Larger steel wheels?

Front axle, springs, shock absorbers, wheels, bearings, calipers, drums...
Tuning: suspension, discs, alloys upgrade...
NO parts requests here, please use our V3M BUY & SELL corner
Post Reply
Alan M
Posts: 13
Joined: 15 Jan 2012 11:47 am

Larger steel wheels?

Post by Alan M » 17 Jan 2012 11:16 pm

I have been looking through a lot of threads nut cannot find a definitive answer regarding the increase in size and offset change on wheels on the 340. What I would like to do is increase the size of the 340 wheels to 15 inch steels with an offset of 43-45 will this be possible on a standard car with only 50mm lowering the other work?

Will it be better for me to go to 14" wheels? I've been looking at Renault wheels as they are cheapand easy to come by and I'm trying to keep costs down as I will need to buy tyres yet and do all the little jobs on the car before getting on track. The car will not be used for drifting ever by me but solely track driving and the ride to and from. Does anyone have any recommendations on wheels to use. I can make my own spigot rings to suit the larger bores of wheels decided on as I believe the bore of the 340 wheels are 52.1 with an offset of 37.

Attack2001
Posts: 1015
Joined: 05 Jun 2011 03:45 pm
Location: Rochester, Kent
Contact:

Re: Larger steel wheels?

Post by Attack2001 » 18 Jan 2012 01:27 am

Instead of boring old steels, why not get hold of a set of 15" alloys, there's always cheap 340/360 wheels going? :D
Image

User avatar
trabitom99
*** V3M DONOR ***
Posts: 4398
Joined: 06 Jan 2007 02:38 pm
Location: Bonn, Germany

Re: Larger steel wheels?

Post by trabitom99 » 18 Jan 2012 10:15 am

The 14" steelies fitted to some poverty-spec Euro MkII GLTs were fantastic ...

Tom
343 GL Touring B14.1E CVT (155) 98000kms 1980 (sold)
343 L Junior B14.3E MT4 (155) 229000kms 1981 (scrapped)
343 DLS B19A MT4 (155) 167900kms 1982
360 GL Injection B200F MT5 (231) 348598kms 1988 (scrapped)
360 GLT B200F MT5 (302) 230000kms 1988

User avatar
Chris_C
*** V3M DONOR ***
Posts: 9600
Joined: 18 Jun 2004 11:53 pm
Location: South Coast, UK

Re: Larger steel wheels?

Post by Chris_C » 18 Jan 2012 10:32 am

Do you want handling in a speed sense, or in a "the car feels balanced so I can play with it" sense.

15's on good rubber give *very* good grip, but you loose the predictable and playful feel, which to me is why I enjoy the car. Of the 13's through to 15's I've had on them, I'm pretty certain 14's give the best compromise but still to make up my mind.

400 series steels are 14"
'89(G) 340 GLE B172k
'03 S60 D5 SE, '91 (J) MX5, 1954 Cyclemaster
Ex:
'89(F) 340 GL F7R (ex B172k) - Fake -> SBKV 300 Runner Up 08, 12; '91(H) 340 GL B14.4E - Kar; '88(F) 360 GLT B200E - Jet -> BKV 300 Runner Up 09; '89(G) 360 GLT B200E - Beast

Alan M
Posts: 13
Joined: 15 Jan 2012 11:47 am

Re: Larger steel wheels?

Post by Alan M » 18 Jan 2012 08:34 pm

Imformative cheers Chris. I got the 340 due to the fact it has a pretty good weight distribution and I fancied something RWD, well the car came up at a good price and my plan for the FWD Puma track car went by the way when I went to see the 340. We've had a few in the past in the family and with my plan to get on track this year I went ahead with this. I'm going for grip more than anything else so I think I will go 15". The car has a 480 2.0 engine which I was told was a 460 engine which I have now correctly identified. Today I managed to pick up a Laguna 2.0 with the same engine for the princely sum of £25 which was a bargain and the wheels are 15" alloys which should fit with some different tyres and spigot rings so a bargain. This will be a first for me even out on track as I have only ever been a spectator which will be fun so I'm keeping costs down to a minimum but will be doing all the engine and gearbox mounts first with Parts from Dai and lowering it with 2" blocks and I need to ask what poundage front springs Dai can supply as I want the front pretty hard as the rear will have 90 front shocks on or double springs, I've yet to decide. Im probably going to fit some 195 45 15 Yokohama A529 (correct model I think) as I can get a set cheaply. The diff will be staying open and I will try to get the car mechanically sound for what we plan. It looks a bit rough but I expect to have some not to scary moments learing the ropes on track so being rough round the edges doesn't matter to me really.

Ride_on
Posts: 2262
Joined: 26 May 2009 05:34 pm
Location: Belfast, N. Ireland

Re: Larger steel wheels?

Post by Ride_on » 20 Jan 2012 12:39 am

Early 3 series BMW steels fit, 14" same as the GLT alloys. I ran them on my first 345 DL. I don't want anything lower profile, tyres too expensive and too easy to damage the rims.

GF got a Laguna 1.8 2003 with very wide low profile wheels (compared to what I normally have on older standard Volvo's. She got a puncture, drove the car to the side of the road, but the tyre was toast, also noticed the wheel was dented in 2 spots (previously presumably) and was rather heavy. £65 for a cheap replacement. Useless on snow of course too (due to the width though).
1980 345 DL_______1987 360 GLE (project car restored to GLT spec and B230FT'd)
1984 360 GLT______1987 360 GLT
1983 360 GLS______1989 360 GLE
1985 340 GL_______1986 340 1.4
1985 360 GLS______1995 940 SE 2.3 Turbo Estate (daily)
1987 340 GL 1.7

Post Reply