8J Wide rear rims - effects on handling?

[Andy T 0]

At the moment i'm running design 90's (8J rears, 7J fronts) but i'm not convinced the handling is as good as it should be with such wide rear wheels. The other day I was looking at corrado tech specs and noticed that the standard rear track width is .2" narrower than the front, so fitting wider rear rims is going to upset that balance. Does anyone else find that 8J's on the rear spoil cornering/handling ability, or think the opposite?

 

I'm currently rebuilding a set of bbs splits that are 7J ET33 fronts & 8J ET24 rears, but i've found that if I swop the outer rims over I end up with both front and rears being exactly the same width (7.5J) with an ET31 upfront and ET26 at the rear. Problem is I can't decide whether to do this or leave them as they are- any thoughts would be most appreciated!

[LicklePaulie 0]

Not sure about the effects on handling re. 8js on rear with 7Js on front - I have 8Js all-round and have no complaints whatsoever :norty:

[bcstudent 0]

My car drives better with the standard wheels than with any other set I've had on there. For that reason it's staying standard. As I'm sure you know, there's always going to be a compromise when you change parts for aesthetic purposes. What's more important to you? The way the car looks or the way it drives?

 

Can you not rebuild the splits to be 7.5J all round and see how it compares to the 7J/8J setup? I can see that may be a bit of a chore though. If anything I'd expect it to be slightly worse with 7.5J up front.

[g60griff 0]

i havent got any complaints yet, i had 17's on before and i thought the handling was shite.

[dinkus 10]

Not sure about the effects on handling re. 8js on rear with 7Js on front - I have 8Js all-round and have no complaints whatsoever :norty:

 

You've got 8s!? No wonder your C looked so fat! 8)

[Shaggy 0]

as G60 Griff has mentioned i find the handling with 16" rims even tho they are 8J wide is miles better than 17s, and the difference in acceleration is quite noticable too.. 8)

[LicklePaulie 0]

You've got 8s!? No wonder your C looked so fat! 8)

Why, thank you kind sir! :notworthy:

BTT, the wider wheels do tend to tramline a bit on the open road... but give a much better feel for the track! As for the 17s vs 16s debate... I run OZ SuperTurismo 17s and repeat my earlier comment :wink:

[rolex 0]

i havent got any complaints yet, i had 17's on before and i thought the handling was ****.

 

 

what 17's where they?

[double-6s 0]

i've gone from 15 to 17 and certainly haven't noticed any significant difference in acceleration. i reckon thats in the mind more than anywhere.

my vr's perfprmance differs by about 20% day to day anyway, so i'd never really be able to spot a few percent difference in gearing ;)

 

surely making the back wider is only going to make cornering ability better??

 

i now have wider wheels, wider tyres (215 on rear) and a wider track (greater offset on new wheels) and all i can say is it grips and steers beautifully now. turn in and grip at the front is excellent. even in damp conditions its proved limpet like so far.

[g60griff 0]

i havent got any complaints yet, i had 17's on before and i thought the handling was ****.

 

 

what 17's where they?

 

antera's, not as good a ride as the 16's imo.

[Andy T 0]

Thanks lads, handling is more important to me than looks, so think i'll go for rebuilding them both at 7.5J, then the widths are same & offsets are closer together, so more like factory spec. My old GTI used to run 16x7.5J's all round and I was happy with that setup.

 

double 6-s, if you changed back to 15's you would definately notice the difference in acceleration and steering then!

[logicaltuning 0]

i went from 17s to 15s and the difference was fantastic! even on shiter tyres! cant wait to get my Toyo Proxy T1-S on :D

[double-6s 0]

errr...... i've tried it mate.

still maintain i prefer the 17s.

turn-in is massively better. lack of squidge in side walls also makes steering better.

i don't see your point to be honest????

[Andy T 0]

My point was.... we fit 17's and don't notice the loss in acceleration.... go back to 15's and Whoa! its noticeable, not just because of the gearing diffence, less unsprung weight too..

 

If I wasn't bothered about look i'd probably be running 15's as VW intended with stiffer sidewall tyres

[A20 LEE 0]

i found that my 1990 16V'er was much more sensitive to wheels than the VR. The 16V really struggled to turn in as sharply on 8x17's as it did on sebrings. 8x17 (205/40) on the VR had little effect other than making the car a little twitcher at the back. Moving to 8.5x17 with 215/35 actually made the turn in very sharp and the steering feels about 40% lighter. No ideal why, expected it to be heavier.

 

9.5's on the back give enormus grip. Thicker anti-roll bars are a must as the grip pitches the body more even on a car as low as mine with the FK's on 3/4 hard.