Considering 7s and 8s on my 84

[scottb]

I'm thinking about ditching my 6s and 7s set-up and going with 7s and 8s on my 84. Any issues to worry about?

Also, if anyone knows where I can get a pair of straight and true 8s, let me know.

Thanks.

[john_colasante]

If you use 225 tires on the 7's you may get rubbing. I would use 205 - I think it's a more appropriate tire for that rim size.

I did the 7's and 8's on my 79. I'm running 205-55 and 225-50 RE 940's. Front is at about 24.75". No probs.

[Joe Bob]

225/45 with 7s and 245/45 on 8x16s fit perfectly...no rub no muss....

The 50 and 55 series tires look like ballons....

[Jdub]

Well the 9"ers with 245s are pretty darn hot. You might consider these but only if you intend to perform suspension mods and standard maint. (shaft regrease as example) before putting such weight "out there."

John

[old seventy six]

7x16 rubs on my 87 with 205/55 and rolled lips. I spent a couple of hours last night rolling (pounding) more aggressively in hopes it will solve the problem, though I havn't driven it yet. 9x16 with 225s fits and looks great on the rear and you pay almost as much for 8s anyway. My problem at the front may be due to low ride height - about 24.25 front 23.75 rear. This works great my 15" track wheels so I hate to raise it.

[Joe Bob]

Doooods......45 series......forget about 55s and 50s....use the newer lower profile tires, no pounding on the fenders.....

[RANDY P]

And another Red one 7" + 8" Tire sizes are stock. Don't forget the lowering and corner balance.

rjp

[Drago]

Must be a luft car thing...

[MIK911]

Randy P
Nice ride! I like the ride height--how low did you go?

thanks
mike
'86 coupe

[RANDY P]

Thanks...

I actually went out with my tape measure the other day -

came up w/ 23.75" R and 24.25" front. No scraping on anything or funny behaviour. Still aligns perfectly. LF fender was all that needed to roll.

rjp

[Bill Verburg]

Assuming the existing wheeels are 16s, the wise move would be to move the existing 7s w/ whatever tire to the front and spend a bit extra for 9x16 rears w/ 245/45. The extra wheel width is well worth it for the performance oriented driver. 205/55x16 on 7x16 +23mm o/s works well with most cars. I am baffled by the reports of lip interference. Many of us use 8s in the front w/ much larger tires w/o too much extra trouble.

[scottb]

I have a line on a pair of 8s. Can anyone tell me the correct part number?

[old seventy six]

Bill - I was sure surprised when the 205 on a 7x16 rubbed. It got my right front fender lip on hard right turns when the suspension compressed. I've got loads of negative camber and figured I would be fine since my lips are rolled mildly to accomodate 225/50 track rubber on 15x7s. Well now I've rolled 'em nearly flat and a short test drive suggests I'm ok. I agree that a set of 944 Turbo 8s for the front would be the ticket with 9s on the rear. As recall they fit because the lugs are recessed so the increased width of the 8 goes inside.

[Roy M]

I've got 7's and 8's on mine - 205 55 16 Front and 225 50 16 Rear Pirelli P6000. Looks loads better-particularly that view along the side at the rear where it used to look undertyred. No problems with rubbing. Car is standard '88 European ride height no rolled lips.

[MIK911]

Thanks for the numbers, Randy P.
Next time i'm in for suspension work, down it goes.

Mike

[scottb]

Just found a set of pristine 16x7s and 16x8s. They should be arriving next week. The 8s will go to Al Reed for polishing, and I'll sell the 7s along with my old 6s.

Anyone know someone who needs a beautiful set of 16x6s and 16x7s? The 6s are already polished and painted (by Al), and I can have the 7s done the same way.

Thanks.

[scottb]

Well, I bought the 7s and 8s. Al Reed did his usual masterful job on them, and I had them installed on Friday so they would be on the car for the Santa Barbara run. Of course, the 7s are on the front and the 8s are on the back.

During the run, I'd sometimes hear rubbing coming from the front driver's side wheel. It usually happened under deceleration, possibly when I was turning the wheel. I can see rub marks on the tire.

OK, what now? Any thoughts on what the problem might be, and what I can do to fix it, would be GREATLY appreciated.

Thanks.

Scott

[masraum]

more negative camber, fender lip rolling, or a different make/model of tire.

[masraum]

PS Or you could send them to me and I could verify the rubbing on my '88

I would of course ship you my stock 6's and 7's for you to use in the meantime if you need them.