xB_ey

After scanning, reading, and learning from this great site, I just ordered our xB. One of the things i think is great about it is it is just begging for new wheels and tires. I'm sure at most dealers, there is at least one xB wearing 215/35/18 and TRD wheels. For my taste, 215 is to thin and 35 is just not thick enough.

I am considering 225/40 or 35 (if i have to, to help make it fit), 18in wheel, and either 7.5 or 8 inch wide, using Spy 2inch drop. Basically, my thinking is to fill up the fender as much as possible and still have clearance for the 2 inch drop. If anyone is using these combinations, what offsets are you using?

Thanks in advance for any info and advice you can provide.

allblackxb

I have 215 and they rap onto the rim nicely. But if you want a full look and good grip i would go with the 225. And either 35 or 40 series. 35's are kinda loud and bumpy.

scionracerxA

I have 225/40 r18's on my xA and today i found out that they rub on the inside when i turn the wheel all the way in one direction or the other. since the max wheel width for both the xA and xB is 7.5, i suggest if you don't want to have the headache of the rub that i do, go with the 215. i'm working with jon from SPFR to figure out a way to shim the wheels so they don't rub. right now i don't know of anyone who has anything wider than a 7.5 wheel on their car, so i may be in the dark................i'll keep you posted

George

Are the steering stops adjustable? If so, it might be better to limit the steering lock a bit rather than mess up the front end geometry with spacers and such.

George

ScionVan

xB ey: Check out these pics of scionara Roger's xB:
http://sr20.hybrids.jp/van/scion/first_bbq/pages/14.htm
http://sr20.hybrids.jp/van/scion/first_bbq/pages/15.htm
He's got 225/40-18s on an 18x7.5" +42mm offset wheel with an additional 5mm spacer (effectively making the wheel a +37mm offset). You can see in the 3/4 angle shot that there's still room to go out quite a bit.

scionracerxA: you can actually go over 9" width on the Scions. There's a little tweaking involved, but it's pretty simple. For those who don't want to tweak, you can still fit a staggered 8" and 9" width setup with judicious offset selection. I think the reason you're rubbing might be because you are running a high-offset wheel. What wheel do you have?

I think I posted about this before but the post didn't go through or something, but I'm getting some +25mm offset 16" and 17" JDM wheels specifically for the Scions soon. Wheels are light weight, design is very cool, and price is actually on par with the cheap, high-offset wheels that are prevalent in the US (these wheels are brand new but are old stock so that's why they're going for cheap). With these low-offset wheels, there should be no steering or rubbing issues, and they will help fill up the wheelwells even better and make the car look wider and lower off the bat. If anyone's interested, please email or PM me.

scionracerxA

i've got the BSA 305's........think i'll be able to get away with making the same mods to the xA as they've done with the xB to get rid of the rub? I'm putting on the springs on monday so i gotta get rid of that rub before D1.

xB_ey

racerxa: Thanks for the great info!
scionvan: Thanks for the info and pics! Youre observations about the usdm's selections of various offsets are right on. Its hard to find what youre looking for when youre after a particular look. I know its a bit different, but i'm leaning in the direction of the old school "low-rider, mini-truck" look for the xB (chain steering wheel, and all--JK!). I notice that that look is big in Japan with billet grills, chrome side mirrors, chrome wheels, diff spoiler lips and kits, etc. My brother in law wants me to bag it (like erikM), but its going to be a daily driver (120/day) and i don't think its such a good idea. Thats basically what i'm going for, al bet on the sublte side.

Ive noticed that i'm looking in truck mags for wheel ideas. You just can't find anything but 5 star designs in the sport compact car mags. And when i do find a wheel in the truck mags, they only make in 20's or 22's, or theyre not available 4x100. So to sum up van, i can go with 225/40/18, use the 2 inch drop, as long as my offset is No More than +42? Is that right? Also, does anyone make anything good that's more than 2 inchs. Again, much thanx!!!

allblackxb

Hey SCIONVAN!

Is that your Xb? If so does it rub at all with those tires? Also how much ground clearnece do you have with those springs? Thanks, Mike

ScionVan

scionracerxA: Those wheels most likely have a really high offset on the order of 40mm to 42mm. So your rubbing problem is most probably a result of that high offset. With the wheels sucked into the body with high offsets, the inside outer perimeter of the tires will contact suspension components as you turn the steering wheel before a wheel with lower offset will. That was a convoluted sentence but I hope it made sense...

xB ey/allblackxb: that car I linked to actually belongs to Roger who is on this list as "scionara." I believe he said that he only had minor rubbing issues with small portions of the inner fender plastic panels. His cure was to just trim those pieces, and all was well afterwards. Hopefully he will pop up in this thread to help provide further details for you guys...

scionara

If you don't want to deal with cutting the inner plastic in the fender, then stay away from 225x40x18s.

With Spy springs, I still rub on hard u-turns only. Once the Spy spring settled, I had to cut the front strut bump stop to get more suspension travel. I initially cut the bump stop too much (cut two sections instead of 1 section) and this caused some serious rubbing. Base on this experience, only cut 1 section of the strut bump stop and it's good to go but still may feel a very slight (very very slight) rubbing in the inner fender on hard u-turns.

As for the rear, I only had to cut a very small portion of the plastic splash guard looking thing. I added a 5mm spacer to bring out the rim.

Bottom line, I like the way it filled the fender gap and it just looks cool.

scionracerxA

thanks Van and Roger for the advice, I'll try everything suggested and i'll let u guys know what happens.............but tomorrow i'm installing the springs............so things are about to get more interesting.............

xB_ey

scionvan & scionara:
what are your thoughts about running 18x8 using 225/35??? under the wheel fitments thread, because there is a listing for 18x8, is it safe to say that 8 inch wide is okay (with proper offsets and tires size)? and what about using 8 inch with the 2inch lowering srprings???

oldieone

I don't hear anyone talking about speedo acuracy. If you put on 225x18x40 tires, your speedometer will read slow and because the tires are greater diameter than the stock tires the gearing will also be higher (lower numerically). Maybe no one cares, but this sure doesn't improve acceleration.
oldieone

ScionVan

xb ey: I think that running a 225/35-18 on an 8" wide wheel will be no problem (granted you get a good offset), but you might be hard-pressed to find some 225/35s. I don't remember too many companies offering tires in that particular size... there's lots of 215/35s and 225/40s. But if you can get them, they shouldn't be a problem.

oldie: the reason you don't see too many people talking about speedo inaccuracy with different tire sizes is because the difference is pretty minimal. In some cases, the difference in overall diameter is less than what you'd get from having improper air tire pressure, which can alter your tire diameter up to over 1/2" also...

JDMxB

Would you guys recommend going with maybe a 215/35/18 in the front, and 225/40/18 in the rear?

I assume there would be no rubbing in the rear, because the only turning occurs in the front--in which I am currently running 215/35s with no problem...I would just like a little more meat, especially on the rear tires.

NJxB

i don't know if that's a good idea. i think the rotation is front to back and not side to side. also, it serves almost no purpose. it's not like you're launching from your rear wheels. i do like the staggered look, but i don't think it's a good idea for the xB.

BB_Bling

Speedo accuracy addressed here:

http://www.saturnperformance.com/tech/tiresize/

Of course, they're still estimates... since even the weight load of two identical tires can affect the overall diameter.

:)

MIKEY

My buddie has hot 225/30/19 and it rides sweet. A little bumpy, but then again, I love to FEEL the road.

DibujoB

When we put the 19's on our xB, it rubbed pretty bad when the wheel was turned full lock. We tossed it on a lift, got under it with a little mini-sledge, and just hammered the $h!t out of the inside of the wheel well!!!! Kind of primative, but it worked great! You can't even tell where we hamered it in...it all looks flush and clean. Kind of suprising.

bBOXD

So will a 225/35-18 be fine on a 18x7.5 +40 offset wheel, lowered 2.2 in front and 2.0 in rear? Thanks