Turbo Twists: Which Size Should I Order

Gents, I am about to order some replicas: Aside from the usual 10x18 ET65 and 8x18 ET55, I have the following options: Rear: 10x18 ET47 Front: 8.5x18 ET52 The guys at the wheel place only know that the original sizes fit, so cannot advise me on the alternates. Many thanks in advance.

The OEM size for the front is 8x18 ET50 (not 55). If you go with the 55 the outside of the wheel will RETRACT by 5mm compared to the OEM wheel. However, if you go with the 8.5x18 ET52 the outside of the wheel will EXTEND an extra 4mm compared to OEM size, probably look better and will not cause any problems. The inside of the wheel will have bmm less room, but there should not be any rubbing issues. The rear wheel size of 10x18 ET65 will fit because it is OEM size/offset. However, the alternate rear wheel size of 10x18 ET47 would EXTEND an additional 18mm compared to OEM (ET65). These COULD work (meaning "might" work) for you. Some guys have added 17mm spacers to their rear wheels to get them pushed out further toward the fender lip. If you measured the amount of room you have available on your current wheels, you may be able to determine if the 47mm offset wheels will work. I think Newport put 19" wheels with a more agressive offset on his car. You might want to PM him, or maybe he will comment here. It all depends if you want a more agressive look with your new wheels or not. If you want agressive, measure the amount of space you currently have available and determine if the 47mm offset wheels will work. If you want to be safe, go with the 65mm offset. I hope this helps.

You will be fine with both.... a 9" with ET 52 fits up front so the 8.5 is no issue. The rears with stock offset of ET65 of course are fine.... for a more aggressive look the factory offered a 17mm spacer option that essentially made the rears have an ET of 48mm... ET-65mm+17mm spacer=ET -48mm. So the replica 18x10 ET 47 is sitting 1 mm further out. should not be a problem but take careful measurements. This will look/work best on a car that is lowered and has some negative camber since that makes the top of the wheel sit inward more.

Gents, Thanks fot the advice. I should have said tha I have a Euro spec car with ROW MO30 suspension but about to be fitted H&R 30mm lowering springs. The wheel guy over here reckons i should stick to standard sizes and then use spacers to fill out the arches. I am not so keen on spacers, and will only use them as a last resort. Should I do the suspension before ordering the wheels, or do you think ET47 rear and ET52 fronts will work?

I would do the suspension work first, so you can measure how much room you have to play with in the rear. Remember that the fenders are rolled and the inner lip is 4 to 6 mm closer to the tire than the outer edge of the fender. Make sure you take that into account when you measure and calculate the amount of clearence you have to work with.

Diablo, If it were me I woudn't run spacers especially at the track. Street maybe. Here.... play with the magic wheel offset calculator.... enter your #'s and see what the impact is and decide for yourself... Remember the rear 18x10 had a 17mm spacer option and many people in C2s are very pleased running the GT3 rear sizes of 18x11 ET 63. http://www.1010tires.com/WheelOffsetCalculator.asp So by way of example. If you compare the Stock 18x10 ET 65 to the GT3 18x11 ET 63 you see that the 11" wheel sits 15 mm further out. The 18x10 ET 47 then sits 18mm further out than the stock wheel without the spacer and only 1 mm more than with the spacer and only 2 mm more than the GT3 wheel. I don't really see 1-2 mm on the outside lip being an issue. Just walk up to a 996 GT3 and notice how much room they still have left. Hope this helps.