jonrb

I've used Toyo Proxes T1-R on several of my cars including the Corrado and have been very happy with them.

Can't really comment on the others.

Interestingly, according to http://www.toyo.co.uk/tyresales.php, the Toyo R888 is available in 205/50 R15 but not 205/45 R16.

I did a quick check on http://www.blackcircles.com

For 205/50 R15 you get the choice of (amongst others)

* Bridgestone RE040

* Continental Premium Contact 2

* Dunlop SP Sport 01

* Goodyear NCT5

* Michelin Pilot Exalto 2

* Pirelli P6000

* Toyo Proxes T1-R (Reinforced)

For 205/45 R16 you get (amongst others)

* Bridgestone B340

* Bridgestone ER30

* Bridgestone ER300

* Continental SPORT-CONTACT

* Continental SPORT-CONTACT 2

* Dunlop SP2000 E

* Dunlop SP3000 A

* Goodyear Eagle F1 GSD2

* Goodyear Eagle F1 GSD3

* Michelin Pilot Exalto 2

* Toyo Proxes T1-R (Reinforced)

* Yokohama S306

So you would appear to still get a similar choice and also get the option of the Eagle F1 GSD3, the latter making it almost worth doing depending on how long Goodyear continue to make it in that size.

That's a bit of a blow. I too had pretty much decided that 16" was the way to go. But if the tyre choice is just as limited as with 15" then that kind of negates most of the reason for doing it. :(

I'm starting to lean towards Compomotive MO but only if I can get sight of how flush or protruding the spokes are for a 16" in the correct size for my car.

Does anyone know what the correct offset might be? If the standard wheels are 6.5Jx15 ET43 then what might the adjusted offset for a 7x16 be?

But my battery was only 6 Kg to begin with, which has been replaced with about the same in Chargecooler weight and another 15 or so Kg added in turbo and manifold weight.

Nose weight is more or less the same overall I think, give or take 10 - 15kg, and I'm also back on the standard top mounts now (got bored of changing the spherical bearings every 3k), so we're not far off in terms of nose weight.

Ok, well I can't help it if the last time we exchanged emails and talked about how our cars differed you told me that you had less weight up front and now you change your mind like a woman and tell me something different in public. ;)

My 17s aren't exotic, just bog standard ProRace 1s, which you can buy from Halfords. They weigh about the same as your 15" wheel, so it might be sidewall flex possibly?

I know you change your wheels more often than I change my undies, but I thought you had had your current set custom-made in order to fit your oversized brakes and sticky-out callipers? :confused4:

As for the Gaz setup, mine isn't undersprung like Jon's. I think his dampers must be different to mine as I have fewer clicks than he does.

Yes, but don't forget that you have removed a lot of weight from the front of your car too - you've moved the battery to the boot for a start and I think you have lower unsprung mass due to your expensive custom alloys.

I think you're right that our dampers are different, but it could be that I have more weight up front and hence need stiffer springs as a result of that.

I have the 325lb springs now but won't be fitting them until towards the end of the month when Vince is having the car for a morning and is going to swap the springs over for me at the same time. I'll let you know how the car feels after that.

Just trying to save myself some time, it

Instead of running two threads on two forums I

theres just no point in that tbh. why don't you get comp mos 5-6 spokes. have a look on their website - you can get both with protruding spokes or inset spokes. inset being the nicest looking of course

Inset spokes, you say? I didn't realise you could get MOs with inset spokes - I thought they all bulged outwards. I'll have to look into that.

must your choice be limited to 5 spokes?

Not necessarily - I might consider a 6-spoke like the Borbet C - but I want something simple and un-fussy that suits the car.

The Vento Cup Speedlines look ideal but I fear rocking horse poop might be easier to find. ;)

I did make a Group Buy enquiry for 6 sets of Speedline 2110 in 16" but nobody seemed that interested and I sure as hell can't afford to buy 6 sets for myself.

2 sets I could justify (one with road tyres, the other with cup-type for track days) but no more than that.

Appreciate the offer, A1 VR6, but I'm not sure they're my cup of tea. Thanks for the offer though.

i think those are pretty boring in my opinion

Perhaps you're right. They do look similar to the originals though.

I quite like the Borbet 'T' too actually

There's something I don't understand about up-sizing the wheels and tyres.

 

Everyone who is running 16's seems to be running 205/45 R16 but the various tyre calculators show 225/40 R16 as having a closer rolling circumference to the standard 205/50 R15.

 

Is it a case that in the real world 205/45 R16 is more suitable than the on-paper figures would suggest?

 

Tyre Size Comparison

Tyre code   Diameter  Circumference  Difference
----------  --------  -------------  ----------
205/45 R16  591 mm    1857 mm         0.84 %
215/40 R16  578 mm    1816 mm        -1.3 %
225/40 R16  586 mm    1841 mm         0.07 %

Sorry to resurrect an old thread, but I'm moving nearer to making a purchasing decision and could do with an answer to the above.

Forgetting about 225/40 R16 as I haven't seen anyone wearing those, I notice that a lot of people mention that 16's can be run as 205/45 R16 or 215/40 R16

It seems to me that if you're keeping the same width and rolling circumference (ie. 205/45 R16) then you're not going to gain much of an increase in contact patch, whilst the increased width of 215/40 R16 suggests an advantage.

And yet a majority of people seem to wear 205/45 R16. Why is that?

Edit: Is it because 205/45 R16 is a closer match to the rolling circumference of the original 205/50 R15? It seems to be +0.8% for the 205/45 R16 and +1.3% for 215/40 R16. But if that's the case then why not 225/40 R16 on 16x7.5 which is only a 0.07% difference?

Holy Thread Resurrection, Batman!

I'm still looking for 16" wheels. I've quite warmed to the Borbet C's mentioned earlier, but the Borbet site doesn't list them as being in production still.

Typically, the frankly gruesome Borbet A Carlos Fandango Super-Wide still is though (apologies to those that love 'em).

Another Borbet that caught my eye is the CB. Looks like a contender.

Picture courtesy of the Borbet website.

I've just got the standard VR6 15's on at the moment but am watching this thread with interest as I want to fit 16's sometime soon. I want to keep as OEM+ as possible though.

The Borbet CB in 16x7 looks quite promising though. Here's a mockup courtesy of the Borbet website:

The ET38 could be a problem though as the standard wheels are ET43

all i want is to lower it 30mm or so. i need spacers because the wheels are the wrong offset (old wheels from my girfriends mini) and the wheels are only 7j wide.

Ok, well that paints an altogether different picture than your earlier post.

30mm drop is around what you get from the Koni TA and H&R spring setup, which is a setup you really can't fo far wrong on (see my earlier post).

you may have to cut it well back with fine wet and dry .

No, it's going in the skip. As I said, the wheel was pretty unusable in the first place anyway. :)

haha very funny. wheels are in fact pro race 1.2s one of the lightest wheels available and with the low profile tyres roughly keep the same rolling radius. so less tyre flex and less weight.

I'd say it driving would be a bonus yes. I dont want it scraping the floor just less roll.

 

So instead of a load of smart ass comments has anybody got any advice?

Everything you mention points away from handling and towards looks. Slammed ride height ruins handling, super-wide wheels ruin handling, spacers don't do a lot to help matters either, ultra-low profile tyres ruin handling too.

Specifically, if you lower the suspension too much then the roll centre drops causing bump steer and the steering rods point upwards causing toe out in bump, both of which compromise handling.

So, which is more important? Slammed pimp-my-ride looks or handling? Because you can't have both.

If you want less roll then fit stiffer anti-roll bars and possibly tie bars and strut braces.

I had a go, first with sandpaper, then a wire brush, and then lost my patience and used a rotary wire brush with my drill, first with a cordless then the full-one corded.

I think I kind of shagged the wheel a bit (I don't dare post photos) but it was a disposable wheel anyway as it was heavily kerbed and dented - a bad eBay purchase of a few years ago.

Sorry, but they look absolutely repulsive.

(Just my opinion, of course)

Mine! not on the VR yet :)

Borbet C?

My car (2.0 16v) has 17s on it 7 or 7.5 wide, cant remember the tyre depth but its quite a low profile. At the moment the offset is wrong and the wheels are sunk a little too far into the arches so im gonna get some spacers. I want to lower the car so what is the most suitable coilover kit. I dont mind the ride being too harsh and i'd like to go as low as possible. If the wheels were pushed out (with spacers) will i need to roll the arches (or bash them in with a hammer). I'd like to keep the budget down to around 750, any cheaper is a bonus. Thanks.

Kids today, eh? Not interested in handling, just how it looks. ;)

No updates?

JonRB has just fitted a set of GAZ Golds.

 

Hopefully he will be along shortly to tell us about them !

Hi guys!

Yes, I have GAZ on my Corrado. I think that I am only the second Corrado to have them (the first being Kev) and the first to have them fitted with standard top mounts (Kev's were non-standard). They're not a standard kit and required Vince at Stealth to sub-contract the fabrication of custom aluminium spacers to get them to fit that cost me an arm and a leg (just over £100 as I recall). :(

The car is a little under-sprung at the front at the moment and I'm waiting for some stiffer front springs from Absolutely Shocks at the moment, and in the meantime am having to run the front dampers much stiffer than desirable to compensate at the moment, with the dampers working harder than they should to support the car through bends when the springs should be doing that work. That's not just my opinion but that of Calum Lockie (former British GT Champion) who very kindly helped me with setup during a Goldtrack track day - top man!

Plus points of the setup is that they are very adjustable. Whereas with the Koni and H&R setup I had before the difference between full firm and full soft was small, with the GAZ dampers even a few clicks are very noticeable and the difference between full soft (water bed) and full hard (concrete floor) is immense.

Downside is that they cost at least twice as much a Koni and H&R setup but I'm not convinced that they are twice as good. Having said that, from what I can gather by keeping my eyes open on here and also keeping my ears open with other owners, as coilovers go their NVH (Noise, Vibration and Hardness) is amongst the best of the coilovers.

I have what i belive to be bilstein dampers not sure what spings, lowered aprox 60mm and vr6 comfort pack top mounts (so im told :oops: ) standard BBS wheels 195 40 15 avon zv's on front good cheep last minuet tyre good year egals on back ok. Handels really well no wallowing no tyre squat/bounce little under stear at high sped but thats the way i like it :roll: . bit hard for day to day driving need a chiropracter over pot holes :cry:

I have no idea what "VR6 comfort top mounts are" - never heard of them.

Standard VR6 wheels are 205 50 R15, so 40 profile on a 15" sounds a bit strange.

60mm drop is a big drop, so I would hope that the dampers have been matched to the lower springs or handling will be quite compromised - the car will be under-damped for a start