Wheels so small

[MoeSzyslak73]

Is it just me? or the fujimi's kit has small wheels?

I bought a Fujimi kit (Integra Type R DC5), but the wheels look so small, even they are 17" wheels. It's so funny yet frustrating.. so I went to buy a set of Fujimi 18" wheels (ENKEI Racing RP03), and guess what? not only the rim, but the whole wheel (rim + tyre) is actually bigger then the stock type-R wheel.

Now the type-R looks more normal, but i still want the stock type-R look tyres, what can I do!!!??

Sorry I don't have any photos, will try to post some later. Thanks for any replies.

[chenc544]

I'm kindda confused by your question. Are you saying that you want the low profile tire look? If that's the case try adding a layer of styrene to the outside of the stock 17" wheel and then squeeze them back into the 17" tires. There is a quide in the FAQ about making deep dish wheel that will show you what I'm talking about. Or you can try squeeze the 17" tires onto the 18" wheels, they should go on there with a little work.

[KTem]

You mean you think the wheels in the kit are too small, and you want bigger wheels that look like the stock ones?

[MoeSzyslak73]

oh sorry for the confusion. All I mean is, I am pretty new to the car modeling, is it normal that Fujimi's kits come with small wheels? Or just this particular kit? Otherwise I will avoid to buy Fujimi next time.

And thanks for the advise for modifying the stock wheel, but I may not have the skill yet. So I guess I am stuck with the small stock wheels.

[ZoomZoomMX-5]

Unfortunately a lot of Fujimi's stock rims are undersized. It's as if they want to guarantee sales of their custom wheel packages.

Each kit is different, some wheels are properly sized; especially the newer models from the last couple years. But most of their Honda wheels look tiny.

[hirofkd]

It's not really an accuracy problem, but more like a visual perception issue. Find some good photos of the real RSX, and pay close attention to the space between the fender arch and the tire. You'll notice a huge gap even on real cars, and that's what the model really represents.

Wrapping a wheel with a strip of styrene sheet is very each, and anyone can do.

Get a styrene sheet of about 0.3-0.5 mm thickness and cut a rectangular piece of the appropriate size, whose shorter sides equal to the wheel width, and the longer sides should be the circumference (wheel diameter times PI). Curl the rectangular piece using a cylindrical object and glue it on a wheel. Use a rubber band to hold the styrene piece until the glue dries.

Also, you can choose a body darker color like black or dark blue to make the gap less noticeable.

[Vric]

Yes it's normal. Same happen with Revell and AMT.

Only Tamiya and Aoshima have good size.

[chenc544]

I agree with hirofkd it's your eyes playing tricks on you. What looks good might not be what's realistic. Just take a ruler and measure the diameter of the wheel and you can see if it's to scale. For example, the wheels on the Tamiya 300ZX looks great on the car but it measures out to be about 17" IIRC, the real 300ZX has 16" wheels.

[ZoomZoomMX-5]

There's a reason that a 16" diameter wheel should scale out to 17" on a model. The wheel diameter is at the tire's bead, the inside diameter of the tire. There is a lip around a 1:1 wheel that holds the tire in place, and if you measure a 1:1 wheel you will find that the measurement is always about an inch larger when you include the lip. I'm positive that most model manufacturers have goofed on this before, especially the US manufacturers and Fujimi.

In other words, if a 1:1 car is supposed to have 16" wheels, and the kit wheel diameter including the lip measures out to to .67" or 16.9 mm (a scale 16") or less, then the wheel is simply too small. What you are seeing is a scale 15" rim.

Fujimi rims are often too small. I know that we tend to think a larger wheel looks more correct, but there are many kit wheels from Fujimi and Revell that are at least one scale inch too small in diameter (I've even seen a two inch discrepancy which really looks horrible). I have been fooled before looking at rims that look too small yet they do measure out correctly including the lip.

To make sure you aren't seeing things, measure your wheels. In 1/24 scale, here is roughly what your wheels should measure out to:

15" = .67"/16.93 mm
16" = .71"/18 mm
17" = .75"/19.05 mm
18" = .79"/20.1 mm
19" = .83"/21.2 mm
20" = .88"/22.23 mm
21" = .92"/23.3 mm
22" = .96"/24.3 mm
23" = 1.0"/25.4 mm
24" = 1.04"/26.46 mm

[MoeSzyslak73]

I took some photos last night, they simply doesnt look right... sorry for the crappy images:

what it should look like:

puny wheels:


back:

another look of the puny wheels:

[ZoomZoomMX-5]

Those wheels certainly do look small. And that front end...sheesh, Fujimi really screwed up the appearance of the front of the car too.