The OEM 18" Enkei wheels are very nice. 18 x 8, +43MM Offset

 

This thread needs a revival.

Blnewt, I've been drooling over your setup for months...thinking about pulling the trigger on the same set of wheels except higher +45 offset to maintain stock scrub radius. Also looking to stay at 245 tires.

What other suspension mods did you have at the time of this pic?

 

Have Megan Street LP coilovers dropped about 2" (26.25" to the fender arcs running 245/45/18s) and full F&R SPC camber arms and R toe bolts, Camber set at -1.0 F&R. The fit is real flush at +38 offset. Only concern w/ running +45 offset is there may be clearance issues at the upper bend of the steering knuckle, I'm not sure the exact amount of room I had, but it was pretty close. An additional 7mm in may be a problem. FWIW the +38 is perfect at the fender w/ that zero-gap drop, could run 255 in front without issue.
HTHs,
B

 

Thanks for pointing that out. I forgot to mention that I plan on running 8.5 rather than 9.5, so it'd only be approx. 1/2" closer to the spindle than before.

 

The 18x8.5 is an F face (9.5 is an R face) so if you're not concerned about the deep concave look they should work well.

 

You're not alone in your "drooling."

I completely agree. I've come back time and time again staring at what blnewt has achieved with his setup. It's one of the sharpest I've seen especially so for utilizing an 18" wheel/tire combo.

I'm a fan of the "beefier" sidewall look. As my rear 275/35/19's wear I'll have to give serious consideration of selling my wheels and simply going a different direction. All of course inspired by the appearance of blnewt's setup.

My only question is, is it possible to achieve a similar setup with a 9.5" wheel/tire combo and tire to fender height ratio on an AWD sedan. Imagine the savings in tire costs alone.

Blnewt, are you still running a square setup?

 

The AWD & RWD sedans are the same as far as "fit at the fender", so my exact setup would look & fit exactly the same on your AWD if you lowered your suspension to my height.

If you dropped it milder, like a Swift spring drop, the tires would be out just a bit from mine but still easily tuck into the fender. But your current coilover drop is close to my height so you'll be just about where I am if you can get that back raised up just a bit. And yes I'm still running 245/45/18s on all fours.
Thanks for the kind words too!

 

Here's mine, Enkei Tuning Raijin 18 x 8.5 x 38 with 245/45-18 on all four corners. Fits over the sport breaks with ~7mm clearance.



Enkei Tuning Raijin 18 x 8.5 x 38 with 245/45-18 on all four corners

 

^^^
21.0 lbs and $218/each at TireRack. Pretty respectable choice, IMO.

Welcome to the forum, JohnP.

 

^John, set up looks good and those are the same specs I am looking to get to. Do you have any aftermarket suspension adjustments/lowering?

 

^Nope. No suspension mods. Just stock. It took me a while to find a wheel / tire set up I liked. 19" look great but my experience is they make the ride harsh without any improvement in handling. I wish the 18x8x40 Raijins fit over the front sport brakes, but they don't (I tried and had to send them back). If they did you could use a 235/50-18 tire on the front and not have any worries about tramlining. There's a 18x8x45mm offset Raijin, but I'm assuming that interferes with the brakes even worse then the 40 mm offset. I have 245s on the front which is 20 mm more than the stock 225s (almost an inch wider). I wouldn't go any wider than that.

I thought about using a hub-centric spacer on the front with the 18x8s and 235s, but it would have pushed the center of the tire further out than I wanted. If anyone else has tried this, I'd like to know how it worked out.

 

Just an update~
No longer running square setup~now have original 245/45/18 front and now 285/40/18 rear on the same 18x9.5 +38 Wedssport SA-10R wheels~

 

BC Forged RS43 (Brushed Clear)
18x9 +35 front and 18x10.5 +45












I want to drop the car next, like 1 inch...conservative, just as the wheels are. I am worried about the wheel/tire rubbing the fender. Oddly I thought a 275 would be right in the middle for a 10.5 tire...but it is definitely stretched a little. And there is some poke, which I was trying to prevent with a higher offset. Any advice...I feel like the stock height on my "sport" is borderline AWD height.

Front tire

Rear tire


And the poke I'm worried about if I lower

 

You should have a flush fit once you drop it, if you go to about 26.75" to the fender arcs you should have a nice fit at the fender w/ very little, if any, poke. 275s on a 10.5 is a slight stretch, but still a proper mount on that width wheel. You should have room for 285s if you want a bit more tire when the time comes for new treads. Really like the look of those wheels BTW!

 

I like how your ride looks with those wheels! Thanks for the pics.