I know its a big thang for everyone to gravitate towards going larger on wheel size from stock. Dubs 22 maybe too large, but 17" and 18" seem very common.
Other than aesthetics and I'm not for sure maybe fad (I remember when offset rims, wire spokes and etc were the big thing), and I guess you can argue some handling performance advantage.
But other than looks, why is everyone moving towards larger diameter wheels?
If you do bigger brakes, you usually need 16+ 15s aren't the cheapest tires anymore. New wheels are better than bent curb rashed wheels. You can get better handing out of a wider, lower profile tire and a good compound.
Pros: They really update and modernize the look of the Fiero. They add better handling characteristics. Tires are more readily available and generally cost less Cons: The ride will become much harder as the Fiero suspension was designed to be used with 15" tires. Agree with jscott in that the shorter side wall makes it easier for the rims to be damaged when hitting a pot hole. Conclusion: I still like them as I prefer the 2017 look rather than the 80's look.
------------------ " 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, Autolite 104's, MSD wires, Custom CAI, 4T65eHD w. custom axles, 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 "
I take my fiero to a small private garage. Small business type that is a full service station. I learned the hard way that you have to have lower profile tires mounted with a fancier tire machine than most small shops have. The 17x9 snowflake wheels I bought for my trans am were to be fitted with a 40 series tire and I was forced to get a quote from a bigger tire place and I found the quote excessive. $25 per wheel and I didn't even want them to do the balancing.
I run 17x8 45 offset with 235/40/17 in front and 18x9.5 45 offset with 285/30/18 in the rear on my 88 Coupe.
Pros More tire options - a lot of the 15" tires are being discontinued from the major suppliers. Creates more room on the inboard side to run wider tire and keep it under the stock body. Allow larger diameter brakes to improve braking potential and fade resistance. More profile options. At 15", 50 series profile is low profile option. At 16" you can get into 45 series profiles, 17" 40 series profiles, 18" 30 series profiles, etc.. The lower profile, means less sidewall flex while cornering, means more responsive feel to steering inputs. Allows larger diameter tires to improve the effective gear ratio on swapped cars, w/o needing to run 60 or 70 series tires in which steering response would suffer Many think they look awesome!
Cons Cost - buying wheels and tires is almost always more expensive that just tires. The larger wheels and tires gets expensive in a hurry - my wheel/tire combo was about $1900 total, and some of the larger forged wheels can be $2000 for just a single wheel. More unsprung weight as well as rotating weight - so fuel economy, acceleration and braking will suffer on lower powered and cars with stock brakes. Many end up doing other supporting upgrades (springs, shocks, bakes, and power) which just reinforces the cost issue. Some of those supporting mods (like 13" brake rotors) will limit the ability to run a spare, so when (not if) you get a flat, you are looking at a tow - which reinforces the cost issue. Lower profile increases the risk of damage, which reinforces the cost issue some more. Lower profile = more road harshness will be transferred to the chassis and passenger compartment.
For me, there it was an easy choice! I haven't ran stock 15" wheels in probably a decade!
The trouble with the smaller wheels is that there is very little tire selection available any more. I am finding that even with the 16's I have on my car now. I like the Kumho SPT tires I have now, but Kumho no longer makes those tire sizes for a 16" wheel. So I get to pay more money for some BFG Sport Comp 2's. I like high performance summer tires, just not much to pick from now.
[This message has been edited by wftb (edited 05-13-2017).]
I try to balance between the two extremes; I have 16 x 7 / 38mm offset w/ 205/55s in front and 225/55 rear....They look very good, but are still relatively light, have at least 4" of sidewall, and there are a number of tire companies making tires in these two sizes because there were a number of popular cars that used these sizes. I generally go with all-season tires, but there are even a couple of summer tires that fit.
I won't go under 4" sidewall, and the Fiero suspension is not designed to deal with super-low profile tires or heavy wheels; My wheels are VOXX Monzas that weigh 13.5 lbs each, and I originally bought them with General G-Max tires which were very light, also....Lost 3 lbs off each rear and 6 lbs off each front(Stepped down from 215 width front)....It was like a new car! the steering felt better and had less kick-back, and the suspension/shocks controlled the tires/wheels much better....Try to keep the weight down if possible.
Sadly, VOXX doesn't make the Monza anymore- but there are some light wheels out there- even lighter than mine!
Originally posted by cvxjet: I have 16 x 7 / 38mm offset w/ 205/55s in front and 225/55 rear...
Those are both great sizes because they are both stock equipped sizes for currently produced cars. If I want the cheapest thing I can find(not often) I can get 205/55/16 for $35 a tire.
If you do bigger brakes, you usually need 16+ 15s aren't the cheapest tires anymore. New wheels are better than bent curb rashed wheels. You can get better handing out of a wider, lower profile tire and a good compound.
Basically what he said.
Nowadays, tire selection in anything under 16" is mostly either mushy all-season tires or racing slicks... not much in between. Also, a properly sized 15" tire is going to have a tall sidewall. That's not very good for handling.
One downside of larger wheels that I don't think has been mentioned yet: they'll make your stock brakes look tiny.
Also, generally speaking the larger wheels will be heavier than stock. Although if you look around (and/or save up a few bucks), you can find some lightweight aftermarket wheels. For example, aftermarket 17x7" wheels are usually around 40-45 lb each, with tires included. The stock 14" aluminum wheels on my Fiero (with 215/60-HR14 tires) were about 36 lb each. I got lucky, and found some discontinued lightweight 17x7" wheels. They weighed about 35 lb each (with 215/45-ZR17 tires), making them lighter than the stockers by about 1 pound per wheel. But that's the exception rather than the norm, unless you can afford racing wheels.
[This message has been edited by Blacktree (edited 05-14-2017).]
The only good reason to endure the higher unsprung weight, degradation in handling and harsher ride is to get a better range of tires. To do that you are looking at 16" or 17". Any bigger than that has to be a vanity/looks over performance decision.
On the 84-87 you need 17" wheels get you over the mounting ear of the strut to knuckle attachment. Once you are over it, you can run a 9" rear wheel under the stock body work. On the 88's, you need an 18" rear wheel to do the same.
I just remembered something kind of.....contradictory; The Olds Achieva SCX W41 used SMALLER wheels because GM found with the relatively pedestrian suspension they could get better performance. The SC used 205/55-16s, while the hotter SCX W41 used 215/60-14 to get better performance....
Just something to keep in mind...The new cars use a lot of aluminum in their suspension to keep un-sprung weight down, and better geometry to make up for shorter sidewalls. If I could get really high performance tires, I would love to run some 215-235/60- 14s....I like to "P" people off by contradicting "Common knowledge"....Kind of like beating "Known" hot cars with a Fiero, or beating 4 valvers with PR engines....Of course the Miata crowd use a lot of 15" wheel/tire combos for road racing...
I can't go smaller now tho because I have 12" brakes up front.
Originally posted by Dennis LaGrua: Cons: The ride will become much harder as the Fiero suspension was designed to be used with 15" tires. Agree with jscott in that the shorter side wall makes it easier for the rims to be damaged when hitting a pot hole.
GM made 84 Fiero to have 13" rims... w/ 185/80-13 tires (Indy had other sizes) many others had 185/75-14 or 195/70-14.
Bigger Total Tire size will slow the car and cause other issues. See my Cave, Gear Ratio
For close to same total diameter... can use 15-18" rims but big rims lowers sidewall and can cause wreck rims as note above.
I use common alt size 205/60-15 w/ new rims and w/ stiff OE springs can rattle you teeth on iffy roads.
------------------ Dr. Ian Malcolm: Yeah, but your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn't stop to think if they should. (Jurassic Park)
