1st Gen SA/FB answer to all of your wheel questions! Hardcore TECH.

[djjjr42]

Originally Posted by P71

The answer is adapters. Yes, adapters. The stock flange on the SA/FB brakes is only 3/8" thick. A 3/8" thick adapter will allow double the lug-bolt strength, have a 4x114.3mm STUDDED pattern, and will allow a 15"x8" wheel with a +15 offset to bolt on and be in the STOCK location.

Can you clarify what you mean by the "stock location"? If the wheel/tire is wider then it either has to stick out from the car more or inside the fender more, right? The reason I ask is because IIRC some SA owners had issues with the tires on the Rewind's rubbing the strut tower.

There is something else worth noting here. I'm not trying to rain on anyone's parade, but I think a lot of people fail to take into account when upgrading their wheels that the stock brakes are designed to work with stock wheels. Having that much more unsprung weight and rubber on the road changes the handling characteristics (which is good in some cases, like for the snap oversteer), but that also increases the load while braking on the rotors and/or drums, to well beyond the limits of what the stockers are designed for. Larger brake rotors and pads would be ideal, but I understand for racing class rules that isn't an option. Safety should be of utmost concern at all times, and a lot of us (including me) more often think about going faster, making the car look better, etc. instead. At the very least you will burn up your pads much faster. But a busted rotor could get really ugly. Also the extra weight and friction from the wider tires translates into a loss of drivetrain efficiency. It takes more power to turn the larger, heavier wheels across a larger surface area. You will not be able to get off the line as fast as you can with the stockers.

A real world example of the safety issue happened to me a few months ago. I have the 15x7 Rewinds on my GS. On the highway one night I had to lock up to avoid rear ending an SUV that had to lock up to avoid a deer. I didn't know it at the time, but when that happened I blew out the rear wheel cylinder. Brake fluid leaked everywhere in the drum, and a week later I was driving and the fluid caused the lug bolts to work out, and all 4 came out at highway speed. Luckily the drum just dropped down inside the wheel and it stayed under me. I wasn't hurt, and the damage was minimal. But if it had been the front it would have been a much different story with a nastier ending I'm sure!