S13 Wheels 101

Alright. so your tired of 17x7 +40s on Early 90s Nissans. good. they look like ass and belong on civics. you may be saying "well, yeah, but I dont want to have to do anything to make them clear..." well. that means you suck and you need to read this to see how easy it is to make wide low offsets clear.

Wheel Sizing. - Honestly theres a different flush for everyone... some people like it with 0 camber or stretch and dead parralel to the fender. others like it hanging wide and low with stretched tire and 3.5 degrees of camber with the tread being flush on a 30mm pull. I cant decide for you but theres enough pics around to get an Idea of what does what.

What Needs to be Done
Step 1 - Fender Rolling/pulling - there are numerous ways to get the same effect (i.e. Hammers/Baseball Bats/Pliers) with some looking better than others but the basic Idea is to get the fender edje into a J shape instead of an L shape. to pull fenders you'll want a Fender Roller. theres lots of them floating around so Id borrow one before buying. theres as many styles to this as there are offsets. I'd find someone who has a stlye you like and inquire further... when pulling using a heat gun on the area to make the metal/paint more malleable so A) your paint wont crack and B) so your fender wont buckle (on larger pulls)
Step 2 - Wiring Harness There is an OEM wiring harness that runs underneath the Driverside framerail (along with a small one on the passenger side) some people take the time to cut or de pin it at the fuse box and then route it inside the engine bay... I was lazy and cheated like DoriftoPG and shifted it to the left inside of the frame rail (see picture)
Step 3 - Hammer Work A this is easy. inside the fender running along / under there are two seams that need to be hammered flat for good suspension travel / steering lock. I found it easy to use pliers to get em started and then drive it flat with a hammer (the one on the fire wall can be hit with a hacksaw to make it a little easier
Step 4 - Hammer Work B now that the easy stuff is flat. there are certain areas that may need to be hammered to get full lock at extremely low ride heights and low offsets. all areas are circled in the bottom picture. (also notice the seam hammered for the wiring harness)
http://ziptied.com/forum/files/spots_278.jpg
Picture: Lindsay's (aka Dorifto PG) One-Via


WTF What about the rear? I havent mentioned it since it doesnt really matter because about damn anything will clear (beware of high offset wide 17s on Hicas cars though) and its personal prefrence when you'll need +30s or +50s

S13 Common Sizes
Front------------------Rear
17x8 +25 to +35 17x9 +25 to +30 - 0-2d camber, no work conservitive flush
17x9 -5 to +20 17x9 +0 to +20 3-5d Camber depending on Off, Hammer work depends on offset and ride height
17x9 -10 to +10 18x10(.5) 0 to +10 2-3 Camber, 20mm Overs F 30R, Hammer work.

all based on 235/40 Front tire. 255 rear width.
"[a good rule of thumb is to stay away from above 9s in the front unless your willing to experiment]" loosly qouted from Dorifto PG

Tires basically whatever rim width you get a 235 will be a good bet for a good front fit.245s / 255s can fit with alot of work and a slightly higher ride height. (on a nicely sized rim 245s fit on an 8J in the front with minimal work)
-Tire Stretch- tire stretch will make your turn in more responsive and minimize tread squirm. however they also effectively lower the load rating of the tire making for less peak traction. small stretchs are worth the loss but large (215s on a 9) are mainly to clear on low cars.

On the rear 255 is common and will clear anything (and will work on most wheel rim combos with a minimal pull


sooner or later Ill get around to adding S14 witdths and offsets. but they will clear more inside and out than S13s

BUMP


--Ill add S14 stuff here later when I care more to keep it more organized--

Isn't there some kind of downside traction wise by running 235s on a 9 wide? (Cause it's stretched.)

added

So 235 on a 9 wide would be fine? maybe I should go 8 wide in front? Would there be a big diff in traction?

Not a huge difference... your turn in will be better with a 9

Well a 235 on a 9 wide is better traction then say a 215 on a stock rim? (If it's the same tire model.)

Nice write up. Added to tech sticky.

yay offset nazi's!

i aspire to be one. thanks for the info

nice work man! tnks!

Well a 235 on a 9 wide is better traction then say a 215 on a stock rim? (If it's the same tire model.)


Uhhh...

235/40 on a 9 vs. 215/55 on a 6.5 HRRRRRRRRRRRMMMMMM???


The Effect of lower traction is small relativly small... you wont hear people complain until you go at or below a 215 on a 9J

lol, ok, well I just wanna be sur I'n not ganna come barreling down a mountain corner and i just go right off the edge cause the front wheels don't grip worth shit. :-P