Calling All Wheel/tyre Pros!

[insane]

Ok I have been here almost 5 years now and this is my first ever post in any forum other than the for sale section. Whilst I didnt grow up fixing cars and such most of what I have learned has come from searching these forums, but this time I need some help....

I have a R32 GTR which I brought from an importer, about 2 months ago I grazed a kerb and got a bruise in the side of my tyre. So I decided to take the wheel off to change to spare and what do I find? Spacers, HUGE spacers, needless to say I didnt know these were actually illegal until I read it on the forums. Long story short, I have no idea how the importer complied the car with these spacers on there. They must be 20cm, they bolt on to the hub itself.

So I go down to Bob Jane and tell them look fit me some wheels and get rid of the spacers, they find something that clears the brakes and I say ok they are nice. I pick the car up after work when they are closed and drive it home. The car is all over place, especially around corners something is definately not right. I take it back to them on the saturday and he tells me well your strut must be bent as the camber is out 1 degree on the left side.

So I take my car to a suspension place and have them put back the original GTR shocks, they tell me that the bushes are gone (which I read about here on the forums) and they tell me to go with the camber kit. So $680 later I again pick up the car after work with all the front bushes replaced and upper camber kit. The suspension guy tells me that the ball joint on the drivers side is stripped on the botton and the nut is just sitting there. I say, Is this ok to drive on? He assures me its ok. I drive the car out of there as they are closing and its still not right, I dont even think this suspension place test drove my car. I ring up ranting and he tells me that its something to do with hicas or something else and I am fed up at this point.

So a few days ago I hear a noise in the front left and I take the car to tyrepower near my work because it sounds like something is loose. The call me 15 minutes later and tell me the car shouldnt even be on the road because of the offset on the wheels and the ball joint etc. So once this is all explained to me (prior to this I had no idea what any of this) I am REALLY mad, I get car towed.

Now that its been explained to me I don't know how the suspension guy could have let me drive out of there with the nut (which is now missing) from the bottom of the ball joint metal glued in place.

They have told me the tyres and rims I was sold should never have been fitted to begin with because the offset is not correct, so one thing at a time I am going to go back to these establishments and try and have them fix their mistakes.

So before I go back to these places I need some clarification so that I am not going to lose the battle. The tyres they fitted me with are 235/40ZR18 95 W

the stamp on the rim is ET 36, I am told the 32 GTR needs between 20-25P. Would the change in offset affect my steering or is this just a bad wheel alignment?

Do I have a case to go back to Bob Jane and say you fit the wrong tyres/rims here and they should have never been sold to me, or is it purely a vanity thing that they dont even line up with the guards. I have read that fitting the wrong wheels has caused problems with bending steering columns from searching here on the forums but I have never seen anyone confirm that.

After that I am going to go back to the suspension place and ask them how the flying hell they let me drive out of there with the bottom nut held on the ball joint with a bit of steel glue.

So your comments/suggestions anything would be appreciated, I know now that this is probably the best place to consult for people who know these cars and get me headed in the right direction again.

[djr81]

The lesson is two fold.

1. Tyrepower/Bob Janes etc aren't as expert as you would want them to be. You should be using a proper suspension place as recommended by other Skyline owners.

2. I understand you are annoyed & why you are annoyed but at the end of the day how much time do you want to spend arguing with morons?

With regard to the offset a surprising wide range can be fitted (albeit not necessarilly legally) without having adverse affects on the handling. If you can demonstrate to the vendor what he fitted is not roadworthy you may have half a chance of getting things fixed.

[Beer Baron]

ok, i have a couple of points too:

the advise that a bent strut (shock) could cause your camber problem was completely incorrect. on a machperson strut type suspension that is true and happens a bit. GTRs have wishbones. the camber is not affected by the strut. it's adjusted by the length of the upper or lower control arms. so they were completely wrong on that front, and it's quite possible there was nothing wrong with your other suspension.

it was most likely the deformed bushes that you replaced that were causing the camber problem. that is why you fit a 'camber kit' there as they are offset bushes that effectively lengthen or shorten the upper control arm to adjust camber on the front.

the lower ball joint nut is important. from memory there should be a split pin there to stop it just falling off, but it shouldn't be the only thing keeping it on. getting that fixed would be a good idea.

at the best explain to them what I've told you and perhaps they may let you trade in the rims on something more suitable. sadly most of the aussie

now, the wheels. the standard wheels on a 32 GTR are 16X8 +30 on a 33 GTR 17X9 +30 and a 34 GTR runs 18X9 +30. i'm guessing they've given you a set of 18X8 +36 which are really not the right width or offset for a 32 GTR. they wont be causing (or shouldn't be) any problems and are by no means unsafe, but they definitely are wrong. they'd be more suited to a magna or something. you want something between 18X9 and 18X10 with an offset between +20 and +25. that will be ideal for your R32 GTR. or the most popular and in my view probably the most 'comfortable' size on a 32 is a 17X9 +20 with a 245 or 255 wide tyre on it (or 235 if you're using semi slicks).

the wrong wheels wont bend your steering column.

check that you have the same size tyres both front and rear. if they have fitted different size tyres front and rear then it can and will damage your all wheel drive and would cause problems with hicas etc too and can make the car drive 'funny'. if they have fitted different size wheels or tyres front to rear then you 100% have a case to get your money back and if it's caused damage to the AWD you may have a case for them to foot some or all of that repair bill too. they will also cosmetically look terrible as you have a big diameter wheel with narrow tyres and an offset that means the wheel is sunken in to the guards.

[insane]

Yes i totally agree with you on the lessons.

I believe the point of arguing with them would be to maybe put the $1200 it cost me for new tyres and wheels back or put towards something that is actually suitable rather than writing it off as a loss.

[djr81]

Yes i totally agree with you on the lessons.

I believe the point of arguing with them would be to maybe put the $1200 it cost me for new tyres and wheels back or put towards something that is actually suitable rather than writing it off as a loss.

If it only cost you $1200 for the tyres & rims then I would suggest: Keep the tyres. Sell the rims.

That way you can get something more appropriate.

As teh Baron says if it is an R32 GT-R then a good size is an 18x9 +22. But you can get away with a bit less in trackwidth on the offset. There are loads of second hand rims for sale. I would go down that road as I believe cheap Bob Jane rims on a GT-R are a travesty.

Check out the SAU for sale items & the vendors list.

Stuff like this is common.

http://www.skylinesaustralia.com/forums/F-...tml&hl=rims

[Beer Baron]

$1200 is what an average to good set of 18inch road tyres cost. really good ones will be over $2K just for the tyres. it's also what a good set of 18inch rims will cost.

budget $1200 for some average to good tyres. plenty to choose from in that budget that will still be quite good.

budget $1000-$1500 for some nice second hand japanese wheels. might even score some forged aluminium ones for that much.

try and return the 'awesome' wheel and 'tyre' package you got from BJ but don't hold your breath. perhaps keep them as a spare set for skidpads etc. or try and sell them on a magna or some other forum like that (find out what else they'll fit). they may also fit better on a GTST. but they are not GTR size/offset so no chance of any other GTR owner buying them.

[nisskid]

So I go down to Bob Jane

first and biggest mistake.

and lol at 20cm spacers. pretty simple i thought, buy some stockies and put them on, better than any of the shit bob jane would put on, honestly the fact that people would put wheels from bob jane on a GTR is a joke.

[Mike__]

+1 for the stockie forged / lightweight 16 x 8's. Just put on some decent rubber

Just went & got some new tyres fitted the other day, the owner of the tyre/wheel mob who deals a lot with the motosport side of things here in Perth said there one of his favourite wheels. equivalent quality set of aftermarket rims are ~$3000+, asking if i knew where any 2nd hand sets were.

Mike