I finally found the rims I wanted for the '86 SE from WheelMax:

Force AC-6

17x7, 5x100 (bolt pattern), 40 (offset) in the front
18x7.5, 5x100 (bolt pattern) 40 (offset) in the back
I was going to get Toyo Proxes FZ-4's tires. 215/45/17 in the front and 245/40/18 in the back. They would mount them and ship everything complete, so I thought I'd found a great deal.

Checked out the shipping times and found out that I would be able to have them shipped and receive them in time for Daytona, so I was excited!

When I called to place the order, the guy told me they don't break sets so I can't buy them!

When I asked him why not, he said that "the car wasn't made to support 2 different sizes, so the car wouldn't perform well". So I asked if I could buy individual tires instead of a set and he said no.

The only way I can buy these from them is to get all 17's or all 18's.

Aaaarrrrrrggggghhhhhh!!!!!!!

THIS SUCKS!!!!!

How can anyone NOT want me to buy stuff from them???!!! Why is this so freakin' complicated????!!!!

I want to mix the sizes because I like the way the car sits. Plus, if I bought everything from them I'd be getting a really good deal on the price. The problem is that these rims are their own brand and only available exclusively through this company.

So now what do I do?

~Tress

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I may not know alot about cars...but I make a Fiero look good!

"The Hottie" --drowned by Hurricane Katrina but not forgotten: "Memories are forever"; The Hottie Diaries: (A Tribute to my little car)
Preface: Babes Do It Better Volume I: Checkup Ups and Downs: It Runs, Sort of Volume II: Engine Adventures Volume III: Declaration of Independence ...to be continued (she will live again)

Buy a set of the 7.5s and a set of the 7.0s. That gives you 2 complete sets of the style you like.....

Of course then you need to buy another Fiero to put them on haha. Seriously though, maybe you could find someone to split the cost of the 2 sets and have them meet/pay you at Daytona.

--Will

I would just go all out and get all 18's.

Contact the distributor directly and ask for a list of vendors you can purchase them from. Be creative, buy two from one vendor and two from another, tell them you're replacing your damaged ones, or your buying them for two different vehicles.

The tire rack will sell them to you, if they have them.

Doesnt that just royaly piss you off? I hate it when these companys do that, what the hell do they care? I want what I want, the customer is ALWAYS right! I just want to smack these people

You need to talk to someone that is higher up on the chain, and if they dont sell them to you, keep going up until you get someone who will. This is just ridiculous.

If they don't break sets, ask the guy what would happen if you damaged one wheel on a bad road pothole and had to replace it ? Would he insist you buy four ? Or do they make special allowances for that ?

It doesn't make sense.

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1988 Fiero Coupe 2.5L
1990 Trans Am GTA 5.7L

Did you tell them that yes, the Fiero does come from the factory with 2 different tire sizes?

I can totally relate...

for starters... they're pretty similar to my R1s.
Nice.

2nd... part of the reason it took me so long to acquire my wheels, is that I too ordered a 17/18 mixed set (although not from a mainstream vendor). Even later on I had called WheelMax, they told me the same thing... they wouldn't break up a set of 4. I did inquire about what if I just wanted one wheel to replace a damaged one... they would have to order a single, as they would not take it from stock. I informed them that I would keep that in mind the next time I selected a vendor to purchase wheels from.

I think your best resort is to either convince yourself to go all one size (not my choice) - or find someone else who likes the same style wheels and that would be willing to buy the other "mixed set".

I would try and just buy just the front set now ............than order the back set tomorrow.

I would suggest doing business elsewhere.

As others point out, Fieros came from the factory with different width wheels, and many cars today have different sized wheels front to back. What does some salesperson know about your car and how you are setting it up? Not much I would suggest.

I bought wheels and tires from www.tirerack.com and www.tires.com with no problems.

A lot of places are like that. Sams club will not let you either and many places will not mount two different size tires on the same size rims. It aggrivating

quote Originally posted by FieroAngel: A lot of places are like that. Sams club will not let you either and many places will not mount two different size tires on the same size rims. It aggrivating

not mounting and not selling are way different though. most respectable tire shops won't mount different sized tires because it's not factory stock. that means if they install them, and something breaks there is a chance they are liable for that. but there is no reason they shouldn't be allowed to SELL mixed sets. there is no way(unless you tell them) that they could be responsible for you installing them "incorrectly". i've done it several times, buying wider tires, or taller tires for the rear they will not mount the wheel/tires on the car, but they will gladly sell them to me

Give Whalen Tire a try. They will set you up with 17's and 18's. They have sold to other Fiero owners from this forum. They even display a Red Fiero Formula with Sokudo Golds as one of thier ad pics. He has 17's on the front and 18's on the rear.

If they will not break them up based on the car lie, tell them they are for a different car. If they will not break them up for any car find wheels else where.

Sean

Try Edge Racing.com . or Victoria Tire.com . I have purchased mixed with wheels from both places. Either store was very helpful and offered good prices on wheels or complete packages.

Just go with 18's front and back.

find someone who likes the same setup. you order the 18s and they can order the 17s then trade two!!

....in a perfect world it coud work

The reason (per the sales guy at WheelMax that I spoke with last spring) they don't want to break the set because of inventory reasons (nothing to do with the car - as I refused to tell them the application... because I know how well that works).

They purchase wheels in sets of 4, and they intended to only sell them in sets of 4. If they make a 17/18 set, then they either have to special order 2 more of each size to fill the inventory (not something they or wheel suppliers like to do in such small volumes) - or find another car/buyer to utilize the exact same set in the same mixed size. Keep in mind that you wouldn't be able to sell those tires to the average Honda buyer - since they'll want equal size wheels & tires on all 4s!

It's understandable, but a rather poor business tactic in my opinion.

Okay....MAJOR UPDATE!!!!

After getting some much-needed "bucking-up" from my fiero buddies here on PFF, I decided that I was going to check their website for any loopholes in their policy and call back to speak to someone else to try and get my rims.

So after checking their site again, I ran across an article they have posted that announces that they're now selling "staggered wheel sets" for selected cars. Wasn't this what I was trying to do earlier when the doofus on the other line told me that they did not break up sets "under any circumstances"?

Okay, after investigating this line a bit more, I called the sales dept. again and explained that I wanted to place an order for wheels and noticed the announcement on their website for staggered sets. The dude I spoke to explained that the staggered sets were only offered for certain cars based on the manufacturer's information that they had, so not all cars would be eligible. I gave him the vehicle info and he told me that according to their information, the Fiero weren't made for staggered sets and that the only way I could buy them would be to sign a release saying that I released them from all liability and their fitting guarantee.

I figured that's not a big deal, so I asked him to check the availability of the wheels and tires that I originally wanted, and get this, he tells me that the set that I wanted to get (17x7 in the front and 18x7.5 in the back) is available as part of their regular wheel/tire package and I don't have to sign a release!

When I explained that the person I spoke to last night had told me that I couldn't break a set, he told me he didn't understand why I was told that information, 'cause it was wrong. The only thing I couldn't do was get 7"wide on the front and 8" or 9" wide on the back because the car couldn't handle it. But since I want 7" wide on the front and 7.5" wide on the back, I'm good.

Then I asked him about the tires and he said that I'm good with the 215/45/17 for the front, but that I would have to get 225/40/18 for the back (instead of the 245/40/18 I originally wanted). He said the 245 would be too big and would be a tight fit and may rub.

Of course I got his name and direct extension so I could call him back and order them, but I wanted to get you guys' opinion first. So should I:
1. Go ahead with the original plan of 17x7 rims in the front with 215/45/17 tires and 18x7.5 rims with 245/40/18 tires in the back?
2. If I get the 18's in the back, go with the 225/40/18 tires that he suggested instead of the 245/40/18 that I originally wanted? (The front tires would still be 215/45/17.)
3. Get all 17's. If I went that route, what size tires should I get for the front and back?

Let me know what you all think. I'm going to call him back either tonight or tomorrow to place the order.

Thanks!

~Tress

[This message has been edited by Miss-Tress007 (edited 03-01-2006).]

If you want the staggered set, go for it. He may be right about the 245's, the stock struts don't allow much for tire width. However, you can convert your rear struts into coil-overs, and you could stick on 305's if you wanted. If you really want the 245's, then build yourself a set of coil-overs. You can do it for less than $100, provided you do all the work yourself and use mostly used parts from eBay or a local racing swap meet.

If that is what you want, go for it. You should have suffucient room with no rub.

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Ron
Freedom isn't Free, it's always earned.
My imagination is the only limiting factor to my Fiero. Well, there is that money issue.

Get the staggered set with the 245's. I have no problems.

I'd say call him back a haggle for 235's for the back. One of these day's I want to get 17x 8 235/40/r17 for the rear and been told they will fit without converting to coil-overs.

You should get the 245s and make the adjustment to the rear suspension if needed. My opinion. I think it will look better. Regardless it's still gonna look sweet either way. Nice choice on rims. What is the finish on them? Silver, Hyper-Silver?

On my '88 GT I have 225/45/17 front and 235/45/17 rear, on 17x7.5 wheels all around. I'd go for 235's, I think the 245's might work, but just barely without going to coilovers. 235's would be on the safe size. Keep with your plan to get 17x7 and 18x7.5, I think it'd work nicely.

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http://members.cardomain.com/tinton

I'll repeat my #1 Advise...

Talk to Madcurl before making any purchase...

Short of that I would not put 225s on the back of any Fiero. The rear just swallows a tire that small and you will regret it. I don't know about the 86 suspension but a 245 fits on the 88 with no problem. I suggest sticking with the original size and if they won't sell you that size, shop somewhere else.

Tress my 87 GT runs 245/45/17s rear no problems and I take it where few will go without rubbing.
I like 215s-225/45/17s on front. had 245s in the front and they seem to float to much.

I thought about ordering a set of wheels from them but in another model. Was wondering if they would sell me the staggerd wheels being the Fiero was listed as a car on there list. 245s will fit on a 7.5 wheel with no problems. I run 245/45s on my 17 X 7 wheels with no issues. Of course I only got to run them for about 2 weeks before the car was T-boned. Like others have said, get them to mount 245s on the rear tires, wil look alot better.

My 17-inch wheels, 7-1/2-inch wide with 40 offset with 235 / 45 R17 93H tires had about 1/4 inch of clearance on the shock tower on the rear. I had to sign a waiver with wheel max due to the size but I didn't mind at all because I was planning on coilovers. This is the first time that I have heard of difficulties at Wheel Max other than wierd tire pressure recomendations.

Be sure to talk to Tina also as she has some rather large wheels / tires on her fiero.

By the way Tress, you're obligated to post some pics for us to drool over.

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jetman
Silver 86 SE 2M6 4-speed, with "check wallet light"

FWIW, on an 88 I'm running 17x7s with 215/45-17 on the front and 17x8s with 235/45-17s on the rear. The 235s fit an 8" wheel perfectly. They also work on a 7" wheel, but are not recommended. Being that you are using 40s instead of 45s, the 235 might be a *bit* wide for a 7.5" wheel, but will probably work okay. I don't have coilovers, but the 88s are supposed to have more space for wide tires/rims than the earlier years. If you can get the rears in a 35 offset, it'll buy you a bit more clearance.

i'm running 225-40-18 on the front and 235-40-18 on the rear, no problems. Next time around i'll get the 245's, there's still room between the tire tread and the spring perch...

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Update: I haven't ordered the rims yet because I'm still a bit confused as to whether or not the rims & tires will actually fit (without rubbing or getting coilovers). So for any of you who mentioned that you have 225 or 245 tires on the back, what offset do you have on your rims? The ones that I wanted only come in 40mm offset.

Can I get rims with a 40mm offset for an '86 SE? If so, which tires will they fit best with: 245/45/18 or 225/40/18 tires in the back?

I'm going for a more sporty look where the tires come outside of the wheelwell just a bit, but not too much. I want it to look more like an exotic-looking sportscar that has some "umph" to it.

~Tress

i used tire calculator,
the 235/40/18 is the closest to the stock 225/60/15 tire height, but more width, if you want a 245, stay with a 40 series tire, because a 45 will be to tall. with a 245/40/18 the tire will be 1/8 taller than a stock 225/60/15.

the rear of my 88 probably has more room between the tire and the spring perch. I can feel about 3/4 of an inch clearance or more on the rear, i'm also running 45+ reverse offseted.

as for the front, 225/40/18 is the same height, more width

See if you can just buy two 17's then turn around and order two 18's.

They look great...How much?

Miss-tress007, the 17x7 front with 40mm offset and the 215/45/17 will be just perfect.
The 18x7.5 rear with 40mm offset will need the 235/40/18 because the offset will move the rim in toward the car. The 245 might rub when cornering. Only if you go with coilovers would you be safe in going to a wider tire.

quote Originally posted by Fiero1Fan: Miss-tress007, the 17x7 front with 40mm offset and the 215/45/17 will be just perfect. The 18x7.5 rear with 40mm offset will need the 235/40/18 because the offset will move the rim in toward the car. The 245 might rub when cornering. Only if you go with coilovers would you be safe in going to a wider tire.

^^^^^^^ thats the exact combo id go after, a 235/40/18 will be perfect in my opinion.

matthew

I only read about the first 6 posts, but... why couldn't you tell them this is a wild custom show-car and it will not be driven on the street. Tell them they will be advertised in your display. Maybe then you could get whatever you want.

I have 245/40-18 on 7.5 inch wheels with 45mm offset on the rear of an '85. There is about 1/4" clearance at the spring seat. You may need a 5mm spacer with the 40 offset wheel, but it's really going to depend on the tread profile of the tire. Some tires have a more square shoulder than others.

WheelMax wouldn't sell me two different size tires either.