Buying new wheels - need advice on front sizing

[Twixboy]

I can't believe it's already been a year. I'm coming home soon and the first thing I need to do besides get a new battery is buy new wheels/tires. I just want to make sure I'm not missing anything here. It's a 2004 non-M and current setup is the OEM 18" staggered 18x8 et47 225/40 up front and 18x8.5 et50 255/35 in the rear. It's lowered on Eibachs and has 75mm studs. I just want to confirm the new wheel/tire combo will fit without any problems. It's not an extreme setup by any means so I should be fine, but I just want to make sure. These are the new wheels - http://www.ozracing.com/wheels/sparco/procorsa

New wheels will be 18x8 et45 225/40 up front and 18x9 et39 255/35/18 in the rear. The manufacturer says to use OE lug bolts, so can I assume the wheels will also fit on my 75mm studs? Should I keep the OEM size tires or go a little wider in the rear since the new wheel is also wider?

Also what do you think about the stance since the rears will extend out a lot more than the fronts? The offset that I wanted for the front wasn't available, so should I just buy a spacer to put up front? I think I have some 5mm spacers at home already, but I was thinking of going 10mm. And lastly, what do you think of the wheels? They are similar to the Apex EC-7, but heavier and not as aggressive looking. I can save quite a bit of coin with these.

[XMetal]

If you're going to get new wheels, why not try to get a set that will allow you to run wider tires?

Have you gone through this thread yet? => http://www.zpost.com/forums/showthre...ght=wheel+spec

[Steeler]

WHS

FWIW, I am running:
8.5 et35 fronts, 12mm spacer, 2 degrees camber, nicely flush, no rub. 235/40/18
9.5 et35 rears, no spacer, 1.8 degrees of camber, nicely flush, rubs on severe road depressions. 265/35/18
Lowered on coils 1.5-2"

http://www.zpost.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1400622

[unluky]

I am still running the std sport staggered 18" wheels as well and I run a 15mm spacer up front have the H&R lowing springs and I run a 245/35/18 on the front wheels and feel they fit perfect. I'd go larger for sure.

You can see the fit here: http://www.zpost.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1397747

[Huz-Z]

Here is my set up, with pics:

http://www.zpost.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1294464

[Twixboy]

Thanks for the replies - I've thought about going with wider wheels and tires too, but I got this information from one of the APEX wheel threads:

http://www.zpost.com/forums/showthread.php?t=473674

Front:
18x8.5" - 225/40/18 - Popular fitment
18x8.5" - 235/40/18
18x8.5" - 245/35/18 - Negative camber needed - front spacer most likely
18x8.5" - 255/35/18 - Negative camber needed - front spacer needed
18x9" - 245/35/18 - Negative camber needed - front spacer needed
18x9" - 255/35/18 - Negative camber needed - front spacer needed

Rear:
18x9" - 255/35/18 - Popular fitment
18x9" - 265/35/18 - depending on tire type

Seems like most people going with wider wheels are still using the stock tire sizes. Anyhow, to be honest the main driving point is price and I need new tires right now before I can start driving. Its sometimes uncomfortable talking about this on here because it seems everyone has unlimited money, but we are returning home from a job assignment where only 1 of us was working this past year. I'm not going to complain about the price tag for the premounted/balanced wheel/tire combo I priced out (about the same as a set of APEX wheels without tires). I can just mount it right up without spending another $200 for installation. It's for everyday driving and I realized after getting this car that I can't really drive fast where I live anyway.

[Twixboy]

Originally Posted by unluky

I am still running the std sport staggered 18" wheels as well and I run a 15mm spacer up front have the H&R lowing springs and I run a 245/35/18 on the front wheels and feel they fit perfect. I'd go larger for sure.

You can see the fit here: http://www.zpost.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1397747

The 245/35/18 is a 9.6" width tire on a 8" rim. Does that mean 265/35/18 (which is 10.4" wide) should fit on a 9" rim on the rear? If that's the case, I should go w/those sizes on my new 18x8 and 18x9 wheels instead of the OEM size tires.

[Twixboy]

I put in the order last night and decided to go with wider front tires, but keep my rears with stock sizing based on what I've read in the linked threads above. For the front, I'm moving up to 245/35-18 on a 18x8 wheel. Tirerack actually called me this morning to say it won't fit on my car, so I had to convince them to go ahead with the order. Now I'm second guessing myself and have come to you guys for additional advice.

Based on the measured section width of each tire on their website, I'll be going from a 9.1" to 9.8" tire (18mm wider) but they measured the bigger tire on a 8.5" wheel. Since I'm mounting it on a 8" wheel the section width should decrease by 0.2" to 9.6" which is only 13mm wider than stock. Do you think pairing this with a 10mm or 12mm spacer will allow the inner sidewall to clear everything or would I need a 15mm spacer? Unluky is the only one I know who went with this front tire sizing and he used a 15mm spacer, but someone else (I think 3002tii) said a 12mm spacer was the max he could fit on his front setup without introducing any poke. Keep in mind I have a E85 3.0i not an M like everyone else

[Steeler]

Originally Posted by Twixboy

I put in the order last night and decided to go with wider front tires, but keep my rears with stock sizing based on what I've read in the linked threads above. For the front, I'm moving up to 245/35-18 on a 18x8 wheel. Tirerack actually called me this morning to say it won't fit on my car, so I had to convince them to go ahead with the order. Now I'm second guessing myself and have come to you guys for additional advice.

Based on the measured section width of each tire on their website, I'll be going from a 9.1" to 9.8" tire (18mm wider) but they measured the bigger tire on a 8.5" wheel. Since I'm mounting it on a 8" wheel the section width should decrease by 0.2" to 9.6" which is only 13mm wider than stock. Do you think pairing this with a 10mm or 12mm spacer will allow the inner sidewall to clear everything or would I need a 15mm spacer? Unluky is the only one I know who went with this front tire sizing and he used a 15mm spacer, but someone else (I think 3002tii) said a 12mm spacer was the max he could fit on his front setup without introducing any poke. Keep in mind I have a E85 3.0i not an M like everyone else

I have gone thru several different rims with different offsets.
What I am running right now is perfect on my non M

My next set of rims will be 9" et30 front with 235/40 and 9.5" et35 rear 265/35
This will give me the exact same offsets as I am running now without need for spacers.

[unluky]

The 245/35-18 fits my 8" perfectly in my opinion. Perfectly flush and no overlap at all. I was worried too, but the first one they carried out mounted I knew I made the right choice. No rubbing at all on my car, BUT I do have a 15mm space up front, but my car has also been lowered on H&R's, so the spacer should make contact with the outer fender easier and it does not. Steering wheel lock to lock while moving results in no rubs at all.

You will be happy.