Buying New Wheels - What Do I Need To Know?

[jimnastic]

Hey guys,

I'm looking at buying some new wheels for my car, a '94 R33 GTS-4 non-turbo (4 stud ), but I haven't got a clue where to begin. This car being my first car, I'm still learning everything, and the more I look into it, the harder it seems to be to get my head around it all, so here are some questions I hope I can get an answer to

1. I'd like to get wheels the exact same size as my current ones, which are 17x9 114.3x4 with tyres 235/45ZR17. I'm having a lot of trouble finding any wheel brands that do this particular setup, so can anyone recommend anywhere around sydney that stocks or supplies wheels of this size? Even better would be somewhere on the net that I could buy from.

2. If I cant find any 17x9 wheels, I may consider going to 18x9. Will the bigger diameter have any negative side effects on the car? E.g. the first thing that comes to mind is the speedo; will it be incorrect? And if it is, can it be adjusted to suit? And most importantly, are tyres significantly more expensive at this size?

3. How do I determine the offset of my current wheels? Or, if that's not easy to work out, what offsets will fit my car, and still look good? As far as I know, the lower the offset, the more the wheel comes out. I'd like the wheels to fill the guards out pretty well, but does a low offset affect the handling? And at what offset would I have to start worrying about rubbing the guards?

My 4th question was going to be about converting to 5 stud, but if it comes to that, then that's probably a whole other topic that I'd be getting myself into, and I think I'd prefer to wait until I get a new car rather than spend money on that

Or, since I have no clue, should I just keep the wheels I've got and stop complaining?

Anyway, I know thats a lot of questions for me to ask, and a lot for you to read, so thanks in advance to anyone who makes it through reading it!

Edit: One more thing, in your opinion, what colour wheels would match my car (Two-tone Blue+Grey)? I love those dark bronze wheels, but they're probably better suited to white or black. Was thinking of getting them as close to the grey colour that's on the car as I can get, just so I don't have too many colours happening

Edited January 21, 2008 by jimnastic

[NA_Goodness]

A bit of colour isnt a bad thing. A black or gun metal wheel would look good. Converting over to 5-stud hubs can be expensive. Do a search, cos the topic has come up a few times b4, either in here or the NA performance section. As for wheels, look for anything that will fit an S13 Silvia or 180SX because they have the same stud pattern. As for off-set, wouldnt have a clue. But you wont find anything with dish, so dont bother trying. Have a look on TempeTyres.com, they have a wheel calculator that will help you find wheels that will fit your car. Other than that, look for wheels that have 4-studs, and then see if they match the 114.3x4 that you have. Then sort out off-set from there, or just buy some spacers. Finding the right off-set is the better way to go tho. There is a Sticky at the top of this forum with this info in it as well.

[jimnastic]

Yeah I noticed that places like Tempe Tyres say "available in 114.3x4 to suit Nissan Silvia", just wasn't sure about if the offsets are the same or not. After having a look around, I think I'm looking for an offset of about 28+ or 30+. As for dish, I'd love to have it, but I know I've got no chance of getting it lol.

In the end, I might just have to go for some 17x7s from Tempe, or will that look stupid? I love the look of having wide wheels and I don't want to lose it. I doubt it would be possible to get them custom made to be wider, would it? And if it can be done, it's probably not affordable

Edit: I found these on the Tempe Tyres website. 17x7, but they look seckshual http://www.tempetyres.com.au/products_clos...mp;part_no=1176

Edited January 21, 2008 by jimnastic

[RBLUV]

17x7 on a 33 = poo

you have enough guard space to go something like 17/18x9 or even 17/18x10!!!

and a decent offset of +20

[N1GTR]

A31Deviat is selling a nice set of rims, have a look

[adam-__-]

Before you go and look at wheels that you like, do some research and get an idea of how the wheel offset and width will affect the way the car looks. Try to get your car's wheels as close to the guards as you can and try to go for Japanese wheels. Check out wheels for sale by our traders and those on nissansilvia.com. NS.com would probably be your best option for 4 stud wheels.

When going to a larger diameter wheel, you would get smaller profile tyres so that the speedo isn't out. The wheels and tyres you have on now should have the same rolling diameter as the new set. Tyres would be more expensive.

To find out what offset your wheels are, just take them off the car and look for a sticker or a print. Should tell you the width and offset. My guess is that it would be between +30 and +40.

Converting to 5 stud would be the best thing to do. You'll get a wider range of wheels.

To find out what the best looking offset would be for a 7" wide wheel, use THIS site. Type in your current wheel specs and type in any random offset for your new wheels and see what comes up. Try and get this to be even with your guards.

Good luck with your search for the right wheels.

[jimnastic]

Wow, I thought this topic had died, I went away for a week and now I've got heaps of info to help me out! Thanks heaps to everyone

If anyone else has any info on good place to buy wheels or any other info that might help me, please let me know!

[mr. kirisaki]

Yes... OFFSET IS THE KEY. Don't learn the hard way buddy.