Daneway Posted May 27, 2003 Share Posted May 27, 2003 I think I risk everyone yawning massively and ignoring my post when they see I'm talking wheels and tyres ! .... Anyhow, I need some moral support and recommendations ... I recently had a set of wheels and tyres fitted by Wheelmania and have since had a whole bunch of symptoms which make what was a solid confidence inspiring drive into a nervous, twitchy vibrating shimmying ride. I actually went up to get a set of Blitz 03s fitted after finding them on eBay. Got there, all excited like and had them fitted and found that the rears extend about 2 inches outside the body. The guys at WM insisted that they were off a Supra! Anyhow I got some 19" Mania Pacifics fitted instead which the guys recommended and showed me photos of a Supra with them fitted. After since reading the opinions of running "nineteens" and offsets etc on the board as well as some comments on WM I have an 'orrible feeling I might have made a baaaadd choice. I accept the fact that running larger rims will affect the handling, but not this badly I'm sure. I know some of you guys are running nineteens. Can you offer any guidance? My plan is to get them balanced and reseat them, then see what happens. If still no joy I will go back to WM to "discuss". Any comments - should I dump the new w/t combo and start again? Boo hoo. .... Sorry for the rather long post chaps. It helps to talk when you have that sinking feeling! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terminator Posted May 27, 2003 Share Posted May 27, 2003 I think a little bit of technical info is required here, i.e. rim width, tyre sizes etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovatt Posted May 27, 2003 Share Posted May 27, 2003 i have wheel mania 19" pacifics and they are fine, it handles and drives nicely but as for wheel mania as a company, well i dont want to bad mouth so i will say nothing ! i take it they gave you the wider wheel on the back with the dished face ? 235/265 combo tyre widths ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nick_karkie Posted May 27, 2003 Share Posted May 27, 2003 Lovatt doesnt want to bad mouth Wheelmania but I will, they are shit!! I bought some 19" TRD'S i think and they sent me celica fitment wheels instead of supra, which they then sorted out by sending me some german spacers......the spacers should not really be used on a heavy car like the supra and this caused the back tyres to come of the rims after only 2000 miles of driving. Lots of people have had problems with them. Ibrar Jabbar at Pro-Alloys or Paul Whiffin at Whifbitz both know what they are doing because they own supras. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovatt Posted May 27, 2003 Share Posted May 27, 2003 the owner of wheel mania also owned a mkiv before his 355 and he promised me mkiv's never came out the factory with diffarent front to rear tyre widths ! so we all have our wheel combos wrong lads and lasses i even showed him the tyre info sticker in the door shut but he was still having non of it ! oh bu**er now i have bad mouthed ! anybody thinking of getting wheels/tyres in the future should definitely see ibrar or paul whiffin ! sorry i cant help but if it was me i would get a 4wheel alighnment Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GavinL Posted May 27, 2003 Share Posted May 27, 2003 Originally posted by lovatt the owner of wheel mania also had a mkiv before his 355 and he promised me mkiv's never came out the factory with diffarent front to rear tyre widths ! so we all have our wheel combos wrong lads and lasses i even showed him the tyre info sticker in the door shut but he was still having non of it ! Oh dear Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Kindell Posted May 27, 2003 Share Posted May 27, 2003 When i rang them about getting 2 sets of Supra wheels (1 set for mine and a second set for Donnas ) they told me that you cant change the wheels on a Supra cos no one does after market wheels for them i try'd to tell them well thats strange because both cars already have after market wheels on them but .......???? still they are the ones that lost out on nearly 4k's worth of sale's so .....!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Martin F Posted May 27, 2003 Share Posted May 27, 2003 Originally posted by lovatt so we all have our wheel combos wrong lads and lasses i even showed him the tyre info sticker in the door shut but he was still having non of it ! Perhaps you should have tried him with the braille (sp?) sticker. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daneway Posted May 27, 2003 Author Share Posted May 27, 2003 Thanks Lovatt, kind reassuring m8. Yup the rears are more dished than the fronts. Terminator, some more detail for you .... Pacifics: Rear 9.5 x 19 Front 8.5 x 17 (only kidding) x 19 Tyres: Uniroyal Rainsport 1 Rear: 265 x 30 Front 235 x 35 No spacers. All wheels clear bodyparts. Haven't had the wheels off again, but it looks like the offset is around 35mm so the outside faces of the wheels are nearer the outside of the body than the stock 16" with 50mm offset which the Pacifics replaced. Thing is, the stock 16s were fine. But maybe this change has highlighted some suspension/steering geometry problem? Thanks guys! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thorin Posted May 27, 2003 Share Posted May 27, 2003 Originally posted by Daneway Uniroyal Rainsport 1 I think thats your problem right there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gaz Walker Posted May 27, 2003 Share Posted May 27, 2003 Originally posted by Thorin I think thats your problem right there. Yup. Get some Goodyear F1's or Bridgestone SO's fitted. Gaz. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daneway Posted May 28, 2003 Author Share Posted May 28, 2003 Thanks chaps. Does the Uniroyal have "history" then? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gaz Walker Posted May 28, 2003 Share Posted May 28, 2003 Well I've never heard of anyone on the board using them. The common choice are the F1's, SO's & PZero's... Gaz. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Posted May 28, 2003 Share Posted May 28, 2003 When you say twitching shimmying, do you mean the the wheels are now tramlining. Tramlining is more noticeable when wider wheels and tyres are fitted and your driving on roads where there are 'ruts' caused by HGV's etc. The car will want to follow the ruts and this can be quite unnerving if you're not expecting it or haven't come across this effect before. I would be surprised if the problem was just down to tyre make. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daneway Posted May 28, 2003 Author Share Posted May 28, 2003 Thing is, there are so many symptoms! The car feels reasonably stable at speeds below 50-ish, although very minor undulations in the road, (I know they're minor cos' I've stopped and take a look!), are felt as vibrations through the steering wheel. At speeds over 60 a more regular vibration is felt, which I am assuming is balancing. Also the front feels light and "edgy". On a very smooth surface it is better, but nowhere near as stable as my stock 16s with 235s and 255s! The car also tramlines which I have put down to the reduced offset these wheels have, putting a larger moment of force about the steering axis. Without taking the wheels off (a job for tonight), I reckon they have an offset of around 35mm. I think the tramlining is less likely to be the width (only .5inch increase on both ends), but the offset may be the culprit. I have tried the pressure at anything between 34 and 40, with the inevitable lightness felt at the top end. I've just had my old wheels returned to me so I may put these back on pending a complete swap out and going with my original idea of Blitz wheels and Bridgestones rather than launch loads of wedge at it and still get nowhere. Although reports of these wheels being fine from Lovatt fills me with hope! I'll get them balanced tomorrow and see ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jez sutherland Posted May 28, 2003 Share Posted May 28, 2003 My car had Uniroyals on when I bought it. My car UK TT 6spd handled like a bag of s**t then to put it mildly. It was so bad that I thought that maybe I'd made a mistake and bought a car that was too powerful and tempermental for me:eek: (How wrong can you be:D ). Anyway - I put a set of Bridgestone SO2s on and the handling improved dramatically - I could not believe how much! As a matter of interest the tyre place actually laughed at the Uniroyals when they saw them on a Supe! I personally think 19s are too big for the supra as they leave little flex in the tyre wall - but that shouldn't make the handling as bad as you say. Definately get decent tyres - the Uniroyals aren't good for anything in my experience. I use Bridgestone SO3s now - which I think are excellent. Hope this helps, Jeremy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovatt Posted May 28, 2003 Share Posted May 28, 2003 they tried to fit uniroyals to mine but i made them fit toyo poxies, and i am quite happy with them, bit to soft though Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daneway Posted May 28, 2003 Author Share Posted May 28, 2003 Thanks guys. I feel a little better about where I'm going with this now! Balancing tomorrow to see if that improves matters. Else I think I'll go for the Bridgestones. If still not right, I'll knock the 19s out and get me some decent 18s. An expensive lesson, but if I can get the handling back without resorting to my "mondeo" wheels then I'll be a happy man! Thanks for your support in my hour of need!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daneway Posted May 29, 2003 Author Share Posted May 29, 2003 Well, two and a half hours out of my life heavily engaged with the local tyre expert, balancing these damn Pacifics. They were out a bit (5-30 gms) and although the result is very slightly less wobble is nowhere near the fabulous handling I had with the stock 16s .... Tracking tomorrow. Still ..... I had the opportunity of spraying the suspension bushes with Lithium grease when it was on the ramps, to sort the squeaks out. At least that worked! I am reluctant to try the tyre change as that'll be another £250 quid down the proverbial if no improvement. Probably some new 18s. I feel it coming on right now .... Anyone with a passion for troubleshooting fancy some Pacifics with 100 miles on some Uniroyals .... ho-hum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supra_Al Posted May 29, 2003 Share Posted May 29, 2003 I've recently upgraded to 18" alloys with correct Supra fitment(no spacers) these are fitted with Goodyear F1's.The car drives smoother and quieter than ever before,with no vibration at all (100 leptons max so far)......i know i'll be staying with F1's.Al. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daneway Posted May 29, 2003 Author Share Posted May 29, 2003 Glad to hear your happy with them m8! I have asked Paul Whiffin for a few options in 18s. Feel it comin' on stronger now ...... ! Just gotta get rid of these Pacifics! BTW: What width and offset are your TGFs and what tyre sizes are you running? Cheers, M. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam W Posted May 30, 2003 Share Posted May 30, 2003 I would hazard a guess that the tyre choice will bigger difference to the absolute mechanical grip limit than it would to the "feel" of the car. I know the car will feel different, having had cheap and expensive tyres on my car wityh the same wheel/ suspension setup. But such a dramatic dfifference as you describe sounds (to me) more like the geometry thrown out somehow. Or maybe those tyres really don't perform well with such a miniscule sidewall height? I would say, do all the setup checking you can and then think about changing the tyres. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daneway Posted May 30, 2003 Author Share Posted May 30, 2003 Thanks Adam. I think you're right. I am a fussy sod and I don't like spending all that money and losing the feel of the car! Just to make sure that this is what a car feels like with, as you said "miniscule sidewalls", I am going to try and meet up with Lovatt and compare notes. If it is me being "particular", then the 19s will go and I'll then be debating whether to go down to 18s or even 17s. I'll be a gibbering (and pot-less) wreck by the end of this!! All the best, MARTIN Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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