Staggered wheels

[josh95mx]

Well I have a little discussion going on the MX3 board and was wondering what some of you thought about running a staggered set of wheels on a FWD.

So reason behind it is the wheels I want I can only find in staggered sets. 16x7 +35 and 16x8 +30. looking for thoughts impressions Pro's/Con's. I ran a staggered set on my Rx8 and loved it and had none of the issues that many say that you will have with 50/50 and understeer.

Thanks for any input.

[XelderX]

Which way are you going to stagger them? The E36 M3s came with a staggered setup (tires and wheels) from the factory and they were much better once you put the same size wheels/tires at all four corners, but things like that are extremely car specific. The reason for having larger tires at one end of the car is because that is where the majority of the weight bias is. On a FWD car the weight bias is going to be toward the front...usually around 60%. Everything else being equal (and it never is) that means you should need more tire on the front to carry the extra load.

If it's just for looks then do what you want to do, but from a physics standpoint all FWD cars should have more tire on the front than on the back.

[josh95mx]

Well originally I was thinking for aesthetics wider in the rear, but for all functional purposes they would need to be up front, so I guess I would throw 5mm spacers in the rear to equal out the wheel base. I plan to hit up a few Auto x events this season and was contemplating running the staggered setup.

Some say it will increase the understeer but I dont see how it could get worse than it already is. Really the car is set up beautifully the way it is I just really want 16" MS01's.. 15's are a tad small for my liking. I guess it really doesent matter as long as I like it, I just don't want it to look dumb.

[atomicEGT]

you don't want it to look dumb but you were planning on putting wider wheels in the back of a FWD car?

okay...

[Turpro]

I'm going to have to say no on the wider wheels in the back. Looks wise yes it would look good but i think more fingers pointing at you laughing saying "dumb ricer".

[KAinjection]

If your planning on autoX then wider wheels in front would make more sense since the narrow tire in the rear would have less grip giving it more balanced breakaway. Same effect in a way as adding a larger sway bar in back.

[josh95mx]

I'm going to have to say no on the wider wheels in the back. Looks wise yes it would look good but i think more fingers pointing at you laughing saying "dumb ricer".

My thoughts exactly! It would look meaty and have a nice stance if they were in the rear, but I am all about function over looks. for anyone who has seen my AWD car could see that.

If your planning on autoX then wider wheels in front would make more sense since the narrow tire in the rear would have less grip giving it more balanced breakaway. Same effect in a way as adding a larger sway bar in back.

OK, that makes sense to me. Is it worth it to have wider wheels in front while racing? In my past I have really only ever dragged and tracked my bike.

If running wider wheels in the front would it make sense to put spacers in the rear to widen the wheel base?

[irishkev90]

Wheelbase is the distance between the centers of the front and rear wheels. Track is the width between the front two or back two wheels. So spacers would widen the track, not affect wheelbase.

[KAinjection]

OK, that makes sense to me. Is it worth it to have wider wheels in front while racing? In my past I have really only ever dragged and tracked my bike.

If running wider wheels in the front would it make sense to put spacers in the rear to widen the wheel base?

Maybe not wider wheels per say due to weight, but one section width wider tire for example on the same wheel. I saw a civic set up for AutoX one time that had 205's on the front and 195's in the rear but the wheels were the same front to back.

XelderX should be able to answer your other question about track width since I think he has commented on it in another thread before

[SgtRauksauff]

I'd say go 16x8 at all four corners and be done. In the long term, you will be able to rotate tires front/back to wear them evenly, you'd only need one spare to fit any corner, your car wouldn't look stupid, and you'd be able to resell a set of four wheels a hell of a lot easier than a pair if you ever want to. Plus the suspension/chassis isn't really designed for the differences in handling that staggered wheels will provide, so you'll have to re-design the suspension to counter that change.

--sarge

[josh95mx]

True,the only real reason I am contemplating it at all is I want a specific MazdaSpeed wheel and I can only really find them in offsets. I guess I could purchase two sets eventually. 16x8 +30 are what I really want. I will have to see what I can come up with. Thanks for all the good feedback guys.