bluelex

didn't seem lot a like of work to me, he shaved his fendors, went with a light stretch tire, he even got his blk trim back on which i like that he did. seems like just a couple things to be done not like where i've read people shaveing the control arm a little and hammering away to the inner wheel well, that seems like more work to me than shaveing and doing a stretch tire..overall its about nor be limited to a guideline i guess. big lips and no crazy negative camber seems like it was worth it to me. now could we get some better angle pics i'm debating some things here?

rominl

iTrader: (4)

everyone has different standard, imho putting skinny tires, shaving and rolling fenders, that's too much to give up to get something fit. i have my ideas about fitting, and getting everything to fit is always possible, but the among of time, effort, and other factors that you have to trade off is different from people to people. i stick with my standards.

plus with the few people who i know had too crazy of a setup, they all have paid the price they didn't want to. that's enough for me not to say something where people will come and say wtf to me

jtanoyo1

Point noted. I can respect that. We just belong to different camps when it comes to wheels. There is a certain look that people in my camp are going for and I find that trade-off minimal in order to achieve it. In respect of that, I could totally understand also how fitting wheels on with conservative setups and not having to do anything else could also be attractive to many members here who just plain want NO headache when it comes to upgrading their wheels.

Having said that, the only things that bothers me is that how many people would be so quick to jump and shriek in horror and said it "won't fit", it would rub "like crazy" and comments like that when people like McGong and I come out with aggressive offsets. There ARE plenty of choices out there when it comes to widths and offsets and I just don't like the idea of being put down so quickly just because the offsets that we are thinking of using are not conforming to a certain guide. If everyone here puts on 20x9 +40 wheels, then we would all have a very similar look to each other, and how boring would that be?

Look, all I am saying is that, for the benefit of the new people or people thinking of upgrading their wheels, maybe you should add a section in your guide, something along the line of "if you go +29 and below, you probably will need to shave, roll, and run some camber, etc, etc, etc."

Anyway, McGong, great wheels once again. Good thing you asked me over PMs how to make them fit. I hope my pictures and my advice have helped somewhat.

Neo

iTrader: (3)

I agree that people should experiment and do what they want to their car. rominl's guide, however, is just that : a guide. It is not the end all in terms of wheel fitment but it is a safe guide for someone who just wants to upgrade wheels with little or no headaches. I think when you first debut your low offset wheels, many were surprised that it would work since (I think) every one assumed no or little extra work was done. Once you told everyone what it took to get it to fit, no one was really bothered by it.

With this in mind, the wheel setups you and mcgong have technically do NOT fit but was made to fit. For those that like the stretched look and don't mind modding the fender and maybe change the camber, then it is no big deal to make it work.

There are also drawbacks to having this look . With even less rubber and higher PSI, the ride will suffer even more than "regular" 20s. I don't know what the additional harshness will do to the wear and tear suspension, bushings, ... I also don't have hard data but I'd personally be more nervous to drive aggressively with this tire setup. The extra neg camber (if needed) will also add to tire wear.

I do think it looks cool for what it is but I would not personally do it on my daily driver. If people want to and can live with the drawbacks, then I say go for it like you and mcgong did. We have members who likes to stay with 16s, or will not go past 17s and there are those who like to push the boundaries. That's what makes all this fun.

D2-AUTOSPORT

Well said Jon, and I agree. I can also fully understand Rominls perspective. I think the good thing about setups like Mcgong, is the fact that it allows people to take advantage of wheels that are not availible in the "normal" offset. Perhaps if someone was to come on to CL and post a set of "xxx" wheels that are not within the standard offset range, we now know that with fender mods, and different tire sizes, it can be fitted with minimal to moderate effort.

In the near future alot of companies such as Donz, etc etc are going to bringing 1pc staggered wheels to the market. I can guarantee they will only be availible in 1 or 2 offsets. I would imagine something like 20x10 25-35offset. Since they are one piece, all of that custom 1mm variance on offset will not happen. So back to the example, if a person wants a set of 20" staggered wheels with tires and only has 2500-3,000 to spend, they can fit the wheels but they will have to go to some of the lengths that mcgong and Jon went to. The good thing is now we all know it CAN be done. Although its not a simply "bolt-on" affair, its also not a "monster-garage" job either, lol.

For those that have less $$$ to spend on wheels, there are certain concessions that must be made, things like this make it simpler to accomodate more people! The same holds true for those that run into one of kind rare wheels.

Ice350

iTrader: (1)

You can eventually force a square peg into a round hole....that doesn't mean it's the right thing to do. It just means a lot of things are possible with enough effort. I don't believe in forcing anything that has to do with safely transporting me and my family. However, I do believe in to each his own. Modding is fun because of individuality. I'll bet it's even more rewarding to accomplish something not meant into reality. Everytime you walk to your car you can think, man...I hooked this sucker up! Big thumbs up, looks hot.

rominl

iTrader: (4)

great posts by you guys, i really apprecaite all the feedback here. i think neo and reggiek pretty much summed up my perspective of the whole thing. first of all what i typed up is just a guy, it's not like a math book where 1 + 1 = 2 and it's a fact. what i could offer is just what i think is suitable for most people. specially if you talk to people like gs4will or gsxotic, they know it, been there, done it, and i don't think they wanna get wheels where they have to mod this and mod that to just get the wheels to fit.

everyone has different interest. people in japan from what i can see, they want the wheels to come out as much as possible, no matter what it takes, even if that means skinny tires, shave fenders all the way, etc... that's fine, it's their culture and personal taste, i am not going to touch that.

but from my point of view drivability, ease of use, and maximize the car being a daily driver is more crucial, that's how i came up with my guide from over 90% of the people here on CL. that's all it is, nothing more nothing less.

like reggiek, you can always do anything, but at what price you paying, and whether that's justified for yourself? that's up to you. it's like for me whats the most i do for my engine, right now tc and lsd, that's it. some people say FI isn't bad and it's reasonable, i can understand but it's botherline. but heck, i am sure you can fit the m5 engine in the gs together withthe 6 speed tranny and make it a super car. but is that worth it? i don't think so, but i am sure some people would think otherwise

jtanoyo1

See it's comments like this that irks me. Sometimes people just take things a little too far. Who tried to put a square peg into a round hole?

I remember the first time I put my autocouture wheels on and Manaray came on and said, "I could put -50 offset wheels on my car if I want to but I didn't, so what?" Who's asking to put -50 wheels on his GS? I sure don't, and I am not asking anyone here to do that.

I am just saying that there are A WHOLE world out there besides +35 to +40 offset wheels that I find completely boring. Some people here make it out to seem like I am just putting weird offsets on my car just to "prove" that it can be done and just to **** them off. That's SO not the case. I just happen to find wheels that are so far recessed into the fenders to be butt ugly, but that's just me. Just like a lot of you guys have your own opinions on your mods and other people's mods. But either way, I see that a lot of people here have finally warmed up to not-so-generic mods and I am glad for one.

Neo

iTrader: (3)

Well, how about a cylinder into a slightly smaller round hole.

Seriously, though, I don't think reggiek was being malicious. He was just trying to illustrate a point.

In any case, this thread has grossly went OT. mcgong started it to show us his new rims and we all congratulated him. It then became the help-mcgong-get-his-new-aggressive-offset rims to fit and through additional measures, that is now done and he seems happy enough with it. We've congratulated him again on the success. I don't think we need a third (although related) topic to continue so I'm closing down the thread before the hints of things getting personal becomes more overt. If people want to continue a civil discussion on different types of wheel fitment, feel free to start another thread.

mcgong, congrats again on your new setup. It does look mighty fine but please be careful. Although things may be OK, it is still an aggressive setup. Be safe.