Can I run 17x7 40mm offset wheels on an 88 Spider?

[maxwedge]

Car is sitting on 1.5 lowered springs What kind of issues am I likely to have with clearance, tire size, etc. Friend of mine is selling some for cheap came off his Focus. Similar to these...eBay Motors: 17-7 Maxxim Guilt Black Wheel-s 4x108 4x4.25 4-108 ET40 (item 360048568104 end time Apr-26-09 14:22:19 PDT)

[Tifosi]

FWIW:

I run 14x6 w/21mm offset all round on mine using IAP lowered spings (1.25" ~ 1.5" drop over US spec stock) and things are showing to be getting close clearance wise.
It all fits, but I dunno how much more it could actually take width (on front due to fender clearance) or offset (interferance with inner wheel well on rear)

Some quick math on mine vs what you're looking at (and remembering that tires will increase widths by a bit on both inside and outside):

Mine:
6" /2 = 3" for center of wheel width + 21mm (.827") offset puts 3.827" from hub face the back edge of wheel
Clearance between tire and inner wheelwell at rear and lip of wheel opening at front: about the thickness pad to nail of my finger.

What you're looking at:
7" /2 = 3.5" for center of wheel width + 40mm (1.575") offset puts 5.075" from hub face to back edge of wheel
Clearance on the rear inner wheel wells I'm guessing won't be clearance at all. (you'd prolly be lucky to even get the wheel to sit flat on the hub)


Do NOT take that as gospel. I'm not that great at math and my understanding of offset and such is not what one would call top of the line.

It's simply the numbers I came up with using the definitions of offset/backspace as I understand them. In other words, please wait for further confirmation from others who actually would know for sure.

I know there's folks out there using 7" wheels, but it's the offset that looks to be the killer in this instance.

If I'm wrong, feel free to tell me to piss off. I'll understand and just chalk it up to misuse or misunderstanding of how the numbers actually work and I'll keep my nose out of these tpye questions in the future.

[Tifosi]

A quickie little measure stuff reference thingie to give you an idea.

With your rear wheels off and the car supported on its suspension, if 'back side measurement' is less than the 5.075" (as determined in the above post for a 7" wheel w/40mm offset) the wheel will hit the inner wheelwell.

[JoeCab]

Tifosi is correct, with that offset you will probably need to run a 10mm spacer in the rear to avoid rubbing.

The other obvious question, beyond whether they will fit, is what using a 17" wheel with a very low profile tire will do to the handling of the car. It's been discussed on the BB before, my personal opinion is the 105/115 series cars work best with 15" wheels, acceptably with 16" wheels, and are fairly compromised with 17" wheels.

[bianchi1]

i have (16/7/40 mm offset) wheels on my car had just a wee bit of clearence.it did rub a little, i now have a 10 mm spacer in the rear, works great now...but i did try 17" wheels for a test before i bought my 16" wheel.. the 17's are just wayyyyy to big for the spider..it will run rough( tire size 215/40/17) and tear up that suspenion.. go for 16's and get a good set of 205/50/16' on the car. it will handle great, look good.. and still be drivable..with 17's a nice pot hole will take out your tire and wheel..

[barbone105]

not to pile on, but imho, going w wheel and tire that big can only hurt overall performance. car will accelerate more slowly, will not corner as well, will not handle as well and will not ride as well. other than that will be pretty good. i'll leave the aesthetics out of the equation - that one is a personal call.
you'll be saving some money while buying something that will hurt your car's performance.