Ideal wheel size and offset if running zg flares?

[lownslow]

Hey guys, I just bought a '74 Z (my first Datsun after YEARS of drooling over them), and I'm hoping you seasoned experts can help an enthusiastic newb!

I have always loved the look of the zg flares, so I think I'm going to go that route. Now, my question is, is there an ideal wheel size and offset that fits nicely with those flares? I've been in the Subaru scene for about 10 years, and after going through countless sets of aftermarket wheels, I just can't seem to wrap my head around how to properly calculate offset. I tried searching this question, and I found a bunch of offset calculators, but without knowing exactly how wide my wheel is going to be, I can't pin down an offset number.

I don't want to go TOO crazy...just something nicely stanced while maintaining driveability. I was thinking of running a 16x8.5 to 16x9.5 - mostly because I don't want to break the bank everytime I need to buy rubber for it. If I went with 16x10 or 10.5, the price for rubber starts to get pretty high if I'm not mistaken. Also, how much do they typically have to be staggered from front to back to fit properly? I have a couple other questions about this, but I'll leave it at that for now.

Thanks in advance for any help you can send my way!! Can't wait to get this thing on the road!!

Edited August 22, 2012 by lownslow

[LeonV]

HybridZ has all the info you need. Make sure to take full advantage of the search feature. There are 17" wheels available from Rota specifically spec'd for the Z that fit your goals.

Offset simply describes the location of the mounting surface of the wheel to the center of the wheel. A negative offset means that the mounting surface is moved away from the face of the wheel and a positive offset moves the mounting surface towards the face of the wheel.

[madkaw]

Yea, what he said

[lownslow]

Thanks Leon...but from what I understand, offset is critical in order to clear the struts and not wear wheel bearings out prematurely, right? So in my case, as my width increases, my offset will decrease into the negatives? So the OEM offset is 0 (IIRC), so if I went to a 9" wide wheel, I might be in the neighbourhood of a -35 offset? Ugh...my brain hurts already.

Which Rotas are you referring to?

[LeonV]

http://forums.hybridz.org/index.php/topic/57565-rota-rbrb-r-4x1143-17-z-offset-wheels/

[LeonV]

Backspacing is what's critical in clearing struts. Offset will affect wheel bearing loading. Ideally, you want the center of your contact patch to be between the inner and outer wheel bearings. Otherwise, you'll be putting a cantilevered load on the bearings and wearing them out faster.

Edited August 22, 2012 by LeonV
typo fixed

[John Coffey]

275/45-16s on 10" wide wheels look good under ZG flares.

[madkaw]

You could run +35 offset then run 35mm wheel spacers.

[240260280z]

You could run +35 offset then run 35mm wheel spacers.

Shouldn't that be -35mm?

[LeonV]

Shouldn't that be -35mm?

That would give you a -70mm offset!!!

[lownslow]

275/45-16s on 10" wide wheels look good under ZG flares.

Yeah, that looks perfect! So is that the same size all around? I was under the impression that you had to go staggered with the ZG flares? And any idea what offset those wheels are?

That's a good idea about using spacers to fine-tune the fitment. I don't know why, but I've always been a little...I dunno...paranoid about running spacers though. I know they're probably totally safe, but I've just heard horror stories about them cracking...not what you want.

[John Coffey]

For best handling you want the same size all around. The rims were custom with 5.75" of backspace. Offset doesn't matter. On the car in the picture I've run spacers up to 1" think on the front at speeds over 140mph without any problems.