Hello there, I’m new to this forum but has been checking it out on a regular basis for some time now. I´m about to buy myself a GT in order to build myself something street legal but a lot more race oriented... Trips to Nürnburgring and other European tracks is my goal so it´ll have to be quite capable. My plan is to lighten it, fix the brakes and suspension and since 88´s do cost twice as much here i suppose i will have to fix that bump steer i´ve been reading alot about. A roof chop will be done and when it´s possible, i will convert the engine to an Alfa v6 since they are easy to find here and look and sound great... The style i´m looking for here is something comparable with the track versions of the BMW M1. It will of course remain a fiero but the M1 will be my main source of inspiration for it. Perhaps a SE front on the GT with skirts and slightly widened fenders... There aren´t that many fieros around here though so i´m afraid a suitable car probably won´t show up until springtime, so right now i´m calculationg the budget for the project and planning all that has to be done and bought, in detail. I´m looking in to rims/wheels right now and therefore i have a question. I´ve got a set of rims that ´ve had for some time now that actually would fit the fiero. I believe they would look great with these and i´ve been looking for an opportunity to use them. They do look as something from the late 70´s - mid 80´s so with the M1 and even the Fiero in mind they would be perfect. Unfortunately they have an offset of 25 which is to low for the Fiero. I´ve read that the offset shouldn´t be lowered at the fiero and that it would effect it´s overall performance. But since i havent been aware of this problem before ivé been messing around with spacers at other cars without noticing any difference at all... For example i had quite narrow rims mounted on a Corrado VR6 with THICK spacers and i believe they were just as good as the originals. Iv´e got a Chrysler 300 aswell that runs on a set of wheels that has moved the center of the wheel outwards, but i haven´t noticed anything from that either. So, my question is if the negative effect of a slightly lowered offset is theoretical or if someone here actually has tried it and noted a difference from it. Of course, since i do plan to run it on a track occationaly i wouldn´t like to risk it, but IF they could work it would be great for my design plan as well as the entire budget of the project. Unfortunately there are no tires at them, otherwise I could have tried them on, of course..
Although wheel bearings seem to hold up OK for street use, those who race their Fieros need to carry spares, and should be able to comment on offset, and how it affects bearing life. Good luck on your project!
I own a 87 2.5 liter fiero lamborgini replica I have 18x8.5 225 40s in front using 4 inch spacers and 18x13 335 30s with 2 inch spacers I do not race or into fast driving I have had no problems whatsoever except for toe in problems in rear which im fixing right now I believe my problems have to do with cradle lateral bars that I created. the car drives awesome I can feel the road better and feels grounded with wider tires. using spacers I see no problems
Welcome to the forum. Sounds like an interesting build. I look forward to seeing what you do.
As for your question, there's no way to answer it without knowing how wide the wheels are. Also, you mention widening the fenders, so that too will affect where you want the wheels to come out. I'm including a wheel offset diagram that Joe Torma did. This will give you an idea of where different wheel widths and offsets are in relationship to standard fenders. Also, another thing to consider is how the front wheel offset will affect scrub radius.
thanks for your replies. I'll be sure to create a build thread when i get started.
Regarding the rims, they are 8 "wide and has 17" diameter. I have performed calculations at some web page showing that regardless of the tire width they will add 10mm outwards.
About the widened fenders, it's just an aesthetic factor. It would ofcourse look stupid to have broadened fenders if it isn´t needed, so the premise here is that it becomes necessary.
So, do you think 10mm widening outwards can have a significant impact on it´s handling?
So, my question is if the negative effect of a slightly lowered offset is theoretical or if someone here actually has tried it and noted a difference from it. Of course, since i do plan to run it on a track occationaly i wouldn´t like to risk it, but IF they could work it would be great for my design plan...
You're using the phrase "lowered offset", but I believe you're actually referring to a less positive offset.
We had a long discussion about the potential risks of using wheel spacers at my local Fiero club's fourm HERE.
The general concensus is that using a wheel with more negative offset than stock (which pushes the wheel/tire out) is harder on the wheel bearings... especially for track use.
