help with wheels/tires

[escartiz]

I got a set of wheels 15x7 +25 offset with 225/50R15 tires. Rears are barely rubbing the leaf spring bend clips and clears the spring at the rear for about 1/4. fronts rub with sway bar when turning.





what should I do to correct this?

should I get 10mm spacers to achieve the recommended offset on other threads, this would get the wheels farther from the inside but I am afraid the tire size would require flaring and I don't want to do that. I still got some space between tires and fender lib.

or maybe just get narrower tires. i believe the most suggested on other threads is 195/55R15 which according to miata.net tire calculator is only 0.8% smaller than stock.

I am thinking probably 195/50 (4.1% smaller than stock) to keep the car low.
or 205/50 (2.4% smaller than stock) wider for a bit more grip.

I want to know if either putting spacers or changing tire size would eliminate the rubbing or will I have to do both, change tires and add spacers.

appreciate your help, here are more pics.

[pebbles]

You got disc brakes on the rear? Get out the strait edge!
225s are are abit too wide for stock sheet metal. +18 on the front and +15 on the rear are " safe" OS In most cases, stock everything.

[DatsunBucky]

As far as the front goes, there are adjustable stops that limit the movement of the steering. If you run the wheel full left and right you'll see what stops further movement. Just back out those bolts a little at a time until the tire clears the sway bar. Make sure you get the lock nut tight. This doesn't affect alignment, just steering angle.

[Alvin]

195/50/15 will solve it
great job with the pics, now we can illustrate the effects of high offset wheels on the roadster!

[Dcyco1]

1/4" spacers may help you out in the back, as long as you have room on the fender side. I may have a set if you are interested.

[escartiz]

Thanks for all the advices, I got the 195/50/R15 tires installed today, rear clears perfect although it might look nicer with spacers. front only rubbing on the right side when turning left. I looked for the adjustable stops that limit the movement of the steering but not sure if I found them, there are some bolts on each side of the control arms that look like adjusters but neither side touches at full turn, I'll have to wait until it stops raining to make sure and try adjusting them.

I might try 8mm spacers on the front if the adjustables don't do the trick and 10mm on the rear for appearance. I think 1/4 would not be enough but I appreciate the offer Dcyco1. I will get pic tomorrow so you can give me your opinions and help me decide if I should put spacers or not

[escartiz]

I see many spacers on ebay, Do I need to get hubcentric spacers or regular ones?

[escartiz]

here is a pic of the bolts unscrew almost all the way and there is still like 1/2" gap to touch the arms



I think I definitely need to add spacers to push the tires outward, not sure I like the way they look. let me know what you think

[pebbles]

15x7 +25 is deep. if you plan on a big front swaybar and 195s, +18 is right there. retain the stock swaybar and +20 should be? ok. make sure there is at least 1 full thread hanging out of the stop bolt in the frame/nut.
If you had a drawer full of washers, you could TEST FIT with different thicknesses/stackup (then measure the washers) to determine what spacer would fit before you buy.

pic is 1.10" of clearance with a 195/60 15, so add +8mm to the +12 and you should have 1/4" clearance. (15x7 +20 OS)

[fj20spl311]

here is a pic of the bolts unscrew almost all the way and there is still like 1/2" gap to touch the arms

IIRC the stops are on the "drag" link side of the Steering Box and Idler Arm so the left controls the right side and the right controls the left.
Or am I full of it? (That's a rhetorical question LOL)

I will check tonight on my car. YEP

Did you check the other side?

[DatsunBucky]

If they are truly almost all the way out, you could just replace it with a longer bolt and either reuse the jam nut or get a new one. FJ20, you are ccorrect.

[escartiz]

I got 1-1/2" new stop bolts.

I did the trick with the washers so I ended up buying 5/16 (8mm) spacers for the front to make front wheels +17 offset. I couldn't find 9mm spacers to make it the exact +18 offset but everything clears now.

for the rear I got 3/8 (10mm) so the rears are +15 offset now. Rear tires still look a bit inward to me. I wonder if 10+ offset in the rear would still be safe, there seems to be plenty of space between tire and lip.

Also had to buy new wheel studs as the stock ones where to short now.

Thanks a lot for all the help