New Wheels . . . (Page 2/2)
cvxjet JAN 08, 05:58 PM
Here is a pic of my Fiero with the 16 x 7s and 205/55 and 225/55 tires.....Also, I did some odd-ball things with mounting my stabilizer bars to improve BOTH turn-in and DTO...Here is a link to my thread on that; http://www.fiero.nl/forum/Forum2/HTML/140674.html

[This message has been edited by cvxjet (edited 01-08-2021).]

The_Q42 JAN 09, 04:57 PM
Thanks for all the info cvxjet, it's sincerely appreciated. For the size/weight of the car, I'm betting that the trade-offs in weight might not be worth it to go to 17"s. I'm actually less concerned with aesthetics than I am performance. I mean, I want it to look nice, but I care a lot more about how it handles :-)
Dennis LaGrua JAN 11, 08:01 PM
If I may be permitted to chime in. My 3800SC Fiero has 7.5" W 17" wheels w 35mm offset 225 x 45-17 Rear and 205 x45 x 17 front. My wheels weigh about 18 lbs. The performance and handling is great but the ride is much harder than stock especially when I had the KYB shocks on the front. Changing to Monroe shocks did soften the ride a little. IMO, 17" wheels have a nice look that makes the Fiero look more modern but at a cost in ride. Side walls are 4" and 3.6"
On my next project I will use 16" wheels 225 x 50 -16 R and 205 x 50 -16 F Side walls are 4.4" and 4"
With these tires you only give up .4"- .6" on the sidewall.
Stock Fiero tire sidewalls are 5.1" and 4.8" .
Side wall comparison
Stock 15" 5.1" and 4.8"
16" tires 4.4" and 4"
17" tires 4.0" and 3.6"
Conclusion that extra side wall rubber makes a BIG difference in the ride..

------------------
" THE BLACK PARALYZER" -87GT 3800SC Series III engine, custom ZZP /Frozen Boost Intercooler setup, 3.4" Pulley, Northstar TB, LS1 MAF, 3" Spintech/Hedman Exhaust, P-log Manifold, Autolite 104's, MSD wires, Custom CAI, 4T65eHD w. custom axles, Champion Radiator, S10 Brake Booster, HP Tuners VCM Suite.
"THE COLUSSUS"
87GT - ALL OUT 3.4L Turbocharged engine, Garrett Hybrid Turbo, MSD ign., modified TH125H
" ON THE LOOSE WITHOUT THE JUICE "

[This message has been edited by Dennis LaGrua (edited 01-11-2021).]

The_Q42 JAN 13, 12:51 PM
I'm still REALLY curious about how much the stock wheel weigh . . . but, yeah, I get the ride quality thing. I'm still thinking I'll have better tire availability with the 17" wheels going forward though, since I'll be putting high performance summer tires on there.

[This message has been edited by The_Q42 (edited 01-13-2021).]

The_Q42 MAY 18, 02:35 PM
Reviving an old thread to ask a question . . . I notice, in combing through a lot of old threads, that a lot of you (if not most of you) put wider tires on the rear. I know the principles of putting a fatter set of tires on the rear (maybe 16 x 8?), but, on the Fiero, I'm wondering if it makes a ton of difference? I DO plan on a motor swap in the future (I'll probably start with an NA 3800 Series II or III, then turbo it further down the road), so more grip in the rear would be nice, but I'm just wondering how much a difference it'll make.

I've had a car with difference size tires on it in the past and, while it's manageable, it's a bit less convenient for obvious reasons. :-)

To keep the weight down, I'm thinking 16" wheels, so that'd probably mean 16 x 8 in the rear and 16 x 7 in the front. 17" wheels that are ALSO light are bloody expensive, even though they do look quite nice.

I want handling out of this thing (I'll be doing suspension upgrades in the future too), and I'm not doing a drag racing build.

So, let's vote, should I buy:
1. 17 x 7.5 all four corners
2. 17 x 7.5 front, 17 x 8 rear
3. 16 x 7 all four corners
4. 16 x 7 front, 16 x 7.5 (which seems rare) rear
5. Some sizes I haven't thought of


I really, really only want to buy wheels ONE time, so I'm trying to be careful with this purchase. :-) Help me, Fiero community! You're my only hope!

[This message has been edited by The_Q42 (edited 05-18-2021).]

Raydar MAY 24, 12:19 PM

quote
Originally posted by The_Q42:

Reviving an old thread to ask a question . . . I notice, in combing through a lot of old threads, that a lot of you (if not most of you) put wider tires on the rear. I know the principles of putting a fatter set of tires on the rear (maybe 16 x 8?), but, on the Fiero, I'm wondering if it makes a ton of difference? I DO plan on a motor swap in the future (I'll probably start with an NA 3800 Series II or III, then turbo it further down the road), so more grip in the rear would be nice, but I'm just wondering how much a difference it'll make.

I've had a car with difference size tires on it in the past and, while it's manageable, it's a bit less convenient for obvious reasons. :-)

To keep the weight down, I'm thinking 16" wheels, so that'd probably mean 16 x 8 in the rear and 16 x 7 in the front. 17" wheels that are ALSO light are bloody expensive, even though they do look quite nice.

I want handling out of this thing (I'll be doing suspension upgrades in the future too), and I'm not doing a drag racing build.

So, let's vote, should I buy:
1. 17 x 7.5 all four corners
2. 17 x 7.5 front, 17 x 8 rear
3. 16 x 7 all four corners
4. 16 x 7 front, 16 x 7.5 (which seems rare) rear
5. Some sizes I haven't thought of


I really, really only want to buy wheels ONE time, so I'm trying to be careful with this purchase. :-) Help me, Fiero community! You're my only hope!




It really depends upon whether you want to be able to rotate your wheels/tires or not.
Most every GT suspension 86 and later had staggered tire sizes. In addition to that, the 88s had staggered wheel sizes as well. So GM saw a need...

With that said, probably one of the hardest drivers in our club (Yeah... YOU, Charlie) has the same size tires and wheels on all four corners of his 87 GT, on stock 15" wheels, and can still outrun most of us on a twisty road. Other than the 3.4 swap, the car is essentially stock, but very well maintained.

Edit - My own preference is for 7" wheels on the front and 8" on the rear, but that even further limits my choices for an 88.

[This message has been edited by Raydar (edited 05-24-2021).]

thesameguy MAY 25, 05:06 PM
Not sure it applies here, but the track day types with modern cars who have staggered setups from the factory generally say the same thing: The staggered setup looks nice and improves stability for average drivers, but the hot ticket for RR/AX is generally matched tires... these guys want the rear end a little more dynamic than most.
cvxjet MAY 25, 07:29 PM
I have always done something with my tires; In reading a whole bunch of C&D, R&T MT etc, I realized some dynamic things with tires and wheels. You can balance handling on just about any car with the same size tires front and rear- especially for general cruising and basic driving.

If you want a car that is dynamically well set up, then you need to recognize a few things. If you have low powered car, you don't need super-wide tires out back, but as your HP climbs, you will need more traction in the rear. Also, if you have rear weight bias (MR or RR cars) then it works better to have wider tires out back.

What I thought and then did on my Comet GT, 73' mach 1 and even my 1999 Formula, was same width wheels front and rear, but one size wider tires out back; the front tire is "Tight" on the wheel which gives good feel and fast response, while the slightly wider tire out back gives you more traction (for HP and/or weight)

On my Fiero I went TWO sizes wider in the rear (205 front, 225 rear) and this really seems to work well. I also dialed in as much caster as possible (Approx' 5*) plus 1* of camber, which makes the front tires stick better.

The setup I have works so dang well it is just amazing- I wish I could go back to when the car was new/stock and compare the two- I think it would feel like two completely different cars. I did have a race driver friend test drive my car- he was impressed with how it handled- only "Complaints" were the heavy steering at parking speeds and the rear shocks(Konis) were a little on the soft side.

Extra info; On my Comet GT I had 235/60-14s on 14 x 8 wheels up front. If you measured the tires width/sidewall height, it actually became a 55 series tire on that rim.

If you are going to drop a bunch of HP into the car (Plus extra rear weight, you then may need a much wider rear tire (Say around 245-265 mm)
The_Q42 SEP 02, 12:36 PM
Hello, all!

I'm reviving this thread with what I think I might buy, and wanted to get thoughts. First, a few housekeeping things:


  1. Thank you all so very much for the detailed feedback to my original question--it was super helpful.
  2. For now, I think I'm going to roll with the same size wheels all around because, even after my power-train swap (several years down the road, probably), I won't be shooting for insane HP. My plan is to drop a 3800 N/A in there and get that up to ~250 HP (no more than 300), and I'll be a happy camper--not sure how I'll do that yet (maybe a turbo, maybe not), but that's the current plan.
  3. With that in mind, I tried to find something that'll offer me good tire choice (want decent performance tires) and grip without sacrificing handling. I also want them to be (relatively) light, especially since I'll be driving around with the 2.8 for a while. I'm going the same size all around (for now) because I just don't need the fat tires on the back yet, and it'll make buying tires easier in the short-to-mid-term.


With all of that in mind, I'm thinking about buying these: Enkei TFR 17x8 with a 45mm offset (maybe too much?). HEre's the link: tirerack.com/a.jsp?a=EA6&url=/wheels/WheelCloseUpServlet&autoMake=Subaru&autoModel=BRZ&autoYear=2018&autoModClar=Limited&target=runWheelSearch&wheelMake=Enkei+Tuning&wheelModel=TFR&wheelFinish=Copper+Painted&initialPartNumber=5167808045COP&showRear=no

I'm very interested in what the community here thinks. Anyone running a similar setup? Based on the above--8" might be too wide?

Edit: because of the many redirect services involved, you'll need to copy/paste the TEXT of the URL to go to it (sorry).

[This message has been edited by The_Q42 (edited 09-02-2021).]