New Carrera III 5-spoke's on and lovin' it!!!
08-03-2006, 10:11 AM
#1
Racer
Thread Starter
New Carrera III 5-spoke's on and lovin' it!!!
Finally made it work.
I'm not sure my front suspension has settled all the way down yet. The car sat on a lift for many days, so it may take a while to settle all the way back down, but it doesn't appear that I'll have any rubbing problems.
The fronts stick out just a bit more than the originals did. The rears are out just a bit too, but I think they look really good filling up the wheel wells like that.
It was a nice morning to take pictures:
I'm not sure my front suspension has settled all the way down yet. The car sat on a lift for many days, so it may take a while to settle all the way back down, but it doesn't appear that I'll have any rubbing problems.
The fronts stick out just a bit more than the originals did. The rears are out just a bit too, but I think they look really good filling up the wheel wells like that.
It was a nice morning to take pictures:
What size tires are those?
08-03-2006, 10:36 AM
#3
Racer
Thread Starter
In case anyone is wondering, here's the wheel/tire setup:
Front wheels are 8J x 18 ET57, tires are 235/40 ZR 18 Michelin Pilot Sport
Rear wheels are 11J x 18 ET51, tires are 295/35 ZR18 Michelin Pilot Sport
The fronts stick out about 8mm farther than the original ones as best I can tell.
The original spacers on the GTS are 38mm. I took those off and purchased 21mm spacers for the rear and had them machined down to 13mm. This set the outside of the tire just a few mm out from where the original one was, with about 13mm clearance to the inside of the fender lip, and I still have about 13mm of clearance on the inside to the suspension arm.
Both the front and rear fender lips were already folded up inside. Not all the way, but just in the center of the wheel well. I don't know if this was done at the factory or afterwards. No sign of paint issues because of this. Looks factory to me.
I had to change the rear wheel studs to 66mm. This left just enough thread with the new spacers so I could use my original lug nuts. Changing the rear studs meant pulling the hubs which meant changing the wheel bearings. This also precludes me from using my other wheels/tires in the winter, because changing the wheels studs back is too much of a job to do seasonally.
I still don't see how it's possible to get this wheel/tire package on a pre-GTS car without a lot of fender rolling.
Front wheels are 8J x 18 ET57, tires are 235/40 ZR 18 Michelin Pilot Sport
Rear wheels are 11J x 18 ET51, tires are 295/35 ZR18 Michelin Pilot Sport
The fronts stick out about 8mm farther than the original ones as best I can tell.
The original spacers on the GTS are 38mm. I took those off and purchased 21mm spacers for the rear and had them machined down to 13mm. This set the outside of the tire just a few mm out from where the original one was, with about 13mm clearance to the inside of the fender lip, and I still have about 13mm of clearance on the inside to the suspension arm.
Both the front and rear fender lips were already folded up inside. Not all the way, but just in the center of the wheel well. I don't know if this was done at the factory or afterwards. No sign of paint issues because of this. Looks factory to me.
I had to change the rear wheel studs to 66mm. This left just enough thread with the new spacers so I could use my original lug nuts. Changing the rear studs meant pulling the hubs which meant changing the wheel bearings. This also precludes me from using my other wheels/tires in the winter, because changing the wheels studs back is too much of a job to do seasonally.
I still don't see how it's possible to get this wheel/tire package on a pre-GTS car without a lot of fender rolling.
Last edited by greg928s4; 08-03-2006 at 12:30 PM.
08-03-2006, 10:50 AM
#4
Rennlist Member
Looks fantastic ! CONGRATS
I see you have the coloured center caps with the package. I have the same wheels but my rear rubber is 265/40, a little too tall but overall a good fit.
I see you have the coloured center caps with the package. I have the same wheels but my rear rubber is 265/40, a little too tall but overall a good fit.
Trending Topics
both the wheels and the car
08-04-2006, 07:33 AM
#12
Racer
Thread Starter
Thanks everyone.
I thought I would add a few thoughts and observations.
I had brand new Pilot Sport A/S tires on my original wheels just before buying these other wheels/tires, and I noticed a bit of a tracking problem with them, especially at high speeds. A friend of mine (MB enthusiast) told me that MB actually put out a written memo about tracking problems with the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S, so he wasn't surprised that I was noticing it. It wasn't real bad, but a noticeable difference with my 89 on Bridgestone summer performance tires. So anyone considering all season tires, be aware that they probably won't perform at the high levels that the summer performance tires do.
The Michelin Pilot Sport tires that are on my new setup seem to track much better, even at regular highway speeds, or on back roads for that matter. It was noticeable how much better they were, which surprised me since they're so much wider. In my experience, wider tires typically will wander a bit more on road irregularities. Not so with these.
The switch to a lower profile tire gave the expected harsher ride over bumps and generally a stiffer feel to the suspension. Highway road noise from the tires is almost non-existant, which is nice, but they are new, we'll see after some miles.
The handling limits were very high before, now it's just way beyond what I dare to do. I don't think drifting is something I'll be trying to do now. These 295's just STICK.
So in summary, it ended up costing about $3K to do the wheel/tire change. Good points: better handling, better tracking, and MUCH better aesthetics IMO. Bad points: a bit harsher ride, more expensive tires to replace, can't change to the all season tires in winter.
I'd do it again.
I thought I would add a few thoughts and observations.
I had brand new Pilot Sport A/S tires on my original wheels just before buying these other wheels/tires, and I noticed a bit of a tracking problem with them, especially at high speeds. A friend of mine (MB enthusiast) told me that MB actually put out a written memo about tracking problems with the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S, so he wasn't surprised that I was noticing it. It wasn't real bad, but a noticeable difference with my 89 on Bridgestone summer performance tires. So anyone considering all season tires, be aware that they probably won't perform at the high levels that the summer performance tires do.
The Michelin Pilot Sport tires that are on my new setup seem to track much better, even at regular highway speeds, or on back roads for that matter. It was noticeable how much better they were, which surprised me since they're so much wider. In my experience, wider tires typically will wander a bit more on road irregularities. Not so with these.
The switch to a lower profile tire gave the expected harsher ride over bumps and generally a stiffer feel to the suspension. Highway road noise from the tires is almost non-existant, which is nice, but they are new, we'll see after some miles.
The handling limits were very high before, now it's just way beyond what I dare to do. I don't think drifting is something I'll be trying to do now. These 295's just STICK.
So in summary, it ended up costing about $3K to do the wheel/tire change. Good points: better handling, better tracking, and MUCH better aesthetics IMO. Bad points: a bit harsher ride, more expensive tires to replace, can't change to the all season tires in winter.
I'd do it again.
08-04-2006, 07:43 AM
#13
Addict
Rennlist Member
Rennlist Member
Originally Posted by greg928GTS
Both the front and rear fender lips were already folded up inside. Not all the way, but just in the center of the wheel well. I don't know if this was done at the factory or afterwards. No sign of paint issues because of this. Looks factory to me.
Changing the rear studs meant pulling the hubs which meant changing the wheel bearings. This also precludes me from using my other wheels/tires in the winter, because changing the wheels studs back is too much of a job to do seasonally.
08-04-2006, 11:52 PM
#14
Racer
Thread Starter
Originally Posted by Vilhuer
To get around this you can use spacers which have studs in them.
08-06-2006, 01:27 AM
#15
Race Director
Greg
Looking good!!!! The pilot sports are "supposed" to be a little better than the conti sport contact II's that came on my wheels......of course the 295 rear tire is nice too (same for 11" rim)!!
I really like the look of the C-III wheels on 928's.....it just gives it such a modern look!!
Looking good!!!! The pilot sports are "supposed" to be a little better than the conti sport contact II's that came on my wheels......of course the 295 rear tire is nice too (same for 11" rim)!!
I really like the look of the C-III wheels on 928's.....it just gives it such a modern look!!