How insane would this be?
Put 17 x 8.5" rims on a Fiero.
Can it be done?

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Don't tell me I'm ricing up my Fiero!
It's "new age restyling"

to each his own; live and let live

"Street Ricing is dangerous. You can put an eye out with those wings." - White88cpe

If the offset isn't too bad on these wheels, I'd like to get them with some 215s or 220 tires on it.

there's a guy around here that just put a pair on the rear of his with the car lowered right over them (also did a rear 5x115 change. really nice orange gt but i can't get him interested in coming here). i may try it on the front but i've got a way to go before i get to that experiment.

quote Originally posted by Philphine: there's a guy around here that just put a pair on the rear of his with the car lowered right over them (also did a rear 5x115 change. really nice orange gt but i can't get him interested in coming here). i may try it on the front but i've got a way to go before i get to that experiment.

What do you mean by a 5x115 change?
And also what do you mean by you've got a way to go before you can experiment?

artherd has 18x8.5 on the back of his silver '88.

After discussing with him, I think that 17x8.5-30 would probably work on the early suspension.

You'll likely need coil overs to get tires that wide to fit.

yes no problem..

my ol 86 Se with those dimension wheels..

i've got 18x8.5 on the back of my car now...

and a 19x8 will fit too..

Bemidji?!? have you been to the SCCA Ralley race there in bemidji? when i was in Menahga i saw anadvertisment.. and had to fly out the day of the races (back in june)

oh normal bolt pattersn.. not 115mm..

4 or 5 by
98mm (Alfa Romea Citroen, Seat)
100mm(Fiero, acura, asuna-isuzu, )
114.3mm nearly ever other car in the world
121.6mm -BMW
200mm Range rover

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Put the Lime in the Coconut... drink it all up...

[This message has been edited by 1FST2M6 (edited 10-25-2002).]

Chris moore has 18x9's all the way around on his Convertible.

You can buy them if you want $33,000 for the wheels and you get a free N* convert too!!

JM

quote Originally posted by 1FST2M6: Bemidji?!? have you been to the SCCA Ralley race there in bemidji? when i was in Menahga i saw anadvertisment.. and had to fly out the day of the races (back in june)

I didn't exactly get to go to the races but I was at their starting point for an hour and a half and got a lot of good video footage of them getting all prepared and leaving for the race.
I had to work that night

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Don't tell me I'm ricing up my Fiero!
It's "new age restyling"

to each his own; live and let live

"Street Ricing is dangerous. You can put an eye out with those wings." - White88cpe

5x115mm (or 114.5mm or 4.5") is the bolt pattern. the wheel he liked came in 17 (now that i think about it, they might be 18's) x7" and 17x8.5", but the 8.5" ones didn't come in 5x100. so he changed the rear to the larger bolt pattern.

the experiment for me is another fiero project that is more long term. i just have other things to do before i get to wheel fitment.

I don't think it would be a good idea to put a 5x114.3 wheel on a 5x115 hub or vice versa.

i just wasn't exactly sure of what he has.

Q. What is the largest wheel and tire that I can put on my Fiero?
A. We have experienced the maximum wheel and tire on the front
of a Fiero as 17 x 8 with a 45mm offset. This car has 235x40x17
tires. This wheel just touches the lower A-arm in maximum turning
and the tire just misses the top of inner fender well at maximum
up-wheel travel. This combination keeps the tire inside the front
wheel well.
On the rear, we have experienced 17 x 9 with a 45mm offset. This
car has 255x40x17 tires. This diameter of the wheel is needed to
clear the upright on the rear suspension. 16 inch wheels will not
clear at 9 inches in width. This combination will keep the tire
inside the rear wheel well.

18x8.5"-38mm with 265/35/18 Pzero, and I've got at least 3/4" of clearance on the STOCK suspension (of an 88, be warned.)

My wheels also had the same situation, so I too changed to 5x114.3mm pattern to use the wider rears.

The car's balance is now awesome. The rear stays *planted* and the limits are insane.

Best!
Ben.

quote Originally posted by Philphine: 5x115mm (or 114.5mm or 4.5") is the bolt pattern. the wheel he liked came in 17 (now that i think about it, they might be 18's) x7" and 17x8.5", but the 8.5" ones didn't come in 5x100. so he changed the rear to the larger bolt pattern. the experiment for me is another fiero project that is more long term. i just have other things to do before i get to wheel fitment.

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Ben Cannon
88 Formula, T-top, Metalic Red. (2:13.138 at Sears Point) "Every Man Dies, not every man really Lives"
88 Formula, Northstar, Silver, In-Progreess. -Mel Gibson, "Braveheart"

i have 18x7.5's all around on my 86 gt. i thought 18's would be too big but they actually look quite nice and are the same overall diameter ans my stockers. i love em'

quote Originally posted by artherd: 18x8.5"-38mm with 265/35/18 Pzero, and I've got at least 3/4" of clearance on the STOCK suspension (of an 88, be warned.) My wheels also had the same situation, so I too changed to 5x114.3mm pattern to use the wider rears. The car's balance is now awesome. The rear stays *planted* and the limits are insane. Best! Ben.

How did you change to 5x114.3 and why is that needed to fit bigger tires or rims? I have Ryane coilovers and was seeing if I could maybe fit 265/45 or 265/40/17 or 18 on the rear. Would that be possible on the stock Fiero lug pattern? Let me know Ben. Thanks!

Amir

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1987 GT 5 spd: 2.8L
(15.57 @ 87mph)
1988 Formula 5 spd: 3.4
(15.56 @ 84mph)

there just isn't much made for our bolt pattern that wide. think about the cars with this bolt pattern. all fairly small fwd cars. step up to the next size (actually a couple sizes 'cause there's 5x108 or something like that) and just about anything you see is available in pretty much any size or width you want. it's the size all the japanese perforamce cars use, the next size up for gm fwd cars, and i think ford too on some stuff (check me on that one though).

5x114.3 == 5x4.5" This is a Mustang (and about a million other things) bolt pattern.

5x115 Gm pattern and 5x114.3 are NOT the same.

I changed with the extensive help of a local machine shop (and about $600.)

I did it because nothing wide is available in 5x100mm, or I could have skiped that step

(ie, if you can find an 18x9" in 5x100, GO for it, it'll work great.)

Coilovers I could probally fit 18x10s, but the limiting factor on 88s is actually the lower suspension link. (that would require slight relocation. Not trivial, and you'd have to switch at least that link, preferably it all, to rod-ends. (from Held.)

Best!
Ben.

quote Originally posted by Rare87GT: How did you change to 5x114.3 and why is that needed to fit bigger tires or rims? I have Ryane coilovers and was seeing if I could maybe fit 265/45 or 265/40/17 or 18 on the rear. Would that be possible on the stock Fiero lug pattern? Let me know Ben. Thanks! Amir

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Ben Cannon
88 Formula, T-top, Metalic Red. (2:13.138 at Sears Point) "Every Man Dies, not every man really Lives"
88 Formula, Northstar, Silver, In-Progreess. -Mel Gibson, "Braveheart"

I've got 17x8.5 rims on my Fiero and they are perfect.

The biggest problem with 8.5 inch rims is not the width but the availablility of 17x8.5 rims with the right offset and bolt pattern

Sooooooooo we just screwed the bolt pattern and found the rims I wanted. We took a pair of Rims from a Porsche Boxter. They had nearly perfect offset. All we needed was a 1/4 inch spacer to get them to line up plum with the fender wells. The next hurdle was the bolt pattern. The Porsche Pattern is 130mm vs the stock 100mm Fiero Bolt circle.

This meant customizing the hubs. This is not too hard to do and I am going to put the procedure up on my webpage in the coming weeks when I have the time.

We took the time, of course, to improve the suspension while we were at it; lowered spindles, coil-overs, custom control arms, Wilwood brakes, yada yada yada.

Take a look:

quick question. Will aftermarket Celica rims work? They have the same bolt pattern. The ones I want are for the Celica 17x8.5 and they only have 16x7's for the fiero. I've seen on e-bay stock celica rims for sale for the fiero but the hub (?) had to be bored out a few mm. Think that would have to be done with the aftermarket ones?

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--Adam--
1987 Blue GT 5-speed
IM AOL: GTFiero
What oil leak? That puddle under the car is just sweat from all that horsepower.

quote Originally posted by artherd: I changed with the extensive help of a local machine shop (and about $600.) I did it because nothing wide is available in 5x100mm, or I could have skiped that step (ie, if you can find an 18x9" in 5x100, GO for it, it'll work great.) Coilovers I could probally fit 18x10s, but the limiting factor on 88s is actually the lower suspension link. (that would require slight relocation. Not trivial, and you'd have to switch at least that link, preferably it all, to rod-ends. (from Held.) Best! Ben.

Knowing you, those wheels weren't cheap.
If you added the cost of hub machining to the cost of the wheels you have, would that give you enough to have a custom set with the 5x100 pattern made by Billet Specialties or Compomotive?

I've been wondering whether a wide wheel would hit the strut or the trailing arm first. I don't think offset trailing arms would be hard. They already have them for several other cars. Pending experimental evidence, I still maintain that the lateral links should have rod ends but the trailing arms should have rubber for the best off the line performance.

i would guess the strut first. on an '84-87 anyway. there was that hotrod magazine pro street fiero article where they put on like 17x12-13" wheels in the rear. they mention doing a couple of things to move the strut further inboard, far enough that they even notched the cradle to clear them, but i don't remember any other rear suspension changes. pertaining to clerance anyway. have to reread the article but i think that's so.