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HELP this n00b!!! wheel upgrade piss off

A

alex894

Hard-core CEG'er
Joined
Mar 12, 2007
Messages
1,075
Location
Oakville, Ontario, Canada
Long story short... It wasn't until today that I looked under the front right fender to see that the spring base on the strut is nearly 1 1/2 inches higher than the top of the actual tire.

http://www.netprospective.com/files/contour/front/DSC_0002.jpg
http://www.netprospective.com/files/contour/front/DSC_0003.jpg
http://www.netprospective.com/files/contour/front/DSC_0004.jpg

I have 14 inch stockers now, I'm upgrading to 16" E1 svt wheels, and I know this is gonna be a lot of fun to put the new wheels on, so they fit nicely and don't rub on anything.

How do I get around the problem of the new tires not to rub on that freakin' strut?

I logical solution would be to change the struts so maybe the spring support would be higher:rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes: so the wheel has more room, but I don't see that happening...

what do you guys suggest I should do, I really like the rims...
As for the rubber, I'm not going low profile, 225/50~55/16 is ideal.
 
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Unless I'm missing something, you should have no problem upgrading your rims.

Plus sizing allows you to get bigger rims without changing the diameter of your current wheels.

205/50/16 would leave you with wheels almost exactly the same diameter as your wheels now. I'd recommend 215/50.
 
If my measurements are correct, you will rub the strut with 225's on stock suspension and the stock offset on any set of contique wheels.
 
If my measurements are correct, you will rub the strut with 225's on stock suspension with the stock offset on any set of contique wheels. I fit 235's, but I have a custom machined offset along with koni struts. I wouldn't go any wider than 215 with stock struts.
 
thanks for all of your posts, I appreciate it,

I can't wait to see them on, they're gonna look awesome.

as for going wider than 215, would wheel spacers be ok for front wheels?
 
^^ just looking for options now, of course I'd do the back, it wouldn't look right if I didn't.

Alright now,

I sharpened my pencil and did some simple math, to see how this is gonna turn out..

right now I run 185/70/14

at a ratio of 70%, tire height is 129 (185x.7) high from the rim up.
14" is 355.6 mm, total tire diameter of 613.6 mm. (355.6 x (129.2))

now the 16 inch SVT rims

running 205/50 rubber

height 205x.50 = 102.5mm
16"= 406.4 mm
total tire diameter = 611.4mm...seems like it's gonna work but it's 205

215/50/16 has a diameter of 621mm...it just makes it...but I have not yet heard of a tire of those specs; is anybody running on 215/50/16?
 
The Five-Oh! said:
you know reebs, there is this little thing called the edit button. Cause i just read both your posts and was like, "what the hell jeff, i just read that!"
Click to expand...

Lol. :laugh: I made my point, twice.


As for 215/30/16's, yes they will fit any setup. I have a set of stock wheels with 215/50/16's and they fit on all my contours.
 
I end up getting the 205/50/16 to be safe...eagles gt...:drool::drool::drool:... they look better on the car than they look on the website...Ièm surprised of how wide they are....I got used to 185 and 205 looks fkn sweet..

boy to they look good...hehe....

215/50/16 I didn't wanna risk, they're so rare, expensive and brand names I don't trust, and it would have been a tight fit, my 205s leave a half inch gap between the sidewall of the tire and the strut itself.

glad I got the wheels done...I got rid of some vibration and shakiness on the highway, the new rubber is much better than the firestone it came with....

Done this, my own fog light mod :drool: next week and exhaust afterwards, chip maybe and that is all she gets, 171k km and counting... hoping that I can get 300+k with her
 
1FASTDAD said:
you could have got a 205/55/16
Click to expand...

meh...done deal.... I'm happy with them and it was a good investment...now I feel a bit safer on the road, it as about time I got new tires...

:laugh:

now I'm still looking for a nice exhaust set up to cut down some of that back pressure:crazy::crazy::crazy:...yet keep her quite on the road..
 
i'm running 205/50/16's on my E1's... as for exhaust setups, if you want to keep it cheap and get a pretty nice sound increase, i'd just delete the stock resanator, and strait pipe it, thats what i did, before i got into ypipe/cat/etc... sounds nice with stock mufflers
 
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