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Choosing the right size Wheels and tyres
AndyGaskell - 25/9/17 at 12:13 AM

Hi All,

My first post here so first of all Hello from me


I have a GBS zero which i plan on being a track/odd Sunday car and I'm looking at the best selection for wheels.

Currently the car has a square setup with 195/45/16 tyres on.

For a track biased setup should i be running

A) Staggered setup with 15' Alloys with bigger side wall tyres i.e 195/50/15
B) Square setup using 15" Alloys
C) Staggered setup with 16" Alloys with low profile wall i.e 195/45/16
D) Square 16" as per the current setup

Thanks in advanced!

Andy

Angel Acevedo - 25/9/17 at 03:06 AM

For trackdays/lightness, I´d go for the smallest wheels that clear the brakes.
(Said by the one building a porker with 17" Wheels)

HTH.
AA

CosKev3 - 25/9/17 at 03:12 AM

General consensus is as above,seven type cars are better all around running smaller wheels.
Ideally 13 inch,downside is the price of decent tyres

Ben_Copeland - 25/9/17 at 05:05 AM

If they fit, 13s for track days. Makes a big difference over 15s and 16s

AndyGaskell - 25/9/17 at 08:32 AM

Wider rear wheels or are you using the same size all round?

What sort of tyre wall are you using, 45 or 50?

CosKev3 - 25/9/17 at 10:11 AM

Lots of people use 185/60 13''s on the front with 205/60 13''s on rear,you can use a 7 inch wheel with both sizes of tyre or 7 inch rear 6 inch front

pekwah1 - 25/9/17 at 10:22 AM

what power are you running on your car?
I have circa 150hp and with 185/60/13 R888, i struggled to really lose the back end.

Generally speaking, wider tyres = more mechanical grip vs slight less response.
I.e. for a more agile car, thinner tyres are good, but will obviously break easier.

I haven't tried a staggered setup on mine, but 185s all round worked well for me!

AndyGaskell - 25/9/17 at 11:33 AM

Mine is circ 190hp but i plan on a few more mods to around 200-220 next year.

I was planning on running 15's as i was contemplating installing willwood brakes up front and would need the clearance.

It was GBS themselves that suggested a staggered setup but inwas just curious to see what others are doong and what seems to be the gerneral consensus

ettore bugatti - 25/9/17 at 08:09 PM

It also depends how you like the car and in what area you want to look for gains.

Besides the availability of UHP/ semi-slicks in certain size might dedict your chance anyway.

But I'm going to throw an oddball combination in here, anyway.

Go for 195/50R15 since there is a lot of tyre choice in this size and the lighter wheel improve steering. It can also contain the bigger brakes.
At the rear I would put some 225/45R16. The extra width gives you more traction and the increased diameter should give you more ground clearance if that is an issue. Should look quite good too.

peter030371 - 26/9/17 at 09:06 AM

quote:
Originally posted by AndyGaskell
Mine is circ 190hp but i plan on a few more mods to around 200-220 next year.

I was planning on running 15's as i was contemplating installing willwood brakes up front and would need the clearance.

It was GBS themselves that suggested a staggered setup but inwas just curious to see what others are doong and what seems to be the gerneral consensus


I have 205/60/13 on the rear and 185/60/13 on the front of a 188bhp powered Striker (with Willwood brakes front/ Hi-Spec rear) and all seems to work well (and fit) to me. Last Striker was about 140bhp and that had 185/60/13 all round which was plenty of tyre for that car.

Be careful not to over-tyre the car or it will be boring to drive IMHO. Many, many people use 13" wheels on sevens and for good reasons as listed already. Larger wheel/tyres will weigh more then a decent set of 13" rims and whilst tyre choice maybe be less for a 13" rim then the mainstream 15/17" rims you still have plenty to choose from (R888, R888r, A048R, AR-1, V70A, NS-2R, A539 etc)

AndyGaskell - 26/9/17 at 11:12 AM

Thanks for them options and also confirming that a 13" wheel clears the Wilwoods.

Well il take a look for some wheels and see whats about, at least i have afew tried and tested setups now to work off.

peter030371 - 26/9/17 at 11:26 AM

quote:
Originally posted by AndyGaskell
Thanks for them options and also confirming that a 13" wheel clears the Wilwoods.

Well il take a look for some wheels and see whats about, at least i have afew tried and tested setups now to work off.


Just for info I have Race Dynamics Pro Race 1.2 wheels and yes they clear the Wilwoods (with a little to spare) but some wheels might not so you would need to consider this before buying

CosKev3 - 26/9/17 at 05:26 PM

What rear brakes are you running?

If Sierra disc set up I think this is the biggest issue to get 13''s on.

AndyGaskell - 26/9/17 at 05:52 PM

Yes its sierra 4x4 rear calipers and disks

Matt21 - 27/9/17 at 01:38 PM

13"

185/60/13 front
205/60/13 rear

or 15"
195/50/15 all round

Tyres are about the same cost for R888R in both sizes, ~£380-400 a set

CosKev3 - 27/9/17 at 02:40 PM

quote:
Originally posted by AndyGaskell
Yes its sierra 4x4 rear calipers and disks


These limit the choice of 13 inch wheels from what I've read up,pro race 1.2''s and the caterham superlight alloys clear OK, and compomotive CXR's.Although you will need to research which width and offsets work on the CXR''s.