Help-wheel questions

OptionZero

Learning about wheel sizing is something you can do on your own. Wheel size cannot be considered without tire size.

First, a disclaimer:
You're gonna need to spend money. There's no wheel setup anyone here can recommend that will look good on a stock car with stock suspension. The car is too high, it's going to look like ****. Anyone that tells you otherwise was too cheap to do it right and is trying to make themselves feel better.

If you don't wanna spend money, keep your stock wheels and roll like the car came out of the factory. No shame there, and it's better than doing it wrong.

Onwards.

The simplest approach:

Read the threads on wheels pinned atop this section. Find one you like. Show us. We'll tell you how to copy that. No thinking required, just your credit card and the appropriate retailers.


The proper approach:

Learn how wheel fitment works. It's not hard. Follow along.

Every wheel has a diameter, width, offset, and bolt pattern, expressed typically like this:
18 (diameter) x 10.5 (width), +18 (offset), 5x114.3 (bolt pattern)

You need 5x114.3 bolt pattern. Not negotiable.

Folks run anywhere from 18 to 20 inch diameter. For aesthetics, 20s are optimal because the wheel arches of our car are quite large. The compromise is that 20 inch wheels are more expensive. 20 inch tires are more expensive. Pay to play.



This example has 20's. The tire is slightly tucked under the fender. The arches are completely filled up.

18 inch wheels are cheaper and lighter, with a greater range of options, and an accompanying cheaper and wider set of tire options to go with that. They will not look good but they will work. Track folks all run 18's for cost effectiveness and wider tire compound selections.

Example:


Alwakra's car has square 18x10.5, +18 CE28N's with 275/40/18 tires and tracks his car regularly. This is an ideal wheel setup for that purpose. It does not look good.

19's offer a compromise, to a degree. Tire selection does not approach 18's. Price leans closer to 20's. Visually, better.

Next, width and offset. These two aspects cannot be considered independently of each other as they affect how the wheel sits in the wheel well.

Width is self explanatory. It's how wide the wheel is.
Offset is the orientation of the wheel relative to the hub (mounting surface for the wheels. The more higher the offset is, the further inward the wheel sits. A lower offset wheel will sit further from the hub, and stick out from the fender.
Example:
This red car has stock nismo wheels, 19x9.5 +40 in front and 19x10.5 +23 in rear


This white car has TE37's, 19x9.5 +22 front and 19x10.5 +12 in rear


Compare how the wheels fit each car. They have the identical diameter and width, but but the white car has lower offset wheels that sit further away from hub, closer to the fender "outward."

Same width, lower offset = wheel sits further outward
Same offset, wider = outside edge also extends further outward.

That is how width and offset work; however, knowing the concept is relatively worthless without practical application to this car. Fortunately, the white car above illustrates a fairly standard drop and wheel size. That is a standard size for TE37's that any vendor would recommend you out of the box. You can fit it without too crazy and alignment, any many people have simply installed lowering springs and that size wheels and been "ok"

The more aggressive approach is to run even wider and lower offset wheels, with coilovers or air suspension that bring the car lower to the ground. This requires rolling your fenders (really not that bad, like $100 most places), as well as custom alignment achieved through adjustable suspension components. That is more work but lets you do much more, like be cool like this guy and run 20x11 +15, 20x12 +20:

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