I am getting ready to do the conversion to SE suspension and am looking at wheel choices. I have access to a cheap set of the OZ 15X6 wheels that came off of the Mitsubishi Lancer. I know the lug pattern is correct at 4x114.3, but I can't find the offset listed anywhere. Has anyone seen these wheels in use on a RX-7? Did they look to be spaced correctly? Also would a 205/50-15 be too pinched on a 6" wide rim?

Thanks,
James

 

205 is about on the limit of a 6" rim with a 50 profile tyre, I'd be tempted to go 195/50/15 its still wider than stock as the width is actaully the maximum width of the tyre not the tread so as the 50's are squarer shouldered than the 205/60/14's they should have about the same rubber on the road

are they the supertourismo's ... I have those on my kit car ->

 

James, if you have access to the wheels, perhaps you could measure the offset yourself? You could do an internet search to find out what to measure exactly, and then see if you can do it with straightedges and plumb-bobs or whatever. Sounds wacky, but what the heck..

Or instead of the offset, you could just measure the backspacing directly, to have a good idea how the fit would compare to a GSL-SE wheel. Good luck!

 

Well, I finally tracked down an offset for the OZ wheels. If my info is correct, then they are 46mm compared to the 40 of the GSLSE. 45 is apparently the offset of the 12A cars, but I am assuming that I need to use the offset of the SE since I will be using SE suspension components. Is the 6mm difference such that I could use 5mm spacers to correct it, or would it have to go the other way. Thanks for everyone's help.

The rim in question:

 

5mm is probably not bad enough to worry about.
and if it is, yeah, 5mm spacers will fix your problem

Those look like nice wheels!

 

I called Discount Tire's online number to clarify what the difference in offset would mean.. Quote: "the 6mm in offset will be toward the outside of the wheel, and this will put the wheel 6mm toward the inside of the car."

6mm is about 0.24 inches. So by my calculations, the bead (tire seating surface) of the OZ wheels will be about 0.24" more toward the inside, and about 1.26" more toward the outside, as compared to a stock GSL-SE wheel.

 

Thanks for all the help. I think I'm gonna go for it. I probably will use spacers though. 1/4" or so should do it. I will probably go ahead with the 205/50-15 only because that is what I have now on the Panasports I have. They look great on them, but they are 15X7's. Hopefully they won't be too pinched on the 6" wheels.

Thanks again,
James

 

Try 'em without the spacers first. I would bet there's more than .25" of play behind the SE wheel. At least bolt them up and do a visual test. Pretty easy to see if they're hitting anything and you'll save yourself the cash that you would have spent on spacers.

 

Well, they work on the rear, but the front are rubbing the spring base in the front ever so slightly. Looks like spacers are in order. Here is a pic of them on the suspension donor:


I like them. Don't know how I feel about spacers though. Oh well, more studying to do.

 

I wonder if "coil-overs" give more clearance in the front..?

 

Yea, I bet that it rubs.... remember when going to a wider rim, you usually need less offset, not more. offset is a measure of distance from the center of the rim, so a wider rim will naturally be both further in, and further out. Your new offset depends on how much room you have on the inside. So you may stay with the same offset, or less offset. Rarely if ever do you go with more offset. (the only exception, is if your wide enough that you have to worry about rubbing the inside of the fender well, in which case you probably need to flare the fenders, cause your wheels are to wide...)

 

They look similar to the wheels on my parts car

 

ok, the GSL-SE really doesn't have much wiggle room at all on the inside edge of teh front suspesnion.

the only way you're gonna be able to run those wheels is with a spacer.. And It's probably have to be about a 10mm spacer, which is pushing the limits of my confortable range, but that's a personal thing...

Also, GC coil-overs don't really gain you any room unless you have the perches way high up, otherwise they nail the tire raight at the widest point...

 

I really think I will get by just fine with 1/4" spacers (6.35mm by my calculations). I will have to see whether longer studs will be in order. They aren't super long to begin with. Thanks for the info on the GC's. I had wondered if that would resolve the issue as well, but you confirmed what I thought.

Thanks for all the help guys.