Lets Think BIG

[tonycharger72]

Mike, No sh#t, well i stand corrected, you can fit an 8" rim at the front of stock suspensioned & non-flared Zed, just need a 0 offset (4.5" of backspacing) like Mike said,

Thanks for enlightening me mate

[SiL-LadY]

Well there you have it folks.. it has been decided. 8 inch can fit stock set up... need a 0 offset & 4.5" of backspacing. Thanks.. you enlightened me too...

[Mikelly]

You're welcome, guys. As stated above, the front tires "might" have been out to the edge of the fender. I tried looking back through some old pics I was able to dig off yet another failed hardrive from back in 2000, but I couldnt find any pics of the stance showing the front edge of the tire on the front fenders.

 

I'll see what else I can find over the weekend to give you a better idea. I know fitment was on the ragged edge, and a small flare could have been used to really add to the body line, since the rear was flared already, but there was no rub.

 

Good Luck!

Mike

[tonycharger72]

I know it might sound like im flogging a dead horse, but...........

 

I measured my clearances again today, i jacked up the car and took the wheel off, then i measured from the spring perch to the outside lip of the fender, then i measured from the hub face to the fender, and hub face to the spring perch,

this is what i came up with,

 

Spring Perch to Fender Lip = 225mm

Spring Perch to Hub Face = 125mm

Hub Face to Fender lip = 100mm,

 

I dont know how meaningful these figures are going to be because the lower control arm is at a steeper angle than it would have been if the car wasnt jacked up and the wheel was on the ground (ie.......suspension under load),

If anything i would have thought that the Strut leg & hub face would have been pushed out towards the fender lip if the front suspension was under load (ie....wheel on the ground) which would decrease your possible wheel clearance from the 225mm that ive measured,

 

But Mike has actually put 8" rims with a 0 offset with stock suspension on the front of a zed.............my measurements say you would probably just run out of clearance, just, probably..........you would have to slightly roll the front guards

[blueovalz]

I wasn't going to "ditto" Mike, but I will anyway. I've also used 8" wheels (16" diameter) on a stock bodied and sprung Z. I had 1/2" clearance between the springs and the fenders. I was using 245/25ZR16 tires at the time, and the BS was 4.5". No photos though, but I never had any rub on either side of the tire. I did have a slight interference problem later on in the game when I added a dam that followed the OEM wheel arch down to the bottom of the dam. At full lock the tires would just barely rub the very bottom of this wheel opening extension in front.

[tonycharger72]

"Hub Face to Fender lip = 100mm,"

 

This was hard to measure properly and as blueovalz & Mike have said they have actually put 8" rims on a stock bodied, stock suspenioned zed, my measurement hear must be inaccurate, just hard to get the correct angle of the front guard,

 

"Spring Perch to Hub Face = 125mm"

 

Was much easier to measure and confirms that fact that a wheel with 4.5" (114.3mm) of backspacing will easily clear the spring perch, by 10mm approx, Blueovalz said he had 1/2" (12.5mm) clearance even,

 

Just measuring the outside clearance, from the hub face to the fender is a tad bit tricky, BUT it would be safe to assume that you would have 4.5" worth of Forward Spacing to play with, ie......hub to guard, just from what Blueovalz & Mike have said,

 

Im Sold, 8" rims will fit on the front of a ZED.........

 

ALSO..........ive actually managed to fit a 7" rim with a 20+ offset on the front of a Zed (17by7 with 205/40-17 tyres - no tyre sidewall at all),

The rim was about 2mm away from the spring perch, but it cleared and there seemed to be no rubbing at lock,

This wheel with the 20+ offset, had a backspacing of 121mm approx,

So it probably is even possible to put an 8" rim at the front with a 6+ offset, this gives you the 120mm BS and might help with guard clearances...........

 

But its probably a much much safer bet to go with what Mike has said works, 8" with a 0 offset (114.3mm) 4.5 " of Backspacing, just to be certain,