265/45/16 Tires under an 8 inch flare?

Shaun @ Tru6 · 10-08-2010, 05:31 AM

With the Kumho Ecsta XS available in 265/45/16, I'm considering having a set of wheels made for my 73 with SC flares.

I'm starting off with four 7x15 Cookie Cutters and would like to do some +- variation on 7x9.5x16. these wheels have a 23.3mm offset, adding a 1 inch spacer fills the wheel well.

Anyone ever have a 9.5 inch wide wheel made?

Can a 265 section width tire fit under an SC flare?

Harvey Weidman will be making the wheels.

IROC · IROC's Garage

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shaun 84 Targa

Can a 265 section width tire fit under an SC flare?

Hey Shaun. Yep, a 265 will fit. Many people - myself included - run 275/40-17s under SC flares so I know the 265 section width is OK. The 275/40-17 tire is all-around a little bit bigger than the 265/45-16, so it should work...

skinnerd · skinnerd's Garage

I had a 275 on a 10" under an RS flare before.
My car is very stiff (33mm rear torsion bars).
Oil lines needed to be moved a bit and the fender lips rolled.
But they would fit....but just barely.

So you should be able to get a 265 on a 9.5" wheel under an SC flare.
The offset will need to be dead on though!
Good luck with your project.

Bill Verburg · Bill Verburg's Garage

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shaun 84 Targa

With the Kumho Ecsta XS available in 265/45/16, I'm considering having a set of wheels made for my 73 with SC flares.

I'm starting off with four 7x15 Cookie Cutters and would like to do some +- variation on 7x9.5x16. these wheels have a 23.3mm offset, adding a 1 inch spacer fills the wheel well.

Anyone ever have a 9.5 inch wide wheel made?

Can a 265 section width tire fit under an SC flare?

Harvey Weidman will be making the wheels.

There is just enough room barely to fit a 275 in an SC/Carrera rear wheel well. You do need to tuck the oil line in a little better which will be tough on a '73 that doesn't have the little indented area that the later cars have and the trailing arm nuts/bolts will also need to be trimmed as well as the fender lips. Wheel o/s for a 9.5 has to be perfect, ET19 is what I have on my 9.5s. 265 will be ~.5" narrower and .3" shorter than the 275/40s most of us have used so will be slightly easier to fit.

The wild card here is how the flares were positioned before welding, it's possible to lose or gain close to an inch(compared to a stock SC/Carrera) by positioning the flares differently

Shaun @ Tru6 · 10-08-2010, 06:33 AM

Excellent information Gentlemen, thank you.

Bill, hadn't thought of flare position, I did the job myself (still have to finish grinding and filler) but was very happy with how the flare lined up with the front and back and circumference, so they should be close to factory. I'll take some measurements on my 86 to compare. Thank you for the offset information!

Would it be safer to go to a 9 inch? or does that not really buy me anything. the 265/45 is a tiny bit taller than the 225 so I thought the extra .5 would help. Most likely inconsequential.

Car currently has no motor and no cooling system (sold the little 2.0 that it came with), I am planning on a 3.2 install this winter/spring. Given the oil line issue, I'll weld some brackets higher up on the body and have Len at Autosport (boxsterGT) make some custom soft lines running up to the thermostat.

here's the car in original configuration, 205 front, 225 rear with -1.75 camber in the rear to stuff the 225 SO3s up into the early narrow quarters at 23.9 inch ride height.

Goal is the 16s painted Lancia Stratos gold/bronze, or may stay with the bead blasted alloy.

Shaun @ Tru6 · 10-08-2010, 06:38 AM

BTW, do you guys have any pics to share?

Bill Verburg · Bill Verburg's Garage

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shaun 84 Targa

......

Would it be safer to go to a 9 inch? or does that not really buy me anything. the 265/45 is a tiny bit taller than the 225 so I thought the extra .5 would help. Most likely inconsequential.

9 will be allow a little more leeway as far as acceptable o/s goes, stock 8s are ET15 but guys can use spacers up to maybe 5mm or so to increase track width. 9/265 generally don't require the work inboard and out that 9.5/275 does but do expect to do some work

here's the gap on mine at the trailing arm w/ 9.5/275/40 x17

here's the oil line, it was relocated under the shelf in the chassis wall, early cars don't have that shelf

911st · 10-08-2010, 07:53 AM

See 265/16's installed here: 265/45/16's, a gift from the tire gods!

There can be a significant difference between the Kumho 265 widths depending on the tire. The XS being the narrower.

IROC · IROC's Garage

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shaun 84 Targa

BTW, do you guys have any pics to share?

Why, of course!!

Here's a shot from Road Atlanta. Needless to say, my 245/45-16s on 8x16s really fill out the front fenderwells. The 275/40-17s in the rear have plenty of room!

Trackrash · Trackrash's Garage

Bill, I had my CV boot hitting here. I had to move my oil lines like this. I pounded in the frame at the arrows, hard to see in the pic, for more clearance.

On my 71 it is closest here to the oil lines. With 245s on 8"wheels it is a very close fit with my car being lowered to 24". Unless I run -2 degs camber I rub on the inside of the fender.

Shaun @ Tru6 · 10-08-2010, 10:20 AM

your car looks fantastic Mike, great shot! Are your offsets the same 19mm as Bill's?

Quote:

Originally Posted by IROC

Why, of course!!

Here's a shot from Road Atlanta. Needless to say, my 245/45-16s on 8x16s really fill out the front fenderwells. The 275/40-17s in the rear have plenty of room!

IROC · IROC's Garage

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shaun 84 Targa

your car looks fantastic Mike, great shot! Are your offsets the same 19mm as Bill's?

To be honest, I don't know. The rears are the standard 9" offset, but the fronts are custom. I mostly deal in backspacing since it is easier for me to visualize. I can measure them, if need be.

jpnovak · 10-08-2010, 11:22 AM

Shawn, with the early car your biggest problem will be oil line clearance. Just like Gordon I had to modify the rear longitudinal slightly by making an Impression with a BFH to get the 255's to clear. The issue was that under compression load at the track, while running significant camber and a bit of toe-in on the rear the front corner of the tire would rub the oil line. I also had to ovalize the oil line a bit as well to make it more flat. Not much but just enough to cure the rubbing.

A much better solution would be to run AN lines up and over the wheel arch location to provide additional clearance.

Yes, physically the wheel/tire package will fit under the fenders. You just have to watch out for the ancillary devices that may get in the way.

FYI - I too had issues with cut CV boots when I tried to position the oil lines in a different location.

Shaun @ Tru6 · 10-08-2010, 02:45 PM

Thanks Mike, please only measure if convenient.

Jamie, I'll definitely run flexible AN lines up and over the wheel arch, good advice. A local shop here, Autosport Engineering makes beautiful lines.

IROC · IROC's Garage

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shaun 84 Targa

Thanks Mike, please only measure if convenient.

I had a chance this weekend to measure... The 8x16s in the front have a backspacing of 5.75 inches and the rear 9x17s have a 5.5 inch backspacing.

lin7310948 · 02:50 AM

i have 275/40/17s on the rear of my 71 coupe. the wheels are lindseys, so i had the offset custom so as to fit.. very close to the spring plate hardware.

Elombard · 10-11-2010, 04:45 PM

Wow those wheels will be unique and awesome in Lancia gold and 16"

Shaun @ Tru6 · 10-11-2010, 05:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by IROC

I had a chance this weekend to measure... The 8x16s in the front have a backspacing of 5.75 inches and the rear 9x17s have a 5.5 inch backspacing.

Thank you Mike, I'll pass along to Harvey.

Erik, I hope they turn out as good as I imagine. Never been one for the typical cookie cutter 911.

Shaun @ Tru6 · 10-25-2010, 09:15 AM

OK, so if we go with an offset of 19mm on a 9.5 inch wheel, that should work? Harvey is going to make a mock-up.

Thank you!

Wil Ferch · 11:13 AM

Whenever we speak of "max" fitment...all the margins of error are used up and there is precious little room for adjustment.

I've always suggested in threads such as these that people add the brand/make/model of tire they say "works" or doesn't ...as I've seen a lot of variability on tires that never get mentioned. I happened to like Bridgestone S0-2's in 225/50-16 for my rear 7" Fuchs on my 85 Carrera running 21mm spacers, ....as these tires would measure as being amongst the "fattest" of the 225's...and would get real close to the "skinniest" of the 245's. Width variation ( tread width and/or section width) can vary 0.5" within a given tire size. Having round or square shoulders matters too. So does the amount of camber you run.

So far...I'm not seeing a trend to include such tire info in these threads...sad to say. I still think it's important for the "At-the-limit" type fitments.