How about custom wheels instead of flares?
 

Who was it that said, "You can never have too much of three things: horsepower, traction, and brakes"? The recent track and tire threads got me wondering -

Whenever we start up on a tire size discussion, inevitably, traction, fender clearances, fender flares, and speedo error creep into the dialog. (Oh yeah, brakes, hubs, ride height, yada, yada, but let's assume those issues have been addressed).

I've always strayed away from considering custom wheels for a teener, because of the price, and the "looks" available haven't wowed me. BUT, I'm thinking that flaring a car would be a multi-kilobuck proposition by the time you're done (re)painting, and if your car is already a cream puff, might it not make financial sense to have some custom offset wheels made instead?

So my question is, is offset vs fender clearance the primary limiter on teener wheel widths? IF I COULD NAME MY OFFSET (ie custom rims), is there enough room to tuck 225's under stock fenders?

If so, I might be able to solve traction, fender clearance, and speedo error with a bolt on solution, and go back to that "correct" look at will...

By the time you get up to 205 tire width, clearance on both sides of the tire becomes the issue. In other words, total space availability is the problem.

There is a guy in our local PCA who runs 225 width tires with the revolution(?), RFX, or what ever they are called, under stock fenders. I do believe that he rolled/filed the lip on the rears but otherwise good fit. He said he paid $900 bucks for the set. When I see his car it always makes me do a double take because I am not used to seeing such huge meats under the stock fenders.

Chris in Denver

the revolution wheels are available in 4 bolt and 5 bolt for both 15x7 and 17x7

sorta pricey, but nice rims (230 a pop last time i checked on the 17" rims)

this is also one of those things that'll vary with tire manufacture, not all 205's and 225's are created equal

Here's a picture I found of the RFX 4-bolt, available in 7x15 at $228.00 ea. It looks good in the 5-spoke.

The version with black inset (4-spoke) is not available in 15in, only 14 & down. Check out this site: http://www.revolutionwheels.net/roadwheels.html




Enjoy!

I have two sets of Revolution RFX's 7"x 15" with a 5" backspace, and I run 225/50/15 Komho Victoracers. These will fit under the stock fenders with the rear lip rolled, but it is VERY close. You also have to be careful of clearance problems on the inside of the tire. There is very little room (less than 1/2") between the inside of the tire and the front strut. See the picture.

7x15 wheels
 

I had early 7x15 911R Fuchs with 49mm et and 205/50x15 tires. In front there were very litle room between tire and front srtut. I even had to remove the top protection tubes and replace them with rubber hoses. In rear I had to use about 12mm thick spacers. I think the optimum et with 7 inch wide wheels would be about 35 mm.

timo
´71 914-6 3.0L

URY, nice picture, but where's the rest of your front fender???

The rest of the fender is for sale. Need any?