Who Has 7" Wheels On Their 205 ?

[JR20516V 6]

Been offered some lovely wheels for a 205....15x7 with ET 18 however when i think about it they may not sit too well even though the offset is spot on. Reason why is......the 14" factory original Speedline wheels were ET 24 but 5.5 inch. [1.6 Gti ]from memory.

 

These being 7 inch could cause some hiccups...what is everybodies experience with fitting 7 inch wide rims on a 205 GTi?

If you have...what size tyres did you go with to avoid scraping...or have you used spacers ?

 

The ET is the same however the width concerns me. Any tips?

[allanallen 528 2 Cars]

Et 18 will be fine with 195/50/15s on a 1900. Might be a bit much on a 1600 but I've no experience

[welshpug 1,631]

depends on running gear, as they will fit far more readily on the front if its 1.6 offset.

 

there's only going to be an extra 8.5mm on the inside give or take a few mm depending on the thickness of the bead, and 18 or so on the outside, so they might rub the arches a bit.

[allanallen 528 2 Cars]

Mine are et16 and IMO fit and look perfect on standard 1900 running gear

[petert 558]

I think they'll rub on the strut. They definitely will with coil overs. You need less offset with 7". I'd try them first.

[welshpug 1,631]

I don't think they will, I have personally fitted an ET28 x 6.5 rim on a 205/309 strut without issues, an ET18 7" rim will have 4mm more clearance.

[Henry Yorke 269 3 Cars]

I ran 7x15 ET 25 on 1600 front hubs fine. Needed a 10mm spacer on the disk rear beam.

 

When I went to 1900 hubs and 309 arms they just caught the strut with 195/50/15 tyres , so I put 10mm spacers on the front and they were fine

 

 

 

[JR20516V 6]

Thx for your replies guys.........forgot to mention.... i have 1.9 hubs on the front not the 1.6 items. [to allow for 306 brakes ]

I have dummy fitted the 7 inch rims and i have found that the rear are as such.....the outer rim is dead flush with the outer plastic moulding and the inner rim has 12mm gap between it and steel . So if the tyre bead is say 10mm that is going to leave me a 2mm space....literally a bees d*ck.

It may be the case of fitting a hubcentric spacer of say 10mm to the rears to get me out of jail....seems strange doing it to a factory offset LOL

 

The front 7 inch rims clear the calipers [phew ] and i have a finger thickness between the inside edge of the rim to the Bilstein strut so allowing for say 10mm tyre bead the front may be ok. The only concern maybe rubbing on the gearbox side however that is the case on most 195 x50x 15's i believe.

 

AllanAllen: can i get this clear.....you have 7 inch rims on 1.9 running gear with 195x50x15 with no clearance issues ????

[JR20516V 6]

G/day Henry again :}

With yours at ET25 and no problems on the rear it seems weird that i have the correct offset of 18 and have a slight clearance problem?

[Henry Yorke 269 3 Cars]

You'll be fine John. It is all in the offset and that can be dealt with via a spacer. The 7J part is no issue. I know people who have run 8J under standard arches (just!).

[Henry Yorke 269 3 Cars]

ET 18 is a little shallow IMHO. Gutmann ones were 7x15 ET 13 (some were Et15) , so a 5mm spacer is what you may need

[JR20516V 6]

A friend of mine who i managed to track down who owns an alloy wheel business so i took the clearances to him and he says exactly as you do Henry...thank you for that. The Japanese cars he does sometimes have clearances of 2mm and have not been a concern to them so my clearances are Grand Canyons away from those.

He said worse case scenario he could drill out about 3mm from the inside wheel hole rather than use a spacer....so all is looking good.

Can i ask what size tyre you had on Henry ?

 

195 is the minimum...205 is the better option for that rim however i prefer to stay thinner if i can.

[allanallen 528 2 Cars]

Thx for your replies guys.........forgot to mention.... i have 1.9 hubs on the front not the 1.6 items. [to allow for 306 brakes ]

I have dummy fitted the 7 inch rims and i have found that the rear are as such.....the outer rim is dead flush with the outer plastic moulding and the inner rim has 12mm gap between it and steel . So if the tyre bead is say 10mm that is going to leave me a 2mm space....literally a bees d*ck.

It may be the case of fitting a hubcentric spacer of say 10mm to the rears to get me out of jail....seems strange doing it to a factory offset LOL

 

The front 7 inch rims clear the calipers [phew ] and i have a finger thickness between the inside edge of the rim to the Bilstein strut so allowing for say 10mm tyre bead the front may be ok. The only concern maybe rubbing on the gearbox side however that is the case on most 195 x50x 15's i believe.

 

AllanAllen: can i get this clear.....you have 7 inch rims on 1.9 running gear with 195x50x15 with no clearance issues ????

 

My car runs 15x7 in et16 with 195/50 tyres, no clearance issues whatsoever on 1900 hubs, standard dampers and 1900 disc rear beam.

 

Yours will sit 2mm further in so I can't see you having any problems.

[allanallen 528 2 Cars]

 

He said worse case scenario he could drill out about 3mm from the inside wheel hole rather than use a spacer....so all is looking good.

 

Drill the wheel? Not sure what this will achieve?

[carlh.1 8]

If the wheels sit flush with the arch I find the tyre catches the plastic arch on the inside edge on hard cornering. My sl434 et8 are destroying my arches front and rear, hopefully your 7" wide will sit further in but I can't see it.

[JR20516V 6]

My car runs 15x7 in et16 with 195/50 tyres, no clearance issues whatsoever on 1900 hubs, standard dampers and 1900 disc rear beam.

 

Yours will sit 2mm further in so I can't see you having any problems.

That is great news Allan....very heartening :}

[JR20516V 6]

If the wheels sit flush with the arch I find the tyre catches the plastic arch on the inside edge on hard cornering. My sl434 et8 are destroying my arches front and rear, hopefully your 7" wide will sit further in but I can't see it.

According to my wheel business friend i measured it wrongly when it was jacked up and thought it showed to be flush with the outer plastic moulding....common mistake he says and everyone does it. He confirms that the wheel will actually move in a little when i take it from the trolley jack. Good news all round :}

[petert 558]

If you've got 15x6 18ET now, and you change to 15x7 18ET, won't there will be an extra 0.5" inside and outside?

[welshpug 1,631]

sure will be, give or take a few mm either way from differing bead thicknesses.

[JR20516V 6]

If you've got 15x6 18ET now, and you change to 15x7 18ET, won't there will be an extra 0.5" inside and outside?

That is the same maths as i had in my mind Peter however when actually fitting the little devils up there seemed to be a lot less clearance than imagined.

I think what has thrown doubt in my mind also was the fact that i measured the tyre bead on my other 205 and it was 10mm total out from the rim edges so i was including this in the overall calculations. All is good ...

Thx again everybody for their kind help....appreciated :}

[unariciflocos 49 1 Cars]

My car runs 15x7 in et16 with 195/50 tyres, no clearance issues whatsoever on 1900 hubs, standard dampers and 1900 disc rear beam.

 

Yours will sit 2mm further in so I can't see you having any problems.

 

Sorry to intrude, but don't want to open a new topic for almost the same question. Put a very small bid on a set of 16 inch, 7j, et16 ultraleggeras last night expecting to be outbid... and I wasn't. So now the only question is if they will fit on my 1.6 hubs? The wheels come with 30mm spacers but those will be useless to me.

 

Am I wrong to assume they will be identical offset wise to allanallen's?

 

Are 16 inch too big for the 205?

[unariciflocos 49 1 Cars]

The answer is yes, Oz Ultraleggera 16 inch, 7j, ET16 fit perfectly on a 205 with plenty of clearance both front and back.

[dynacord 6 1 Cars]

as we all know, the standard wheels are ET19, 6J. I've also tried various wheels combination, with 309 wishbones and hubs front, xsara vts arms rear, 30mm lowered. So with this setup, the track is widened wit apprx. 20mm front and rear which has impact on the wheel offset too (195/50 tyres):

 

7J ET10 Gutmann sit very wide, http://www.isp-gutmann.co.uk/Tecno.jpg but hit the rear arches badly, sometimes smoke is coming from the plastic on hard cornering)

7J ET13 Gutmann fit very nicely but with 10mm spacers at the front because of the deep dish of the wheels, hitting the brake caliper, removed them as I don't like spacers at all

7J ET18 exip wheels are the best fitment and fill the arches nicely, no rubbing at all, will post some pictures if interested

 

it also depends on the width of the tyre itself, as some fancy tires (yokohama advan, hankook rs2, etc.) are wider than other 195s.