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I'm a proud new owner of a recently purchased 2015 xB.
I was planning to leave it all stock.....but.....coming from a background of hot rodding early Camaros, lifting 4x4 trucks, and riding dirtbikes, I can't leave it stock, LOL.
I'm looking to at least put some nicer looking shoes on my xB.
I know for sure I don't plan to lower it. I don't want a staggered set up as I want to be able to rotate my tires.
After reading a bunch of posts here, I plan to go with an 18" rim with a tire that's squared off with the rim or slightly bulged (NOT stretched beads).
I want to go with the widest wheel/tire combination without worrying about rubbing and hitting the frame/fenders.
I also don't want any rubbing should the car be temporarily lowered by having 4-5 passengers in the vehicle.
Again, my main concern is zero tire rubbing while still changing the look of the vehicle.
I've had trucks where we had to cut out the inner fender liner, cut the bumper, and cut the corner of the fenders; been there, done that. Don't want to deal with that stuff anymore in my old age.
If you are going with an 18 then to keep the overall diameter the same as stock you will most likely end up with a 225/40 tire. To keep the tire square you'll want to stick to an 18x8 wheel with an offset near +40 ish so you can't rub fully loaded. You can vary slightly from this but you'll want to keep near for what you are trying to achieve.
If you are going with an 18 then to keep the overall diameter the same as stock you will most likely end up with a 225/40 tire. To keep the tire square you'll want to stick to an 18x8 wheel with an offset near +40 ish so you can't rub fully loaded. You can vary slightly from this but you'll want to keep near for what you are trying to achieve.
Factory 16x6.5" wheels have 45mm offset. You'll want something with more offset, around 50mm , to place more of extra width on inside so you won't get rubbing for sure. I can rub factory wheels going fast around corner to compress suspension. Then hitting a bump with wheels turned rubs for sure!
Factory 16x6.5" wheels have 45mm offset. You'll want something with more offset, around 50mm , to place more of extra width on inside so you won't get rubbing for sure. I can rub factory wheels going fast around corner to compress suspension. Then hitting a bump with wheels turned rubs for sure!
If I may add my $.02, you may also let us know what is your current suspension settings? Very important to know if you are going to lower your car which may change the recommendations.
From personal experience I recommend TRD shocks and Tein S Tech Springs with an addition of a rear TRD sway bar. Best investment I've ever done. Also, I fill add some pictures here shortly.
If you are going with an 18 then to keep the overall diameter the same as stock you will most likely end up with a 225/40 tire. To keep the tire square you'll want to stick to an 18x8 wheel with an offset near +40 ish so you can't rub fully loaded. You can vary slightly from this but you'll want to keep near for what you are trying to achieve.
Greg,
I don't fully understand wheel sizing when changing from factory stock. I also want to change wheels and tires although want to keep stock suspension. The photo below is 19" Camry wheels on stock suspension. The tires are 235/40/R19... I see your post above regarding 18" tire size and don't understand the correlation going to the 19" You think this tire size shown will work without rub issues? This car pictured is NOT mine. THIS IS THE LOOK I'D LIKE TO ACHIEVE.
That tire size is definitely oversized. Basically it's putting the tire closer to the wheel well arch and lifting the car at the same time. As for if it will hit that depends on the width, how wide the wheel is, and offset of the wheels, how far the mounting surface of the tire is from the center of the wheel. Generally it is best to stick as close to the stock overall diameter of the factory wheel/tire combination. This keeps your speedometer and odometer from reading incorrectly. In the case of the tires and wheels above they are 6% larger than stock so both the speedometer and odometer will be read about 6% less than the actual speed and mileage. Here is a decent site for doing quick comparisons of tire sizes so you can visually see the difference. https://tiresize.com/comparison/
The factory 19" wheel option used a 235/35R19 tire. As you increase the wheel diameter the tires get thinner and thinner if you try to stay close to the same overall diameter. As another example, I run 20" wheels with a 225/30R20 tire.
Originally Posted by semscion
Greg,
I don't fully understand wheel sizing when changing from factory stock. I also want to change wheels and tires although want to keep stock suspension. The photo below is 19" Camry wheels on stock suspension. The tires are 235/40/R19... I see your post above regarding 18" tire size and don't understand the correlation going to the 19" You think this tire size shown will work without rub issues? This car pictured is NOT mine. THIS IS THE LOOK I'D LIKE TO ACHIEVE.
Changing tyre-diameter also affects suspension-geometry. Not lowering suspension keeps beneficial camber-curve, so that's OK.
Larger diameter means less suspension travel before you rub bodywork. Extra weight is also common side-effect and worsens ride-comfort and handling. Larger diameter also increases gearing-ratios and results in less-torque at contact-patch and slower acceleration (along with extra weight).
DannoXYZ,
This forum is amazing and appreciated. Thank you.
I have been looking at photos online of some sweet XB's and like the look. Researching tire/wheel sizes can be confusing, then toss in geometry and suspension and alignment which should all work together. You provide better information here than the "experts" selling the stuff. The links previously provided, and tire size comparison chart are invaluable. I simply just don't feel comfortable making a decision choosing the correct size wheels and tires that will look better and function properly with my stock suspension. If I upgrade my suspension as well, I can be looking at thousands of dollars to complete. I did reach out to the owner of the pictured car above, he says it all works fine, no rubbing, no problems. I see there is more to consider. I do like the looks of filled out wheel wells. I did find these same wheels in 18"/8" as well.
I need to study more of what you have provided me. I wish it was simple, like you need this....
This is my current set up, just lacks the cool factor.
Last edited by semscion; 03-02-2022 at 09:12 PM.
Reason: add photo
It comes down to how you use your car. I'm very ADHD, so I drive my cars like GTA all the time. It's either WOT or full-on brakes or squealing around corners at limits! Then I take it on trackdays and really push them to 100%. Believe me, you can rub stock wheels & tyres when driving hard.
"Cool" is subjective and changes with latest fad. I think your car is just as cool as other one with massive wheels. I see wheels as utilitarian devices to hold tyres and maximise grip. So I rattlecan all my wheels flat-black. But get them in 3-piece forged designs for max weight-savings and grip (BBS or CCW). In 18x9" would weigh 17-18 lbs and give max-grip with 225mm tyres. I think they look best when tyres are square with rim, not pinched, not stretched.
Seems that Danno and I drive about the same, though I don't AutoX anymore.
A lot of what you can do wheel wise boils down to how you drive and what look you want. I know that my 20" wheels do not have as much grip as my 18" did but I like the look better. Then again I've changed, or modified, every part of my suspension except the lower control arms to achieve the look I want and still be able to drive near the limit. Air suspension helps as I can dial in the ride to be a bit more comfortable and then adjust it back for better handling.
Tire Rack has nifty feature that's install wheels of your choosing onto your particular car so you can see how it'll look beforehand! Pretty cool! I used to have to do it old-fashioned way. By cutting photos of wheels out of catalogues and pasting them onto photos of my car! hahahahah!!!
I'm a proud new owner of a recently purchased 2015 xB.
I was planning to leave it all stock.....but.....coming from a background of hot rodding early Camaros, lifting 4x4 trucks, and riding dirtbikes, I can't leave it stock, LOL.
I'm looking to at least put some nicer looking shoes on my xB.
I know for sure I don't plan to lower it. I don't want a staggered set up as I want to be able to rotate my tires.
After reading a bunch of posts here, I plan to go with an 18" rim with a tire that's squared off with the rim or slightly bulged (NOT stretched beads).
I want to go with the widest wheel/tire combination without worrying about rubbing and hitting the frame/fenders.
I also don't want any rubbing should the car be temporarily lowered by having 4-5 passengers in the vehicle.
Again, my main concern is zero tire rubbing while still changing the look of the vehicle.
I've had trucks where we had to cut out the inner fender liner, cut the bumper, and cut the corner of the fenders; been there, done that. Don't want to deal with that stuff anymore in my old age.
Mahalo for your input!
OK folks......after sitting too long on this decision making , I've decided to drop the car and bought Tein H Tech springs.
I also installed 18x8 +45mm wheels with 225/40R18 Tires.
The fronts look good. But I don't like the looks of the rear.
So I'm thinking....forget about rotating the tires and do a staggered set up.
Is it possible to run a 18x9 wheel without any rubbing and also without rolling the fender?
IF it's possible, what size tire would be good?
I'm a proud new owner of a recently purchased 2015 xB.
I was planning to leave it all stock.....but.....coming from a background of hot rodding early Camaros, lifting 4x4 trucks, and riding dirtbikes, I can't leave it stock, LOL.
I'm looking to at least put some nicer looking shoes on my xB.
I know for sure I don't plan to lower it. I don't want a staggered set up as I want to be able to rotate my tires.
After reading a bunch of posts here, I plan to go with an 18" rim with a tire that's squared off with the rim or slightly bulged (NOT stretched beads).
I want to go with the widest wheel/tire combination without worrying about rubbing and hitting the frame/fenders.
I also don't want any rubbing should the car be temporarily lowered by having 4-5 passengers in the vehicle.
Again, my main concern is zero tire rubbing while still changing the look of the vehicle.
I've had trucks where we had to cut out the inner fender liner, cut the bumper, and cut the corner of the fenders; been there, done that. Don't want to deal with that stuff anymore in my old age.
Mahalo for your input!
OK folks, the post you see above was back then (7 weeks ago)..........Now I changed my mind, LOL.
Since then, I bought Tein H Tech lowering springs and dropped the vehicle (1.1" front, 1.6" rear)
I also bought 18x8 +45mm rims with 225/40R18 tires.
The fronts look good, However, I don't care for the looks in the rear.
Initially I wanted to rotate tires, now I say screw it. I think I'm going for the staggered look.
Is it possible to run a 18x9.5 rim in the rear without having to roll the fenders?
I'm also looking at a 255/35R18 which offers the same height as the fronts.
Any suggestions?
If you like how the front looks and want the same in the rear just get 10-15mm spacers and longer studs. This'll give you the look without having to drag around the extra weight or the wider wheels and tires and still let you rotate your wheels.
Yeah, just space out rear wheels by 10-15mm. Since they don't turn like front, you can place them closer to outside edge of fenders without rubbing when hitting bumps.
Longer studs and spacers are way better than wheel-adapters that bolt on and provides 2nd set of studs (for lazy people). In addition to weight, they'll have 2nd set of lug-nuts that'll be hidden when you install wheels. Those can't be checked easily and many have wobbled loose...
Thank you for you input! I'll look into the wheel spacers instead of buying new wheels.
Being that I have an extra set of replacement hub/bearing assemblies which don't include the studs, I'll install the longer studs on those and just swap out the whole hub/bearing assemblies instead of replacing studs on the originals.
I know it's more work but I'm also replacing the rotors and pads with EBC Stage 10 kits and plan to paint the calipers and brackets with G2 paint. I also want to make sure the whole axle assembly comes apart without difficulty for the alignment shop when they add in the camber shims.
After driving about 10 miles with the lowering springs and new wheels, I can already see the camber is noticeably negative. So I know it will worsen when I install the wheel spacers.
Where are you folks getting the longer studs? ARP?
I'm all about quality, not saving money.
Thanks again y'all!!
Last edited by TRY; 04-03-2022 at 07:30 AM.
Reason: typo
02-11-2022, 04:13 AM
Widest Wheel?
I see wheels as utilitarian devices to hold tyres and maximise grip. So I rattlecan all my wheels flat-black. But get them in 3-piece forged designs for max weight-savings and grip (BBS or CCW). In 18x9" would weigh 17-18 lbs and give max-grip with 225mm tyres. I think they look best when tyres are square with rim, not pinched, not stretched.
