Wheel Tips / FAQ
12-27-2005, 10:05 PM
#1
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Wheel Tips / FAQ
How do you find a decent wheel and tire package? Many of us ask this question when it comes time to getting some new shoes, and some of us find it hard to get the answers we need. I find it a lot easier to use a Tire Size Calculator and an offset calculator. To guide you in buying the right wheel tire combo. But there a few things we should know about before doing this.
Offset, The offset of a wheel is the distance from the mounting surface of the wheel to the centerline of the rim. Positive offset means the mounting surface of the wheel is positioned in front of the centerline of the rim/tire assembly. This in effect brings the tire in to the fender well more. A negative offset means the mounting surface of the wheel is behind the centerline of the rim/tire assembly. This will cause the tire to stick out away from the vehicle.
Camber, Camber is the angle of the wheel viewed from the front or the rear of the car. If the wheel leans in towards the chassis, it has negative camber; if it leans away from the car, it has positive camber. The cornering force that a tire can develop is dependent on its angle relative to the road, and so wheel camber has a major effect on the road holding of a car.
Toe, When a pair of wheels is set so that their leading edges are pointed towards each other, the wheel pair is said to have toe-in. If the leading edges point away from each other, the pair is said to have toe-out. Toe settings affect three major areas of performance: tire wear, straight-line stability and corner entry handling characteristics.
What Offset?
On my journey to find the right wheels and tires I stumbled along a site called 1010tires.com they have a wheel offset calculator and also a tire calculator. Hey I should give this a try!
With a basic idea of what I wanted in a rim I ran some different combinations of sizes. I ran a calculation on the specs from a certain wheel I’ve been eyeing for a while now The 18” Royal Black Rota Subzero’s my search came back that these wheels would extend 3mm from stock and my inner clearance would be decreased by 9mm.
Thinking this was pretty good I moved on, and ordered a set of the subzero’s. The wheels arrived promptly (Thanks Kim for the fast shipping!). Rota sent me 4 18" Subzeros with 4 CF look center caps. They also included a free hat and various decals. The wheels arrived in what looked to be perfect shape minus one of the plastic center caps that got damaged during shipping. This was easily fixed with some 3m tape.
I test fitted the wheels to see how well they worked. With the wheels looking pretty good in the fitment area its time to get me some tires and lug nuts.
*No I don't have the rims sitting on the ground*
Tire Size?
From here I went on the tire size calculator did some various tire sizes and came back with this a 225/40R18 Tire would yield these results.
The overall diameter would increase by 0.47in
The sidewall height would decrease by 0.26in
The radius would increase by 0.24in
The circumference would increase by 1.48in
The revs per mile would decrease by 15.8
Your Speedo would be 1.9% slower witch comes out to be 1.2mph
Witch isn’t to bad at all. With this information I move on. But wait what does that tire size mean? well the 225 is the width of the tire in millimeters, measured from sidewall to sidewall. The 40 is the aspect ratio to the rim, IE: 225/60/18 would be a higher "beefy" tire. 225/25/18 would be more like rubber bands
and the 18 is the rim size.
Tire Brand? Style?
Now time to pick a Brand and Style of tire. I’ve been looking at some BFG, Falken’s, Nitto's, Kumho's, and Hankooks. I have narrowed down to around three different tires.
My First choice was a BFG T/A Drag Radial.
My Second was a Nitto NeoGen Street Tire.
My Third and final choice was the BFG g-Force T/A KDW NT Performance Tire
What Did I end up picking?
I went with my third choice a BFG g-Force T/A KDW NT Performance Tire. It ran me around $588 for all 4 18" tires from www.tires.com.
Lug Nuts
Many of you may say hey lug nuts are lug nuts and any old AutoZone lugs will do! This is not the case! There are many different Styles and Sizes of lug nuts out there and picking the right is a pretty important step. I researched my rim to find out that Rota's require a semi-unique type of lug nut.
Most lugs have a rounded seat and some have seat angles that are not the same as the rota wheel which means a smaller contact point.
I needed lugs that have the same taper as the wheel, which means larger contact point.
As I searched on and found a company called subydude.com
They had just what I was looking for! Lug Nuts for Rota Wheels! With that information I got a set of Chrome Spline Drive Lug nuts.
Putting Them On
With the new rubber and the lug nuts its time to get these babies mounted and balanced! I took the rims and tires to Trick Pro. It ran me around $60 to mount and balance.
I chose to put the rims on the car myself because I’m very **** about who touches my car! Back to the shop we go aka the driveway!
I remove the stock wheels and tires. And begin to place the new shoes on.
After getting all 4 sides on I stand back and take a look at these killer wheels
, Job well done id say!
Im ready to climb rocks!!
Yeh love this sticker..
Review:
The rims, As Rota does a good job at making decent wheels at a discounted price I wouldn’t suggest these wheels to use for auto crossing. For someone looking for a nice clean look without the price tag these are for you. Rota has a line up of various lightweight wheels. I think these weigh in around Nineteen pounds a rim for the 18's witch is pretty close to the stock 17's Twenty pounds. Rota does offer other rims such as the Slip Streams.
Slip Streams (very popular in the Honda scene) witch weigh in around Thirteen pounds for a 16" rim. Is a very good choice if you are looking for a clean looking lightweight wheel.
I was originally going to do an Flat Black Subzero but am glad they were out of stock. The Royal Black fits the car very well and keeps it classy.
Special Thanks!
I would like to take this time to give a special thanks to the people who helped me get this article going!
Kim Bong http://www.rotawheels.com & http://www.rotawheel.com (US Site)
Zoeb http://www.subydude.com
Offset, The offset of a wheel is the distance from the mounting surface of the wheel to the centerline of the rim. Positive offset means the mounting surface of the wheel is positioned in front of the centerline of the rim/tire assembly. This in effect brings the tire in to the fender well more. A negative offset means the mounting surface of the wheel is behind the centerline of the rim/tire assembly. This will cause the tire to stick out away from the vehicle.
Camber, Camber is the angle of the wheel viewed from the front or the rear of the car. If the wheel leans in towards the chassis, it has negative camber; if it leans away from the car, it has positive camber. The cornering force that a tire can develop is dependent on its angle relative to the road, and so wheel camber has a major effect on the road holding of a car.
Toe, When a pair of wheels is set so that their leading edges are pointed towards each other, the wheel pair is said to have toe-in. If the leading edges point away from each other, the pair is said to have toe-out. Toe settings affect three major areas of performance: tire wear, straight-line stability and corner entry handling characteristics.
What Offset?
On my journey to find the right wheels and tires I stumbled along a site called 1010tires.com they have a wheel offset calculator and also a tire calculator. Hey I should give this a try!
With a basic idea of what I wanted in a rim I ran some different combinations of sizes. I ran a calculation on the specs from a certain wheel I’ve been eyeing for a while now The 18” Royal Black Rota Subzero’s my search came back that these wheels would extend 3mm from stock and my inner clearance would be decreased by 9mm.
Thinking this was pretty good I moved on, and ordered a set of the subzero’s. The wheels arrived promptly (Thanks Kim for the fast shipping!). Rota sent me 4 18" Subzeros with 4 CF look center caps. They also included a free hat and various decals. The wheels arrived in what looked to be perfect shape minus one of the plastic center caps that got damaged during shipping. This was easily fixed with some 3m tape.
I test fitted the wheels to see how well they worked. With the wheels looking pretty good in the fitment area its time to get me some tires and lug nuts.
*No I don't have the rims sitting on the ground*
Tire Size?
From here I went on the tire size calculator did some various tire sizes and came back with this a 225/40R18 Tire would yield these results.
The overall diameter would increase by 0.47in
The sidewall height would decrease by 0.26in
The radius would increase by 0.24in
The circumference would increase by 1.48in
The revs per mile would decrease by 15.8
Your Speedo would be 1.9% slower witch comes out to be 1.2mph
Witch isn’t to bad at all. With this information I move on. But wait what does that tire size mean? well the 225 is the width of the tire in millimeters, measured from sidewall to sidewall. The 40 is the aspect ratio to the rim, IE: 225/60/18 would be a higher "beefy" tire. 225/25/18 would be more like rubber bands
and the 18 is the rim size.Tire Brand? Style?
Now time to pick a Brand and Style of tire. I’ve been looking at some BFG, Falken’s, Nitto's, Kumho's, and Hankooks. I have narrowed down to around three different tires.
My First choice was a BFG T/A Drag Radial.
My Second was a Nitto NeoGen Street Tire.
My Third and final choice was the BFG g-Force T/A KDW NT Performance Tire
What Did I end up picking?
I went with my third choice a BFG g-Force T/A KDW NT Performance Tire. It ran me around $588 for all 4 18" tires from www.tires.com.
Lug Nuts
Many of you may say hey lug nuts are lug nuts and any old AutoZone lugs will do! This is not the case! There are many different Styles and Sizes of lug nuts out there and picking the right is a pretty important step. I researched my rim to find out that Rota's require a semi-unique type of lug nut.
Most lugs have a rounded seat and some have seat angles that are not the same as the rota wheel which means a smaller contact point.
I needed lugs that have the same taper as the wheel, which means larger contact point.
As I searched on and found a company called subydude.com
They had just what I was looking for! Lug Nuts for Rota Wheels! With that information I got a set of Chrome Spline Drive Lug nuts.
Putting Them On
With the new rubber and the lug nuts its time to get these babies mounted and balanced! I took the rims and tires to Trick Pro. It ran me around $60 to mount and balance.
I chose to put the rims on the car myself because I’m very **** about who touches my car! Back to the shop we go aka the driveway!
I remove the stock wheels and tires. And begin to place the new shoes on.
After getting all 4 sides on I stand back and take a look at these killer wheels
, Job well done id say!Im ready to climb rocks!!
Yeh love this sticker..
Review:
The rims, As Rota does a good job at making decent wheels at a discounted price I wouldn’t suggest these wheels to use for auto crossing. For someone looking for a nice clean look without the price tag these are for you. Rota has a line up of various lightweight wheels. I think these weigh in around Nineteen pounds a rim for the 18's witch is pretty close to the stock 17's Twenty pounds. Rota does offer other rims such as the Slip Streams.
Slip Streams (very popular in the Honda scene) witch weigh in around Thirteen pounds for a 16" rim. Is a very good choice if you are looking for a clean looking lightweight wheel.
I was originally going to do an Flat Black Subzero but am glad they were out of stock. The Royal Black fits the car very well and keeps it classy.
Special Thanks!
I would like to take this time to give a special thanks to the people who helped me get this article going!
Kim Bong http://www.rotawheels.com & http://www.rotawheel.com (US Site)
Zoeb http://www.subydude.com
12-28-2005, 12:59 AM
#3
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This is the FAQ I was asking for. Another great one from Kaeon (used your tCover FAQ last week to help me figure out which of the blue wires to tap into)
Also, isn't our stock tire 7.5 inches...not 7?
Suggested additions:
Hub/Center Bore. Definition/finding out what center-bore it is/what are the xB/xA/tC bores?
Definition of tire sizes. What do the numbers in 245/40R18 mean
that's all I can think of now....this thread is close to stickable! :D
Also, isn't our stock tire 7.5 inches...not 7?
Suggested additions:
Hub/Center Bore. Definition/finding out what center-bore it is/what are the xB/xA/tC bores?
Definition of tire sizes. What do the numbers in 245/40R18 mean
that's all I can think of now....this thread is close to stickable! :D
12-28-2005, 11:35 AM
#4
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Join Date: May 2004
Location: Palm Bay, Florida
Posts: 1,899
Originally Posted by dp-_-
This is the FAQ I was asking for. Another great one from Kaeon (used your tCover FAQ last week to help me figure out which of the blue wires to tap into)
Also, isn't our stock tire 7.5 inches...not 7?
that's all I can think of now....this thread is close to stickable! :D
Also, isn't our stock tire 7.5 inches...not 7?
that's all I can think of now....this thread is close to stickable! :D
12-28-2005, 11:59 AM
#5
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I think you're right now that I look more into it :\
Weird....it must not have updated on your side when I edited my post, but:
Hub/Center Bore. Definition/finding out what center-bore it is/what are the xB/xA/tC bores?
Definition of tire sizes. What do the numbers in 245/40R18 mean
Weird....it must not have updated on your side when I edited my post, but:
Hub/Center Bore. Definition/finding out what center-bore it is/what are the xB/xA/tC bores?
Definition of tire sizes. What do the numbers in 245/40R18 mean
12-28-2005, 04:50 PM
#9
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Originally Posted by dp-_-
I think you're right now that I look more into it :\
Weird....it must not have updated on your side when I edited my post, but:
Hub/Center Bore. Definition/finding out what center-bore it is/what are the xB/xA/tC bores?
Definition of tire sizes. What do the numbers in 245/40R18 mean
Weird....it must not have updated on your side when I edited my post, but:
Hub/Center Bore. Definition/finding out what center-bore it is/what are the xB/xA/tC bores?
Definition of tire sizes. What do the numbers in 245/40R18 mean
Originally Posted by Kaeon
Witch isn’t to bad at all. With this information I move on. But wait what does that tire size mean? well the 225 is the width of the tire in millimeters, measured from sidewall to sidewall. The 40 is the aspect ratio to the rim, IE: 225/60/18 would be a higher "beefy" tire. 225/25/18 would be more like rubber bands Smile and the 18 is the rim size.
12-28-2005, 05:16 PM
#10
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Just as an FYI...
Rota Wheels USA site is www.rotawheel.com. The www.rotawheels.com website is the Philippines site. Not all the wheels on the Filipino site are available in the US.
Most aftermarket wheels have conical holes, not just Rota. This style goes by name conical, tapered, and tuner.
From TireRack.com:
Also, most aftermarket wheels have a standardized centerbore of 67.1 or 73.1mm. I believe the centerbore on most Toyota cars is 54.1mm. I recommend hubcentric rings anyone who buys aftermarket wheels that have a centerbore bigger than their hubs. 67.1mm to 54.1mm or 73.1mm to 54.1mm...
More hubcentric ring info: http://www.justforwheels.com/index.j...entric&sub=how
Rota Wheels USA site is www.rotawheel.com. The www.rotawheels.com website is the Philippines site. Not all the wheels on the Filipino site are available in the US.
Most aftermarket wheels have conical holes, not just Rota. This style goes by name conical, tapered, and tuner.
From TireRack.com:
Also, most aftermarket wheels have a standardized centerbore of 67.1 or 73.1mm. I believe the centerbore on most Toyota cars is 54.1mm. I recommend hubcentric rings anyone who buys aftermarket wheels that have a centerbore bigger than their hubs. 67.1mm to 54.1mm or 73.1mm to 54.1mm...
More hubcentric ring info: http://www.justforwheels.com/index.j...entric&sub=how
12-28-2005, 05:16 PM
#11
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Originally Posted by Kaeon
Originally Posted by dp-_-
I think you're right now that I look more into it :\
Weird....it must not have updated on your side when I edited my post, but:
Hub/Center Bore. Definition/finding out what center-bore it is/what are the xB/xA/tC bores?
Definition of tire sizes. What do the numbers in 245/40R18 mean
Weird....it must not have updated on your side when I edited my post, but:
Hub/Center Bore. Definition/finding out what center-bore it is/what are the xB/xA/tC bores?
Definition of tire sizes. What do the numbers in 245/40R18 mean
Originally Posted by Kaeon
Witch isn’t to bad at all. With this information I move on. But wait what does that tire size mean? well the 225 is the width of the tire in millimeters, measured from sidewall to sidewall. The 40 is the aspect ratio to the rim, IE: 225/60/18 would be a higher "beefy" tire. 225/25/18 would be more like rubber bands Smile and the 18 is the rim size.
12-29-2005, 02:57 PM
#13
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Originally Posted by davedavetC
wow nice choice on wheels. how much did the wheels run you if you dont mind me askin?
12-29-2005, 03:23 PM
#14
Originally Posted by Kaeon
Originally Posted by davedavetC
wow nice choice on wheels. how much did the wheels run you if you dont mind me askin?
12-30-2005, 04:51 PM
#15
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Originally Posted by davedavetC
wow thats not bad at all. did you buy them online? if you did could you sent me a link? i wouldnt mind taking a look at the other wheels they have. do they have those wheels in gunmetal (or a lighter finish then the black you got?) i really like those wheels.
Originally Posted by Kaeon
Special Thanks!
I would like to take this time to give a special thanks to the people who helped me get this article going!
Kim Bong http://www.rotawheels.com & http://www.rotawheel.com (US Site)
I would like to take this time to give a special thanks to the people who helped me get this article going!
Kim Bong http://www.rotawheels.com & http://www.rotawheel.com (US Site)
01-03-2006, 03:16 AM
#16
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whats the weight per wheel? +tire?
i know most rotas are supposed be some kind of knockoff designs to most popular wheels so what are they a knockoff to? enkei rpf1s are what im thinking of.
i know most rotas are supposed be some kind of knockoff designs to most popular wheels so what are they a knockoff to? enkei rpf1s are what im thinking of.
01-14-2006, 02:10 AM
#19
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Originally Posted by ycart1201
for someone who is still dreaming of his new shoes (come on tax refund!) I found this write up to be excellent!!!
Nathan
ycart1201
Nathan
ycart1201
thanks for the kind words...
01-22-2006, 07:21 AM
#20
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subzeros = a forever classic look!
i converted my non-scion car from 4 lug to 5 lug, and had to sell my subzeros. But I'm sure i'll have them on another one of my cars in the future! i had them for 2 years, and never had a single bend in any of them. I think they would be just fine for autocross.
Rota had some problems with their 'battle' rims in autocross conditions, but they recalled the trouble rims and replaced them free of charge.
i converted my non-scion car from 4 lug to 5 lug, and had to sell my subzeros. But I'm sure i'll have them on another one of my cars in the future! i had them for 2 years, and never had a single bend in any of them. I think they would be just fine for autocross.
Rota had some problems with their 'battle' rims in autocross conditions, but they recalled the trouble rims and replaced them free of charge.