FTO AUSTRALIA

Hi again,

Can anyone shed some light on the legalities of 17" rims on my GPX. The sticker inside the door specifies 15 - 16". I bought the car with these rims on it and I'm up for rego next month. I dont want to encounter any problems registering the car. They do not overhang the guards, but they leave very little space between them and the wheel arch. Any info would be greatly appreciated

Thanks again

legally you can only increase the size of your wheels by 1 inch, also known as Plus-1.

so legally, the most you can fit is 17x8 (though i know some ppl fit larger rims than this)

since your car is a GPX, they come in factory trim as 16x7 rims so u should be fine. any larger than 17x8 then you'll need to be careful...


the amount of space between the whels and the guards depends on the offset as well. for 17s, the offset is usually around 40mm-ish... if he offset is lower (say 32 or 30mm) then you'll have no problems rubbing guards etc...

hope that helped!

O2NV,

Doesnt the FTO have heapse of space between the wheels?

If I plan to fit 17x7 or 17X8 rims (hoping for enkeis if cash allows)

How do i ensure that in even hard driving that they dont rub guards or wrecek the rims.

what is the required offset?

I also plan to lower the front by 25mm

will this cause probs?

ta

benny

bennie,

when u lower the car, the factory suspension result in some neg. camber so when you fit 17x8 rims (with say a 35mm offset on the Enkeis) and lower it, it will miss the lip on the guards, no matter how bumpy it is (since they only bump vertically albeit in a slight angle due to the camber)

however, you prob don't wanna lower it too much coz the splash guards inside the wheel arches on the FTO are not very deep, so if you go too low without upgrading your shocks, it'll 'bottom-out' and crack the splash guards...

if you go to the wheelshop and tell them you want a set of 17x8 rims, they will tell you which is the best offset and tyre size to use (and avoid rubbing the guards)... Typically for a 7" wide rim they'll recommend something like 215/40 tyres for the FTO...

well in NSW u can have it as big as u want but no larger than +15mm from standard height. I have checked this with RTA.

eg 205/50/r16 are say 50cm high u could fit 215/30r18 51.5cm becoz of the low profile. also your wheeltrack has to be no more than 25mm for the width.

o crap, i planned to go and buy 18X7.5 wheels from tempe tomorrow, on saturday!!!

Now youre telling me it's illegal, what is the go:

what happens if i get caught?

will my insurance be compromised (famous car insurance)?

when i reregister can't i just replace my old wheels?

Some advice please

Thanks
Cohn

i never knew you had to get the car inspected before you can get it re-rego'd...???

anyways, you might be able to get away with 18x7.5 (if you are from NSW as stated by Hez since RTA has different laws). best thing is to check with your insurer and the RTA first before you spent a single cent on a set of wheels - that way you've done your research and you are informed of your options/legal obligations.

What wheels were you thinking of getting?

O2NV,

i was thinking of getting Concept 9 wheels in silver:

http://www.tempetyres.com.au/products/i ... 5yF481.jpg

18x7.5

The thing is that i have absolutely no clue how the whole tyre thing works, 215, 210 blah blah blah, what is the difference between everything???

What kind of tyre should i get for the rims i am buying???

Btw, i have a choice between Falken and Goodyear, What do you think?

Thanks heaps 02NV, I went and checked the spec on the tyres and it looks like I'm legal!! - 17" rims with low profile tyres which brings back the sizing to 16".. Woooooohooooo, I would have had hated to loose my Zoid rims!!!!!

Again you guys have helped me with the sticky questions - Thanks

always glad to help!

...you owe me a drink! LOL....

Cohn, 7.5' wide rims are usually fitted with 215/40 tyres (they don't make them in 210 i believe...)

215mm tyres are obviously wider than 205 or 210, but you could also go up to 225/40 as well, provided that the rim's central offset will allow you to do so without rubbing on the inner guards at full-lock (up front).

BTW, when it comes to brands it's really a matter of your preference and how much you can afford. Falkens are pretty much used by most people these days, but IMO they don't perform as well as Dunlops or Bridgestones. However they are much better than entry price tyres (Kelly, Hankook etc) so for their price they do a decent job.

Yeah I like the concept 7 (7 spoke as opposed to your 9 spoke).

I have just recently purchased a pair of Bridgestone Eagle F1 tyres - can't complain about them so far. Seem to do OK in the wet. They ended up costing me about $165 each.

yeh concept 7 looks nice, kinda like the Advan AVS Model-7... be a little different - color the spokes in gunmetal grey or hi-black!

I have a silver FTO so I figured the gunmetal grey type finish would proabably look the best. But I won't buy any mags soon, I will wait until my tyres wear out first, and maybe replace everything at once.


M@

My tyres are currently worn out, they have lots of tiny cracks and fractures along the side. So I'm getting a set of 17X7 ROH Adrenalin rims (7 spoke) in shadowchrome finish with Bridgestone Potenza G-III tyres on them. Should look sic on a black car.

Does anyone know how many thousand km Potenza G-III tyres last, assuming ofcourse that I rotate them every 20000 km or so?

i'll say at least 50000km, i have Brigdestone G-II's and they look like new afta 10000km also my dads subaru has potenza's and they still got thread afta 50000km.

Cohn-And with the wheels it should be fine unless they measure it coz from memory its only a couple of mm's off in the wheeltrack. Also depends how low your profile is.

oh baby,

just got my 18x7.5 new wheels in hyper silver... looks f**king brilliant, i'll post some pics of the wheels on the car soon, i don't care about the laws with wheels, i'll find a way out of it like always.

But, in the mean time, here is the photo of the wheels from tempe:
http://www.tempetyres.com.au/products/i ... let966.jpg

loving it...

satisfy urself and not the cops!
They look tough!

What happened to Concept-9?

How much did you have to pay for it all up?

Can't wait for the pics...

Hmm, the bastard sold the only silver concept 9s left. - i was going to buy them with tyres - $1500 (down from $2000)

When i was there i actually had a double look at the vella wheels and put them up against my car, and i couldn't believe how good they looked, so i ended up getting them, however they were a little more expensive, the two options were shadow crome, which i didn't like the look of, or there was a Hyper silver - which is close to a whitish colour, they are beautiful.

I bargained them down from $2500 to $1650 with Falken tyres... Very happy...

I'll post some pics soon