Paul Vercoe Posted August 15, 2012 Share Posted August 15, 2012 Greetings everyone. I am new to the club, but am now on my 3rd 240Z over the years, and still enjoying the experience. Nearing the end of a fairly extensive restoration which should see the car on the road in the next few months. I wanted to seek some advice on wheels and tyres if I can. I purchased a set of 15 X 7 Konig wheels from Motorsports in California a few months back - very pleased with the purchase, price and quality, but now having a challenge with clearance and rubbing on the (standard) front indicator panel. I was assured by MSA that the wheels would fit with a maximum 205 x 60 profile, but this is not the case. I have overhauled the front suspension, fitting 30mm lowered King Springs, KYB shockers, and new nolothane bushes throughout. I considered looking at machining and adjusting the strut rods to pull the hub and wheel back into the wheel well, but have been advised against this because of the effect on Castor. At the moment there is more gap at the rear of the wheel as it sits in the wheel well than at the front. The solution at the moment seems to be going for a different tyre size, and my tyre dealer suggests a 195 x 60 to try next. I am loath to go to a 55 profile because I remember how harsh the ride was on my last 240. I live in a country town so I am taking one wheel in at a time to work through this tyre challenge. If this works I will keep 195s on the front, and 205s on the rear (which fit without problem). Does anyone have any experience with these wheels and suggestions for a solution. Many thanks, Paul V Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scoota G Posted August 15, 2012 Share Posted August 15, 2012 Welcome Paul, my friend Dale had a similar problem and we ended up modifying the front panels to suit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dat2kman Posted August 15, 2012 Share Posted August 15, 2012 Hi, and Gday to Gunagai'ans ( what DO the locals call themselves?) Gundagites, Gundy's FWIW originally the cars came with a 185/70x14, the upgrade to a 205/60x15 has the rubber at too big a diameter, which unless you cut the rear edge of the lower front valance panel it will rub. Offsets etc can be played around with, but diam is an issue! Post up pics if possible. How hard/costly was it to deal with the seller in the US? A link to their site? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris240 Posted August 15, 2012 Share Posted August 15, 2012 The $64 question.....whats the offset of the rim ? Something sounds wrong here. If its zero or + 4 ish, you should have a mile of clearances.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dat2kman Posted August 15, 2012 Share Posted August 15, 2012 A 205/60x15 tyre will be around 630mm diameter, and add that to a close to 0 offset, when steering lock is applied, the outside front edge of tyre will foul on the lower front valance panel under the headlight bucket. A more positive offset rim will solve that, but, it will then foul on lower spring perch Fit lower height/diameter tyres. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Agno Posted August 15, 2012 Share Posted August 15, 2012 I had 205/60/15 tyres on a 15x7 +12 superlite. On the rear they were fine but on the front they would scrub the castor rod at full lock. By the sounds of it he's probably running something closer to 0 offset. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Vercoe Posted August 15, 2012 Author Share Posted August 15, 2012 Thanks for the feedback everyone. Here is the link to the Motorsport Auto web site - http://www.thezstore.com/page/TZS/PROD/WWC02-15/25-1067 - the wheels are US$550 (complete with lug nuts and centre pieces), with shipping a further $300, so pretty good value. I still haven't obtained the wheel offset from Motorsport yet - but will advise when known. I will trial the smaller diameter tyres, but otherwise modify the indicator valance - would placing a front air dam be a further alternative for tyre clearance? Cheers, Paul. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Vercoe Posted August 15, 2012 Author Share Posted August 15, 2012 Here are some shots of the wheels and the fit in the front wheel well. As for living in Gundagai, we are known as 'blow-ins', as we have only lived here the past six years. Nice country lifestyle though - drop a note if you are passing along the Hume Highway (usually at 125 KPH). Cheers, Paul MichaelT 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators gav240z Posted August 15, 2012 Administrators Share Posted August 15, 2012 I just want to say your car looks absolutely drop dead gorgeous. A front air damn may be a suitable alternative if you are adverse to cutting the front valance for wheel clearance (I know I would be). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Vercoe Posted August 16, 2012 Author Share Posted August 16, 2012 MSA have advised that the offset for the wheel is the factory 0 mm; that the Konig is their best selling wheel, and that no other Z has required any modification. Does anyone think it could still be something to do with the Castor? There is no evidence of accident damage, and everything lines up well. Cheers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris240 Posted August 16, 2012 Share Posted August 16, 2012 Paul Have you as yet , rolled/flattened the lip of the valance ? Is the tyre "just" nipping at the inner corner of the valance or is it making quite a bit of contact.. Any chance you could take a pic with the tyre at 3/4 lock just as its about to touch. Mine touches on the odd occasion but only when in reverse and when ive turned the wheel at 3/4 lock and backing out the driveway Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Agno Posted August 16, 2012 Share Posted August 16, 2012 I have to say my car never had that sort of issue with the tyre touching the front of the guard. I'll have to go digging for a photo of my car side on but I am nearly certain mine has less caster than that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Vercoe Posted August 16, 2012 Author Share Posted August 16, 2012 Will take some photos of the wheels, tyres and valance on the weekend. I have lost track of the previous owner, but know he was preparing it for hill climb activities - I'm wondering if the castor angle was adjusted for that, but doubt it, as the present radius rods seem standard. I haven't touched the valance yet, but have another set so may end up rolling them to accommodate the tyres. Cheers, Paul Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Zedman240® Posted August 16, 2012 Moderators Share Posted August 16, 2012 May help to measure your castor rod length and compare it with other zeds... Mine comes close with 225's on 17" rims. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Vercoe Posted August 16, 2012 Author Share Posted August 16, 2012 Thanks Zedman - I bought the set of adjustable castors listed on Ebay a week or so back to try this - only trouble was it was only adjustable for lengthening the rod, and I need to shorten to bring the castor back - I would have to machine back from the thread to allow that. I measured and this set is the same length as the existing set on the car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Vercoe Posted August 18, 2012 Author Share Posted August 18, 2012 Okay - issue resolved. I have now fitted Yokohama 195 x 60 x 15 tyres and there is good clearance between the tyre and the lower valance. A bit of a compromise, as I wanted the 205 tyres, but this was not to be. Thank you to those who gave advice along the way. I received further feedback from Motorsport in California, which may explain why they thought there should not be a problem: Paul, After investigating this further, I”ve determined that a lot of it may have to do with the tire tread cap. Basically, the same size tire by two different manufacturers can still be different dimensionally due to the style of tread cap used on the tire. Some tread caps are wide and some taper inward. For the most part, the tires made over here tend to have a lower profile tread cap or a tapered cap. I realized this because I found a small handful of people who had some issues with the tire size, but most didn’t. The guys who had issues went to a 205-60-15 and it eliminated the rubbing. Some even used a 215, but went to a 55 series and they work without rubbing. Some guys even decided to trim the fenders just a bit to fit the larger tires. We have Z’s here that we use for test fitting before we sell items as well, and we did not have any rubbing issues. I do thank you for pointing this out, as we take it seriously and use your feedback for improvement. Thank you, Aaron Sarkin Motorsport Auto 1139 W Collins Ave. Orange, Ca. 92867 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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