I have to say that the whole suspension/chassis set-up stuff leaves me very bewildered.

The power I can change from 210-280 ish at the flick of a switch, so I don't have to run all the power all the time. What I suppose I need is a start point to go from, I don't want to spend £££ on wheels and tyres and then find out they are not gonna work well with my set-up, or do a whole load of bodywork again. I thought the 245 CR500's would be a good start point as the Caterham with similar power uses these on the rears. I also know a guy with the same engine in a seven running 205's and he's always lighting the back up, even with the boost turned down.

So if I go with 205 fronts I need to get the right offset to have the wheels at the right width for good turn-in and balance right?

I'm finally getting back in the garage after 8 months doing the house up - and I have a lot of questions in my head!

[stylussprinter]

Well I ran ET 15 offset since using 7x15's then eventually taking f/glass from the arches plus widening . The front on mine is 40mm wider than classic standard which envolved uprights/wishbone changes. The f/glass key work is really enlarging the arches then widening to keep things o.k. for scrutineers I'm on 205's all round to keep the wedge narrow for max rear grip off the start.
Good luck. Rob.

[Nissanman]

So if I use standard width front with 205 tyres what offset do I need for the rims? I don't mind wideneing the arches.

[stylussprinter]

If you have 7x15 rims then ET15 would be o.k. This means the bolting face of the wheel is 15mm to the outside of your car from the wheel centre . So if it was ET25 your wheels will be 10mm further under the arches GET IT I still think 245 tyres/rear is over the top. I'd run 225 but put them on an 8 inch rim. Just imagine driving in the wet with 245's rear and 205's front ------ very slippy You can light anything up if your foots in the wrong place

Rob(re - 245/225's you'll also need to calculate an offset for the rears to miss the shocks/inner body ?)

[Nissanman]

Thanks mate - I understand the whole ET thing - just wanted to make sure I get it right so the wheels turn as they were designed too.

I know what you mean about the 245's - I've been deliberating a lot, but I followed the Caterham around damp Alpine roads for 4 days and it looked very planted indeed, no slipping or slidding (until her looked it up completely under breaking and slide into through open gate ) but I'm not adverse to 225's on 8 inch rims either.... maybe better to err on the side of caution.

As for the rears, I was going to trailer the car to Compomotive up in Crawley and get them to make them to fit properly, so I know they will be right.

[stylussprinter]

Thanks mate - I understand the whole ET thing - just wanted to make sure I get it right so the wheels turn as they were designed too.

I know what you mean about the 245's - I've been deliberating a lot, but I followed the Caterham around damp Alpine roads for 4 days and it looked very planted indeed, no slipping or slidding (until her looked it up completely under breaking and slide into through open gate ) but I'm not adverse to 225's on 8 inch rims either.... maybe better to err on the side of caution.

As for the rears, I was going to trailer the car to Compomotive up in Crawley and get them to make them to fit properly, so I know they will be right.

Didn't know they had a place at Crawley or I'd have visited them myself. I did all my ordering on the phone . I take it you mean Crawley near Gatwick ?

[Nissanman]

Ahhhhh - when I said Compomotive - I actually meant Revolution!! I'm gonna get a set of these:

http://www.revolutionwheels.com/classic_fivespoke.shtml

[stylussprinter]

Ahhhhh - when I said Compomotive - I actually meant Revolution!! I'm gonna get a set of these:

http://www.revolutionwheels.com/classic_fivespoke.shtml

Very nice , light too I expect

[Antnicuk]

Did you get the wheels sorted?, what did you go for in the end?

I need much bigger wheels/tyres on the rear than i have at the moment (7x15195). I have used an offset calculator as i'm currently running a 40 off set on the rear which suits the rear as i have Rt rear arches and an Atlas rear axle. It looks like i would need a 50 offset on a 8 inch wheel which will still clear the lower arm and the wheel arch. Can i get this off set? , looking on the net, nobody seems to stock them.

My front end is stock classic stylus and i'm running a 15x7 with a 37 off set but from reading the above, it looks like i could go for a 20 or even 15 offset. I would like to run 205 front and 225 rear. I dont think i could get a wider wheel/tyre under the back with out hitting the rear lower arm or the wheel arch I'm not really fussed about the make or style of the wheel, anyone know who to try?

[Nissanman]

I went for 235 x 50 x 15's at the back - with widening rear arches, and 205 x 50 x 15's on the front, though they are very close to the back of the lights, and we had to trim away some of the bottom of the bonnet as well.

I can't yet confirm what it's like to drive as it's still not yet ready ..... needs the steering/suspension/corner weighting done, and the rolling road to set up the engine.