What's the safest rim width?

[Falcon Oath!!]

G'day
i.m thinking about getting rid of my 15" mags,and upgrading to 17
" . Kwik question, Whats the safest width or tyre sizes you can use before the tyres rub against the front guards?
oh yeah,the car is a 1995 Gli falcon,standard height.

[bentles]

could fit 18s in there even if its alot lower than stock, however they are more expensive outright and to maintain. also on crappy roads id stick to 17's.

if the roads you use are usually good and the car isnt on the grass go for some 18s

[Conrad]

whats the safest rear width?

[bentles]

oh width how silly of me, lol!

el gt's came out with 8" wide afaik, and they protrude form the guards on regular eseries so 7" would be about max for front, and up to around 8.5" at the back but the wider you go the more you will aquaplane dont forget, so it depends where you live also, as in how wet is it most of the year


i could be wrong here, ive got 7" front and rear and they suit the front fine, but up the back they look a bit too far into the guards, but much more and it wouldnt fit too well either.

[Allen]

EB and EL GT's had 8.5" wide rims, but they had the flared bodykits as well...

8" wide all round is generally accepted to be the norm for aftermarket wheels.
235 width tyres on the front should be fine for clearence on a lowered car, and the rear could take 265's or more easily...

[NZ]

I've had 255's on elgt rims (genuine) on the front of an eb before, but on an ef/el scrubbing the front guards will be a big issue

[Falcon Oath!!]

Thanks 4 all your inputs on this thread.
I just thought i'd ask here before blowing all my cash on some nice mags,and then only to realise that i can't turn a corner , or do a u-turn without shredding or damaging something !!!!
I've also heard that some 5 stud pattern Toyota , Camry and maybe WRX mags are the same as the Falcon stud pattern. Does anyone know if theres any truth in the rumour?,or are currently riding on other brands?

[LUXO_8]

Originally Posted by Falcon Oath!!

Thanks 4 all your inputs on this thread.
I just thought i'd ask here before blowing all my cash on some nice mags,and then only to realise that i can't turn a corner , or do a u-turn without shredding or damaging something !!!!
I've also heard that some 5 stud pattern Toyota , Camry and maybe WRX mags are the same as the Falcon stud pattern. Does anyone know if theres any truth in the rumour?,or are currently riding on other brands?

same stud patern, different offset,

you'll need to run adapters to fit them

[metalhead_mike]

i reckn chuck a set of 19's on it and slam it on its guts u cant go wrong with 19's. :

[Conrad]

So the rears can have 8inch with 255 tyres on an EF?

[MADED-6]

ive got 19's on hub adapters now and on tight corners if u hit a big bump the fronts scrub the tyres are 245's.
and my car is pretty low but not massive low.
i was going to go lower with some shortened shocks but dont think i will now.
cheers josh.

[Sick EB]

ive got 18X8 all round with 245 all around also. my car is lowered and i have had no problems with rubbing. check build thread for pics

[frd_crzer]

get 18 with 245 8'' wide on the front and 255 10'' on the rear and that will be safe and not illegal

[Allen]

Originally Posted by frd_crzer

get 18 with 245 8'' wide on the front and 255 10'' on the rear and that will be safe and not illegal

10" on the rear and not illegal?? I think not...

That is a track increase far greater than that allowed without an engineers certificate.

Plus I think there is also another rule, where the widths of the front and rear wheels cannot vary too much from each other... I can't remember what the actual percentage is though. (This is more for pro street cars, with tubs at the back and front runners at the pointy end... But the rule still exists)

Not to mention it will cause the car to have heavy traits of understeer in hard cornering... Well, more than a usual e-series anyway... :P

[mcflux]

I've got 16x9" rims all round, 225s on the front, 245s on the rear. The 245s coupled with 9" rims are skinnier than 225s with a 7" wide 15" rim due to zero sidewall bulge.

I'm currently waiting to hear back from a MT supplier about 295s but they're taking their sweet time with their reply!

[Falcon Oath!!]

I've got my eyes on some 17"mags (apparently meant for ef-el falcon),that have Falken tyres on them. 255/50/r17.
The rears will fit ok,but tried out the front today and it wouldn't fit properly as the tyre touches the wishbone cos of the 50 height.
They are a great looking set,but to get em on the front, i'm thinking about getting the studs taken out of the rotors (i have a slotted set in box to be put on),and longer ones fitted so it could handle a spacer of about 25mm (?),then that should get the tyre away from the wishbone and hopefully i can still do full turns without anything rubbing.
Am i on the right track,or am i up the proverbial creek???

[NudgE^SIKBRO]

I have an EB with Genuine ELGT's on it, its lowered on superlows and the tyres are 235/40 or some crap... they scrub on the guards entering driveways etc

[Conrad]

Ok, can we ignore what eachother has.

Whats the widest, legal set of rims and tyres for the rear?

Whats a good set of front rims and tyres to suit the rears?

Cheers

[EF Futura 07]

Originally Posted by Conrad

Ok, can we ignore what eachother has.

Whats the widest, legal set of rims and tyres for the rear?

Whats a good set of front rims and tyres to suit the rears?

Cheers

Ok Boss :

[Conrad]

Wanting to buy a set of rims asap sorry if i was rude.

Love 4 all

[mcflux]

Conrad, widest LEGAL rim width is 1" wider than factory, and largest LEGAL rim diameter is 2" larger than factory. If your EF came out with 15x7s, you can go as large as 17x8. Same goes with the factory tyre size. If you had 205s, you can't go past 225s (legalls), as 235s would leave a footprint a tad over an inch wider than 205s.

The legalaties are crap though, just run the risk & get whatever *you* like. I did As long as you know the risks (potential defect, potential void of insurance) and you're happy with the consequences, go for it.

[Plunkett]

Is the 1" wider and 2" larger Diameter rule the same for the front of the car? does IRS change anything?

[blur1]

Originally Posted by Plunkett

Is the 1" wider and 2" larger Diameter rule the same for the front of the car? does IRS change anything?

the LAW is the same and irs doesn't change that.

[mcflux]

^^ as he said.

1" wider (or narrower) from factory MAX
2" larger (or smaller) from factory MAX

Rolling diameter as well can't change by more than 1"

[Conrad]

Cheers big ears'!