i know the stock UK rear wheels are wider than the stock import rear wheels, but wheels confuse me so i was wondering.....

 

what are the benefits of wider wheels?

what are the down sides to wider wheels?

is anything else different (ie in the wheel mounting)

can i fit UK rears straight onto my import? will they stick out further or rub on the inside?

can i fit import rears straight on to my uk car if i needed to? (ie keep just one size spare wheel)

i know the stock UK rear wheels are wider than the stock import rear wheels, but wheels confuse me so i was wondering.....

 

what are the benefits of wider wheels?

what are the down sides to wider wheels?

is anything else different (ie in the wheel mounting)

can i fit UK rears straight onto my import? will they stick out further or rub on the inside?

can i fit import rears straight on to my uk car if i needed to? (ie keep just one size spare wheel)

 

Hi Ian,

 

In order of your questions:

 

1. Wider wheels increase the contact patch with the road, therefore (theoretically) increasing grip for accelleration, braking and over all handling

2. Apart from increased cost per tyre/alloy there aren't many downsides. If geometry isn't set properly then the wider tyres tend to wear quicker than thinner tyres. Also, as width of the tyre increases the depth of the side wall decreases. This reduces the secondary suspension characteristics which manifests itself as a slightly more rigid ride (when compared to thinner width wheels)

3. No, apart from the physical width of the rear wheels there is no difference between JDM and UK spec wheels

4. Yes, you can fit the UK size rear wheels directly onto a JDM rear. The tyres are only a few mm wider but will not stick out or rub on the wheelarch.

5. Yes, you can fit the narrower import rears onto a UK car without any problems.

 

FYI:

 

UK-spec size wheels/tyres:

Front: 225/50Z16 (= 8" width wheels)

Rear: 245/45Z06 (= 8.5" width wheels)

 

JDM-spec size wheels/tyres:

Front & Rear: 225/50Z16 (= 8" width wheels)

 

I hope the above has explained it, if not I'm sure someone else will come along with the answer shortly!

 

All the best,

Just to add, as well as a wider track and contact patch benefiting handling they also look a hell of a lot better.

 

The stock jap rear fit too far inside the arch.

UK rears fill the arches out much better than Jap :

 

excellent, chears guys, i've got 12 stock wheels and only one working car to put them on :)

 

going to put the best ones on the car and keep the next best 2 as spares

Sorry to hijack this thread buddy, but does anyone know if the wheels from a BMW would fit a 300zx or does the studs not align?

Sorry to hijack this thread buddy, but does anyone know if the wheels from a BMW would fit a 300zx or does the studs not align?

 

Different stud pattern , PCD is 5x120 when 300zx is 5x114.3 / 114

wide wheels much better.

 

really does help the handling, and they look so much better.

 

i had 7J before on my S13, much too thin.

 

ive got 9J on my Z, and id never go thinner than that again :)