[Mercron]

I see both your points above about having the spokes making the wheel look larger than it is.

My goal really was not to make my wheels look larger. Not really into that. I wanted a light wheel that’ll also be comfortable and makes it look like my style of modern banana wheels. I’m happy with how it looks now.

But good points that I will consider in case I change my mind later on.


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[SuperchargedMR2]

I see both your points above about having the spokes making the wheel look larger than it is.

My goal really was not to make my wheels look larger. Not really into that. I wanted a light wheel that’ll also be comfortable and makes it look like my style of modern banana wheels. I’m happy with how it looks now.

But good points that I will consider in case I change my mind later on.

I'm not into 18" and larger wheels so that's why I like wheels that appear larger so I get the benefit of the nicer look but I also get the better ride with a little more sidewall. My 225/45R17 tires ride every bit as good as my 205/55R16 tires.

 

[Mercron]

I'm not into 18" and larger wheels so that's why I like wheels that appear larger so I get the benefit of the nicer look but I also get the better ride with a little more sidewall. My 225/45R17 tires ride every bit as good as my 205/55R16 tires.

I’ve never ridden on 16” tires so I can’t compare. I can tell the difference between 17” and 15” though. But 16” is definitely something I’d consider later on. It’s just harder to find them 2nd hand. I came upon these 15” runs with tires at 90% life for $300 so couldn’t pass the at off. I’ll wait until I wear these out and possibly looking for 16” later.


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[SuperchargedMR2]

I’ve never ridden on 16” tires so I can’t compare. I can tell the difference between 17” and 15” though. But 16” is definitely something I’d consider later on. It’s just harder to find them 2nd hand. I came upon these 15” runs with tires at 90% life for $300 so couldn’t pass the at off. I’ll wait until I wear these out and possibly looking for 16” later.


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As you go up to a larger tire with a shorter sidewall the tire choice you make becomes more important. Different tires can ride very differently.

 

[Mercron]

As you go up to a larger tire with a shorter sidewall the tire choice you make becomes more important. Different tires can ride very differently.

Well SuperchargedMR2 you convinced me to get 17” rims.

I got these set of 17x7 SSR SSF rims with like new Michelin Primacy 215/45R17 tires for under $500. They’re lug centric so I had to use a 64.1mm to 54.1mm hubcentric ring and a set of Gorilla acorn 12x1.5 lug nuts.

The dilemma I have is that before I found the wheels, I took out my Eibachs and went back to stock coils when I installed new KYB struts all around. I was scraping the underbody a lot.

Now I’m either going to reinstall the Eibachs or just cut my rear coils to drop the rear 1/2 to 1 inch and reduce the rear fender gap. I actually like the ride a lot better with the stock coils and new struts even with the 17” rims. I didn’t like the ride on my Eibachs since I drive on a lot of rural roads.

PS: the offset on these are ET 48. I’m getting 15mm bolt on spacers to bring the offset to the OEM ET 33. Are 15mm bolt on spacers thick enough to be safe?


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[SuperchargedMR2]

Well SuperchargedMR2 you convinced me to get 17” rims.

I got these set of 17x7 SSR SSF rims with like new Michelin Primacy 215/45R17 tires for under $500. They’re lug centric so I had to use a 64.1mm to 54.1mm hubcentric ring and a set of Gorilla acorn 12x1.5 lug nuts.

The dilemma I have is that before I found the wheels, I took out my Eibachs and went back to stock coils when I installed new KYB struts all around. I was scraping the underbody a lot.

Now I’m either going to reinstall the Eibachs or just cut my rear coils to drop the rear 1/2 to 1 inch and reduce the rear fender gap. I actually like the ride a lot better with the stock coils and new struts even with the 17” rims. I didn’t like the ride on my Eibachs since I drive on a lot of rural roads.

PS: the offset on these are ET 48. I’m getting 15mm bolt on spacers to bring the offset to the OEM ET 33. Are 15mm bolt on spacers thick enough to be safe?

First of all, congrats on the new wheel find. I would use 25mm hub centric spacers as that will fill the wheel well the same way that a 17x8 +35mm offset wheel would fit. Many people run this size wheel with excellent fitment and it looks great. I run the same size on both my 2009 Corolla S Turbo 5MT and 2017 Corolla iM 6MT.

At don't cut the springs!!! That is the worst thing you can do. When I had my Eibach springs they rode very similar to the OEM springs but handled much better. I would install the Eibach springs and with the new struts they should ride great. Make sure that you replace the top hats if you didn't do it when you swapped the springs back. When you need new tires get 225/45R17 tires as they are the correct diameter, will ride better, and give you a little more protection for the wheel.

 

[Mercron]

First of all, congrats on the new wheel find. I would use 25mm hub centric spacers as that will fill the wheel well the same way that a 17x8 +35mm offset wheel would fit. Many people run this size wheel with excellent fitment and it looks great. I run the same size on both my 2009 Corolla S Turbo 5MT and 2017 Corolla iM 6MT.

At don't cut the springs!!! That is the worst thing you can do. When I had my Eibach springs they rode very similar to the OEM springs but handled much better. I would install the Eibach springs and with the new struts they should ride great. Make sure that you replace the top hats if you didn't do it when you swapped the springs back. When you need new tires get 225/45R17 tires as they are the correct diameter, will ride better, and give you a little more protection for the wheel.

Thanks for the compliments and suggestions.

I’ve looked into the 25 mm spacer and it’ll look good with my 7 inch wide rims as it’ll poke out 23 mm vs the 13 mm with the 15 mm spacer. But it’ll leave the inner side with only 3 mm because of the narrower rim. If my rims were 8 inches then both sides would have the same 23 mm gain. Wouldn’t the 25 mm spacer on 7 inch rims affect my scrub radius by making it less negative or even positive? I think I’d lean towards more keeping the scrub radius closer to spec.

Yeah, maybe no on the coil cutting and just reinstall my Eibachs. Or, maybe save up for coilovers. I also have a set of 10th Gen coils that I could check if it’ll sit lower than the OEM coils. Yes, I did replace the upper strut mount with new KYBs.

In future I’ll get the 225/45R17s or the 205/50r17s. They are the same diameter as the OEM tires.


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[SuperchargedMR2]

Thanks for the compliments and suggestions.

I’ve looked into the 25 mm spacer and it’ll look good with my 7 inch wide rims as it’ll poke out 23 mm vs the 13 mm with the 15 mm spacer. But it’ll leave the inner side with only 3 mm because of the narrower rim. If my rims were 8 inches then both sides would have the same 23 mm gain. Wouldn’t the 25 mm spacer on 7 inch rims affect my scrub radius by making it less negative or even positive? I think I’d lean towards more keeping the scrub radius closer to spec.

Yeah, maybe no on the coil cutting and just reinstall my Eibachs. Or, maybe save up for coilovers. I also have a set of 10th Gen coils that I could check if it’ll sit lower than the OEM coils. Yes, I did replace the upper strut mount with new KYBs.

In future I’ll get the 225/45R17s or the 205/50r17s. They are the same diameter as the OEM tires.

There will be no issue with the inner wheel clearance with the 25mm spacer. I've used them on 7" wide wheels with no issues. I've even used 32mm spacers with 16x6 wheels and 205/55R16 tires with no issues. The outer edge is similar in every case.

 

[Mercron]

There will be no issue with the inner wheel clearance with the 25mm spacer. I've used them on 7" wide wheels with no issues. I've even used 32mm spacers with 16x6 wheels and 205/55R16 tires with no issues. The outer edge is similar in every case.

Ok I’ll take a look into it. It might actually be safer than the 15mm spacer as the hole for the hub bolts are so thin compared to the 25mm which has more depth.


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[SuperchargedMR2]

Ok I’ll take a look into it. It might actually be safer than the 15mm spacer as the hole for the hub bolts are so thin compared to the 25mm which has more depth.

Good thought.

 

[Mercron]

Ok, so I finally got around to lowering my car on Eibach lowering springs (again) and putting spacers in my ‘17 inch SSR wheels. Final offset is 33 mm in front and 28 mm rear with the 15 and 20 mm spacers, respectively. I wanted to keep the 33 mm offset in front same as stock and it’s short of .25” flush with the fender while the rear is roughly .50” recessed.

I think I’m done with my mods with just lowering springs and wheels. I like how the car looks and handles now. It rides rougher on potholed roads than when it was stock with the OEM coils and 15” steelies but it handles much better on the highway and twisty roads.

So happy and relieved.


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[SuperchargedMR2]

Ok, so I finally got around to lowering my car on Eibach lowering springs (again) and putting spacers in my ‘17 inch SSR wheels. Final offset is 33 mm in front and 28 mm rear with the 15 and 20 mm spacers, respectively. I wanted to keep the 33 mm offset in front same as stock and it’s short of .25” flush with the fender while the rear is roughly .50” recessed.

I think I’m done with my mods with just lowering springs and wheels. I like how the car looks and handles now. It rides rougher on potholed roads than when it was stock with the OEM coils and 15” steelies but it handles much better on the highway and twisty roads.

So happy and relieved.

That ride height looks much better.