martyrobertsdj

iTrader: (1)

Changed from 17's to 18's on my classic wagon, and although I was expecting some deterioration in ride quality, and the jarring that goes with it, I find the car to be a lot more...erm...."nervous" in general.

I had Toyo T1R's on the 17" rims and they were superb....the 18's have Pirellis on the front and Federal on the back....do you think the difference could be down to the tyres?/

The car just feels less planted and not just on bumpy roads.....I'd expect that due to the lack of sidewall flex, but even over crests and smooth "bumps", the car just doesn't feel as good.

I know I've read about 18's spoiling the handling on classics, but are my symptoms typical, or is is just that I'm not used to the tyres, or the fact that the tyre combination is strange?

Also....got my tracking checked (TWICE) by a local reputable tyre specialist, but I'm still not happy with it....can anyone recommend anyone really good in the York area??

Cheers.

StickyMicky

marty a few of my mates have went from 17" to 18" and then back down to 17" wheels.

scoobyDAZZA

more likely to be down to the offset
what wheels are they and are they 8j or 7.5 ?

ricardo

Mixing two diferent makes of tyres is not generally a good idea. Quite apart from a difference in grip, the two types may have a different effective rolling circumference due to their construction (even though they are the same marked size). This may give the centre diff extra work to do.

As for the nervousness, are the front tyres second-hand ? If so the tyre wear that already exists may be causing the pressure distribution in the contact patch to be quite different from what you'd get with unworn tyres or tyres you wore yourself, and this can cause tramlining. The tramlining will cause the effect where it doesn't seem planted, such that you need to hold the steering wheel tighter than you'd like...

CAT2

iTrader: (3)

I've just gone from 7x17 to 18x7.5 wheels, Goodyear to Toyo and I'm really happy on both counts. New wheels/tyres are each 1kg lighter each than old 17s.

MikeWood

In general terms 18" wheels and tyres may be one step too far for an early car unless you've got decent dampers on it. The OE 99/00MY dampers would be just about passable if they were brand new but on anything earlier it just makes the car overly twitchy, even if the geometry is perfect.

Mike

p1doc

i thought classics went best on 17's any bigger leads to problems,mate has 18's on his newage and his ride is fidgety as above i still prefer 17's on my newage
martin

martyrobertsdj

iTrader: (1)

Hmmmmmmmm

Wondering now if I should just get the 17's refurbished and then sell the 18's.

I like the looks of the 18's (7.5" Prodrives......same as fitted to the P1), but not the way the car feels. Maybe a change of tyres will help, but that won't be for a while, there's still plenty of tread left on them.

I'd have thought that a proper 4 wheel alignment and geometry set to Prodrive settings, combined with a descent set of tyres would sort it......after all......wasn't that a Prodrive option for the P1??

StickyMicky

i think the p1 had a different damper/spring setup?

martyrobertsdj

iTrader: (1)

Oh, I'm sure it will have, but it was supplied with 17's and had 18's as an option, so I don't suppose Subaru would supply an option that caused a deterioration of the handling....?

Like I say....I was expecting harsher ride and a bit more crash, bang, wallop, but not the general nervousness that I am experiencing.

I suspect the tyre combination isn't too great. I think it's Pirelli P7000's on the front and Federal "whatevers" on the back. Maybe I'll swap them round and try that for starters.

I still have the 17's and I may hang onto them for a while............just in case!! I think I'll get the 18's refurbed anyway....probably anthracite (it's a mica green car.....think it should look ok) for the Northern Big One.

There may well be a set of 18" P-WRC's or a set of 17" ST2's for sale at Lightwater Valley that day!!! LOL