Hey guys, im struggling with traction in my boosted S and need more traction. Whats the widest we can fit in the rear on stock fenders (obviously fender liner cut and bumper tab relocated) WITHOUT over fenders?
thing is, im currently on 17x10 45 with 255 tires with -2.2deg camber and it looks like its about maxed out. Could i go with a higher offset, maybe 11" wheel and go 285 or 295tire without fit issues?

 

Unfortunately your +45 offset is whats holding you back on moving up to 275's which would be an improvement in strait line traction. So since you would have to reinvest in new wheels anyway, you might as go wider rim too. How much you want to spend on wheels first off and then how much you are willing to torture yourself with fender cutting and adjusting ride heights and alignments etc will determine how extreme you can go. Generally 285's on a 10.5-11" rim in the +65 offset range is the biggest go to option. 295's on a similar wheel size could be done with some finagling. Ive pushed things beyond reasonable recommendation with 315/35/17 with a slight fender pull. No over fenders.

Or do the easy thing for now and just run some R comp tires. Toyo RA1 or Nitto NT01 good choices in 255's. Assuming your currently not already running these.

Keep in mind, camber is the enemy for strait line traction. But you need some camber for this car to turn, so figure out where your willing to make compromises. Are you building a strain line/drag s2000 or a balanced handling machine with a lot of power? There are areas where you can reach your goals to a degree without sacrificing other performance areas of the car if your keyed in on this.

 

I drive it everyday. Spirited weekend cruises and occasional track days. Ideally id want it to do everything well haha. Something well-rounded, im not trying to break the qtr mile record, i just want something solid. Im currently running some cheap nankang ns2r 120aaa semi slick tires and theyre surprisingly good for what theyre worth. Quick warm up and pretty sticky compared to previous rs3 and re11 ive used in the past. Im willing to buy a wider set of wheels just for the rear if necessary, just wondering what size and offset will fit without overfenders. As stated before my current fenders are cut flat and bumper tabs relocated (no pull). My stock camber is maxed at 2.2 in the rear and it allows for full shock travel with no rubbing on my current setup. I feel 2.2deg is pretty modest and allows for descent amount of rubber contacting the ground but i could see the outermost bit making no contact. Id like to get it more straight up and down but im afraid itll rub on the fender if i take out any camber.

so 285tire on a 10.5-11" rim with 65 offset wont rub on the inner wheel well? Btw, whats ideal? 10.5 or 11" wheel?

 

10+52 or higher
10.5+57
11+62
11.5+68-70ish

if you are going for 17s, stick a ten. if 18", go with the 11js.

junky can probably tell you the absolute widest you can go. IIRC, 18x10.5+57 front with 265 and 18x11.5+65 (or something around there) on 285/295s. i wanna say i saw someone with 18x12 on the rear of this car but i think it had over fenders.

 

oh yeah, and the new wedsports come in a 17x10.5+44 which would be good for a 275 imo. may require some pulling

 

Thanks for this. Are those sizes known to fit on our cars?

I think thats too aggrrssive for stock fenders unless you run over 3deg camber which defeats the whole purpose of going wider in my case. My 10 45 ce's with 255 barely clear as it is.

 

Those sizes are close but agreed they are too close to the outer fender for those specific widths, with the exception of the 11.5 +68-70 which is too close to the inner fender. 11" +68-70 would be my recommendation for a 285/30/18 - 295/30/18. Rubber compound choice is going to be the deciding factory between these two tire widths on which one will be most effective. so see what's on the market in these sizes and let that be the deciding factor on which tire width you go with. If you end up going with a 285, then a 10.5" wheel is totally acceptable and will give you a little more fitment leeway on running the camber you want. 11 +68-70 will be very close with a 295 and your current alignment. But doable.

The trick now is finding a wheel in this spec, or do what some of us have done and go custom multi piece or take a fav single piece wheel of your choice and send it to weld craft to have it widened.

This is a helpful reference guide for you to work with to see how rim width and offset play on inner and outer fitment when you put in a control such as your current 10 +45 /255 spec http://www.willtheyfit.com/ if you use max outer fitment of your current set up, you can start adding with and offset with tire width to maintain that outer fitment wile decreasing inner room with stuffing more wheel/rubber. Based on my own maximized set up, you have roughly 40mm more inner room to stuff if you keep outer fitment the same as current. Tire stretch plays a roll in this fitment, so you need to proportionally add same tire width to rim width, if not then you have to re set the whole wheel offset different, likely less aggressive on outside with less tire stretch. This is where my 11+68 with 295 comes in if you punch it all in to see how it relates here http://www.willtheyfit.com/index.php?width=255&aspect=40&diameter=17&wheelwid th=10&offset=45&width2=295&aspect2=30&wheel_size=1 8&wheel_width=11&offset2=68

 

Dude!!! That calculator tool is great!!! Thanks man. Gonna play around numbers now thanks man

so, youre saying i have up to 40mm more towards the inner fender to play with?

 

Tire make/model selection is of course way more important than width! I run Nitto NT01s on my 550hp FD, they make surprisingly good street tires! Put down the power very well even when cold. And of course they're pretty good for track days as well (although probably more than a second off the pace vs. Hoosiers/R1s).

 

Width and good compound is the best option to run in combination, not one over the other if possible and since we are looking at a whole new wheel set, then do it with that in mind to get the best performance. NT01 is a highly regarded streetable R comp that wont compromise strait line for handling as it is a road course tire with race grip levels whether laterally or strait line, however 275/35 is the widest you will get and its taller then OEM, which isnt necessarily a bad thing if your pushing beyond stock power, but it will decrease some fender room so that has to be factored into ride heights and wheel size. Might be good enough for what you want. A wide EP tire on the street is a nice option if you want some improved mileage out of your expensive 18" tires wile offering race grip levels that are arguably more consistent in a street environment where the tires run cooler. For a 285/30 -295/30 width to go on that 11" +68-70 wheel, you will have to look for some other EP and R comp manufactures then Nitto. If you move to a 315 with over fender, then your tire choices/manufactures are quite plentiful.