Wheels that fit the SVX

[Nemesis Destiny]

According to calculations, this will result in more than a 3% increase in diameter and may result in braking problems (presumably with the ABS). Acceleration will be a little blunted as well, but you might see a slight economy improvement at highway speed. In addition, there may or may not be some rubbing, depending on wheel and suspension setup.

If you want a really wide tire, 245/40/17 is a closer fit, but is a slightly smaller diameter. 235/45/17 would be a good compromise. I looked into 255/40/17, but it would require an 8.5" wide rim and would almost certainly rub.

[icingdeath88]

Originally Posted by wolfboy

Is it ok to wrap sti bbs wheel with 245/45/r17 instead of 225/45/r17? will they fit and perform well?

Why would you want to do that? 225/45 fits and works very well. You'd gain more in performance by getting better tires that are the right size than oversized ones.

[92 SVX]

Originally Posted by Nemesis Destiny

According to calculations, this will result in more than a 3% increase in diameter and may result in braking problems (presumably with the ABS). Acceleration will be a little blunted as well, but you might see a slight economy improvement at highway speed. In addition, there may or may not be some rubbing, depending on wheel and suspension setup.

If you want a really wide tire, 245/40/17 is a closer fit, but is a slightly smaller diameter. 235/45/17 would be a good compromise. I looked into 255/40/17, but it would require an 8.5" wide rim and would almost certainly rub.

This post is perfect.

[MarquisDePosa56]

Ok, time to make the tire decision, I've got my rims sorted.

I'm leaning to Yokohama S-Drives.

If anyone thinks this is a bad marriage or there is a significantly better one that I should check out, speak now or forever hold your peace!

Be mindful of the fact that if you offered to give me Pirelli's I'd decline the offer

[svxfiles]

Originally Posted by Nemesis Destiny

According to calculations, this will result in more than a 3% increase in diameter and may result in braking problems (presumably with the ABS). Acceleration will be a little blunted as well, but you might see a slight economy improvement at highway speed. In addition, there may or may not be some rubbing, depending on wheel and suspension setup.

This is so very true.
But IF they have lower gears,
ie; manual transmission or 4.44s, a taller tire is not a bad thing.

[icingdeath88]

Originally Posted by MarquisDePosa56

I'm leaning to Yokohama S-Drives.

Excellent tires. I used them on stock rims for about a year till I got the STi rims. They worked very very well in both rain and dry, all year long in Florida. Should make a good summer tire up north. Another friend of mine uses them on his V6 Altima for several years (again, year round because we can do that in Florida) and he also likes them a lot. Good tire for the money, too. Tirerack.com had them for a good price when I bought them.

I looked for some for the STi rims when I got them, but I couldn't find any the right size. Got some Kumho Ecsta SPT (non run-flats) instead. They also work very, very well. Couldn't tell you which is better though.

[DaveSVX]

My 1992 and 1997 SVXs call for different tire sizes but unless I am mistaken the donut spares seem to be the same size.
Does this mean I can use the donut spare with new wheels for my 1997 that might be a different size. I am aware I need to have the AWD disengaged if the spare is on but was worried I would have to get another spare the same diameter as whatever new wheels I decide to buy. Can anyone enlighten me?

[svxistentialist]

Originally Posted by DaveSVX

My 1992 and 1997 SVXs call for different tire sizes but unless I am mistaken the donut spares seem to be the same size.
Does this mean I can use the donut spare with new wheels for my 1997 that might be a different size. I am aware I need to have the AWD disengaged if the spare is on but was worried I would have to get another spare the same diameter as whatever new wheels I decide to buy. Can anyone enlighten me?

Dave, what's important as I expect you know is to have the rolling radius the same for all 4 wheels under normal driving conditions. Fitting the donut after a puncture does not qualify as normal driving conditions.

That is why the owner's manual recommends fixing the puncture immediately and refitting the proper wheel. Plus it also dictates you should not travel over a certain speed, maybe 80 kph if memory serves. It is best to consider the donut as a get-you-home device, nothing more.

Don't forget that it is not possible to disengage the AWD on the VTD equipped SVXes such as UK ones and JDM ones. So the design engineers accept a certain amount of mismatch tolerance with the spare wheel donut. They just don't expect people to keep driving on them at speed for too many kilometres.

So the answer to your question I think is that the donut is OK and only OK as a substitute and will work for short periods, low speeds, with both sizes of wheel. Speaking personally though, if I take my car to the UK or to the continent on a long run I fire out the donut and bring a full sized wheel just in case of a puncture that I can't attend to without doing big miles.

Joe

[NeedForSpeed]

Originally Posted by svxistentialist

Dave, what's important as I expect you know is to have the rolling radius the same for all 4 wheels under normal driving conditions. Fitting the donut after a puncture does not qualify as normal driving conditions.

That is why the owner's manual recommends fixing the puncture immediately and refitting the proper wheel. Plus it also dictates you should not travel over a certain speed, maybe 80 kph if memory serves. It is best to consider the donut as a get-you-home device, nothing more.

Don't forget that it is not possible to disengage the AWD on the VTD equipped SVXes such as UK ones and JDM ones. So the design engineers accept a certain amount of mismatch tolerance with the spare wheel donut. They just don't expect people to keep driving on them at speed for too many kilometres.

So the answer to your question I think is that the donut is OK and only OK as a substitute and will work for short periods, low speeds, with both sizes of wheel. Speaking personally though, if I take my car to the UK or to the continent on a long run I fire out the donut and bring a full sized wheel just in case of a puncture that I can't attend to without doing big miles.

Joe

What Joe said

Last year, I attended the Nostalgic Japanese Car Show. After a couple hours checking out the old Japanese iron, I headed to the parking lot. Drat, the rear driver tire was flat, picked up a nail in the lot. So, out came the spare and the jack. The jack went under the FRONT driver, the spare was installed there. Then, I took the good front tire to the rear, and replaced the flat, which I tossed in the car.

The rear diff is viscous limited slip, and the VLSD does not like a tire mismatch. The diff will get hot, as the diff senses a slip on the spare tire side. The front diff is open, so, that mismatch is not as relevant.

Whether US center diff, or the UK/JDM diff that drives 65% to the rear, I like to keep the rear tires matched, and place the spare donut on the front, even if it means changing two tires. I drove 50 miles to service the tire, without any problem, other than reduced speed on the journey.

[DaveSVX]

Thanks for the help. I did hear somewhere about always putting the spare on the front, perhaps it is in the manual. Good reminder anyway.

[wohnson89]

Brand of wheel- Koing
Name of wheel- Feather
Price-$130 per wheel (around $950 for wheels and tires)
Weight-16.8lb.
Size-17x7.5
Offset-45
Who sells the wheel- discount tire direct
http://www.discounttiredirect.com/direct/findWheelDetail.do?v=006494|1992&pc=46332&wd=17&rw =7.5

Brand of tire- Hankook
Type- Ventus V12 Evo K110
Size- 225/45R-17XL 94Y VSB
Price- $110
http://www.discounttiredirect.com/direct/findTireDetail.do?v=006494|1992&pc=11193&ar=45&wd= 17&rd=17&rw=7.5&cs=225

[Nemesis Destiny]

Those are a pretty nice wheel; nice and light, not too expensive, and looks good on your car.

Now you just need to get rid of that ugly gap in the fender

[wohnson89]

Originally Posted by Nemesis Destiny

Those are a pretty nice wheel; nice and light, not too expensive, and looks good on your car.

Now you just need to get rid of that ugly gap in the fender

Funny you might say that, a friend of mine said the same thing when he saw it on the car. I'm not trying to derail the thread, but how would one go about this?

[Nemesis Destiny]

Well, I got a set of Ground Control coilovers and Koni shocks inserted into reconditioned SVX strut housings by a fellow on here, but he no longer posts here, I believe (his name is Mychailo), and who incidentally still owes me 300$ for the cores I sent him, but I digress. That is one, fairly common option.

Another that I discovered much more recently, and sounds much better, actually is this. Having worked in a car shop for several years, it doesn't look too hard at all, and the results seem promising. If what he says in the early part of the post is actually feasible, this would allow you to use STi brakes with some additional work. That's very exciting.

The milder, less performance oriented (but muuuuuuuuuuuuch easier) route would be a simple set of lowering springs from this fella. This is fine if you just want to cruise around on 35-pound 18" bling-blings, but is obviously not for serious performance. Even if you do go this route, I would still suggest replacing your stock struts, which are no doubt sacked by now (our cars are nearly 20 years old - let's be realistic).

[wohnson89]

Has anyone ever fitted white wall tires to an svx?