Wheel upgrades

For those interested in getting larger wheels this spring, this might help you in your search.

On my 87 SE, the back of the rim reads:

6-JJx15 38

Meaning, 6" width, JJ style outer bead, 15" tall, +38mm offset

I've found out the stock wheels have 5" backspacing. I've attempted to use 16x6 Talon wheels, which have a 5 3/8" backspacing, but it's no good. They place the 205mm tires too close to the spring perch.

If you're thinking about getting aftermarket wheels, the maximum backspacing you will be able to use is 5.25". Considering the closeness of the tire to the fenderwell lip, I was also put a minimum limit of 4.75" backspacing. By choosing a rim with an offset of 4.75, 5 or 5.25, you're pretty much guaranteed it will fit.

If you want to convert backspacing into offset, this chart will help.



For example, if you want to use a 7" rim on your 200SX, you will have to use an offset somewhere inbetween +20 and +32.
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Dan Aho - Club-S12 Admin
1987 Nissan 200SX CA18ET

Also something to add. The stock hubs use VERY short wheel studs. Quite a few aftermarket wheels may require longer wheel studs. The only place to find longer ones with the same thread is from Nismo. These studs run $8us a piece. That's $160us for all 4 wheels. icon_eek.gif Yeesh.

The way to fix this is to buy wheel studs for an 86 - 92 RX7. They use wheel studs that are a good 10mm longer than the stock studs, and can be found at most automotive parts stores for $1.50 - $2 a piece, cutting the cost down to $30 or so. The only problem here is that the studs use a slightly larger thread than the stock studs, so matching lug nuts will have to be purchased as well.
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Dan Aho - Club-S12 Admin
1987 Nissan 200SX CA18ET

I noticed this when putting on my primax wheels. It seems the 2G RX-7 wheel studs are the way to go even after figuring in the price of three packs of lugs and one pack of locks. How do you change out the studs?
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-Jason Arro -- Long Live the UNDERDOG
Club-S12 Moderator
'85 Nissan 200SX Turbo Hatch -- DEAD CA20ET icon_sad.gif
http://www.cardomain.com/id/arro200sx
'89 Dodge Daytona Shelby Turbo II
http://www.cardomain.com/id/arro89shelby

I'm not too familiar with the 200sx hubs yet. For most cars though, they have to be pressed in.

BTW, can you take a ruler to your stock rims and the new aftermarket rims Arro and get some specs on them? I just want to see how close they come to being 5" backspaced.
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Dan Aho - Club-S12 Admin
1987 Nissan 200SX CA18ET

Lay a straight edge across the back of the rim, then measure the distance from the mounting surface to the straight edge.


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Dan Aho - Club-S12 Admin
1987 Nissan 200SX CA18ET

Ahhh ok icon_mrgreen.gif I'll try that when I get my car back.
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-Jason Arro -- Long Live the UNDERDOG
Club-S12 Moderator
'85 Nissan 200SX Turbo Hatch -- DEAD CA20ET icon_sad.gif
http://www.cardomain.com/id/arro200sx
'89 Dodge Daytona Shelby Turbo II
http://www.cardomain.com/id/arro89shelby

My factory wheels have 15x6 and +30mm offset stamped in them.(86 turbo)
I tried my Racing Hart Z5000 17x7 with 40mm offset(215/45/17 tires), they fit perfect in the back with good thread engagement but in the front there was only like 2mm clearance between the wheel and strut body, same with the tire and spring seat. The width of rim and size of tire is the maximum for what will fit in the front, in there rear I could fit a 17x8.5".
IMO the best sizes would be Front 17x7" +32mm offset with 215/45/17 tire, Rear 17x8.5" +45mm offset with 245/40/17 tire.
205/60/15 overall diameter is 24.7"
215/45/17 overall diameter is 24.6"
245/40/17 overall diameter is 24.7"

Hmm, I wonder if the V6 model came with wider springs & spring perches than the 4 cylinder models? I know for sure a 17x7 with a +40 offset would not fit in the front wheels of my car.
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Dan Aho - Club-S12 Admin
1987 Nissan 200SX CA18ET

the turbo springs are about 7" in diameter, what is the se spring size in the front?

I just thought I would add that the hub centric rings(66.2mm) from my Altima fit the 200SX perfectly front and back. So if you buy a set of wheels that require hub centric rings that is the size that you will need.

245/40/17 needs a rim width range of 8"-9.5"
Size Serv. Desc. Load Rating
UTQG
Max Load
Max.Inflation Press.
Tread Depth Rim
Width Range
Meas. Rim Width
Sect. Width
Tread Width
Overall Diam.
Revs Per Mile

245/40WR17 91W SL 280 AA A
1356lbs.
51psi
10/32nds
8-9.5"
8.5"
9.8"
9.4"
24.7"
840

Alp,

For tire sizes, the perfect replacement sizes are 215/45/17 and 245/40/17. You can use a 225/45/17, but it will be a little bit taller than the stock tires.

As for wheel size, a 245mm tire requires a minimum 8" rim. You will be able to squish one into a 7.5" rim, but your tire will roll over onto the sidewall around corners and reduce handling. 7.5" is perfect though for a 215 or 225 tire.

Also, make sure those 7.5" rims have around a +20 offset. A +26 is probably as high as you can go before they start to rub the shocks.
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Dan Aho - Club-S12 Admin
1987 Nissan 200SX CA18ET

Wheel manufacturers measure rim width from inner lip to inner lip. When you measure backspacing, you're measure from the hub surface to the outer lip. The vast majority of wheels will have a half inch of distance between the outer and inner lips, you have to add that to the calculation.

7.5" inner + (0.5" x 2) outer = 8.5"

8.5" / 2 = 4.25"

So a zero offset on a 7.5" rim is a 4.25" backspace.
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Dan Aho - Club-S12 Admin
1987 Nissan 200SX CA18ET

I have a couple things to add.

A 235/40 17 would make the speedo read high, but it's a good fit on a 7.5" wide rim. It should also yield quicker acceleration due to the smaller overall diameter. It will add gap to the fender well though.

The thread pitch on the FC3S RX7 described above is 1.5, the same as Honda, so all the lightweight lugnuts made with the H badge in mind will fit.
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wheelspecs.com
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in our case the small gab between the back of the stud and the dust shield is so small that the longer stud wont fit back into the hole, it will get stuck at an angle
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bart
'86 INTERCOOLED Turbo
1/4 mile: 14.964 @93.02mph
CEO of:
"Barts Parts Incorporated"
http://geocities.com/bartc_j
http://members.cardomain.com/bartc_2

sorry to bring up an old post,.. but, i was planning on getting some new rims for my SE.. the ones i'm thinking about are these:

and they are 17"x7"... so for optimum performance i should get 215/45/17 tires?? would 205/40/17's fit or would they be too big (they are cheaper, so thats why i'm asking)?

thanks!
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Hendrik

1988 200SX SE - VG30E
1988 200SX XE - CA20E

I would go with 215/45/17 over the 215/40/17 for three reasons 1) there is a difference of 1.5", that will through your speedo off 7%. 2) less protection from pot holes. 3) make you wheelwell gap larger.
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Dan

well i dont have a speedo right now anyways so that wouldnt be a big deal, haha! but i'll go with the 215/45/17's then

thanks for clearing that up!
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Hendrik

1988 200SX SE - VG30E
1988 200SX XE - CA20E

hey Sir magnum a buddy of mine has a set of 225/50/r16 drag radials that he can sell me 2 for 100bucks brand new.. i just need to know if those will give me the same wheel height as the stock 205/60/r15's
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bart
'86 INTERCOOLED Turbo
1/4 mile: 14.964 @93.02mph
CEO of:
"Barts Parts Incorporated"
http://geocities.com/bartc_j
http://members.cardomain.com/bartc_2