Hello everyone, AD08R 205/45R16 on 16x7J front rims??

[ChrisToffa]

Hello everyone, I am a newbie here and this is my first post.
I have owned a 2005 sable roadster since end of last year, it's my 4th Mr2 and 1st roadster, it sees me into my 21st year of MR2 ownership, the past 20 years have been mk2 turbos, and beforehand a mk1 (back in 1998!)

My roadster is in its factory state except for a double din head unit.

I have just purchased a set of aftermarket rims, they are 16" x 7J and I am about to purchase a set of AD08Rs to fit.
(based upon the reviews and feedback for this tyre on this site I'm not really considering anything else)

The fitment is going to have to be 205/45R16 front, 225/45R16 rear due to AD08R available sizes.


The front rim has a 35mm offset (c/w 45mm OE) so with a 205mm width tyre fitted the inner sidewall will be in the exact same position as the 185/15 stock set up, the outer sidewall be 20mm further out symmetrical to the increased width.
The rear rims are on a 42mm offset, so the extra 10mm of tyre will sit 2mm closer, 8mm further out.

   My general question here is;
with 20mm extra tyre width on the fronts at the outer edge position, +8mm on the rears and a 10mm reduction in front/rear stagger c/w OE set up, what is this likely to do for
a)   overall grip, b) any increase in oversteer ??, c) front wheel weight d) tramlining
based on AD08Rs being fitted
My next step following this will be to lower 30mm using Tein S, have adjustable cam bolts fitted then a full geo set up. There will be a time gap before I start to consider coilovers.
What would be a good starting point for camber settings that I could share for this set up if I needed?

[shnazzle]

I'm afraid it's the other way around.
Your ET35 rims will poke 10mm further out.
I run et35, 195/55 on 15s and I have no clearance issues on the front, but I am on stiff coilovers. I'll do a full lock check when I get back to the car but you might be OK on 205.


ET35 225/45/16 definitely scrapes on the rear arch liners on hard corners and compressions. Quite a lot it you're on a b-road blast. Makes for a very unpleasant experience and you have to roll the arches or introduce at least -2deg camber on the rear.

Have a peek on willtheyfit.com

[1979scotte]

I would not recommend 205 fronts.
I didn't like them on my turbo felt much more alive on stock sizes.
You just don't need the extra rubber on a mk3.
I don't even have bigger tyres/wheels my V6 which is a torque monster although it needs them especially in the wet.

What wheels did you buy? Something nice and light I hope.

[McMr2]

I would not recommend 205 fronts.
I didn't like them on my turbo felt much more alive on stock sizes.
You just don't need the extra rubber on a mk3.
I don't even have bigger tyres/wheels my V6 which is a torque monster although it needs them especially in the wet.

What wheels did you buy? Something nice and light I hope.

+1.

I've ended up running 16x7 fronts with 195s and FWIW the car has lost some of the feel it had on the stock setup. The wheels weren't bought specifically for this car so they are et30 which might be contributing to the change in feel. Hard to describe as I don't believe there is less outright grip, just doesn't seem to have the same character as before.

[ChrisToffa]

Thanks for the replies on this topic so far.

@ shnazzle, thanks for the link to "will it fit"

185/55r15 6J ET45 stock set up VS 205/45r16 7J ET35 outputs
""Compared to your existing wheel, this new wheel will have an inner rim which is 2.7mm closer to the suspension strut. The outer rim will poke out 22.7mm more than before""

That's pretty much what I was eluding to in my post, the extra width of tyre tread and thus contact area sits 20mm out from the stock position.

Interestingly if I reverse the offsets to ET 42 front, 35 rear I get:

Front: ""Compared to your existing wheel, this new wheel will have an inner rim which is 9.7mm closer to the suspension strut. The outer rim will poke out 15.7mm more than before""

Rear: ""Compared to your existing wheel, this new wheel will have an inner rim which is 10mm further away from the suspension strut. The outer rim will poke out 10mm more than before.""

So maybe this is the way to go fitting the lower offset to the rears?

Or are these changes of the centre of the rim position c/w stock so small that its not going to make a difference anyway?

@scotte

Rims weigh in at 6 kg, similar to stock, but weight reduction wasn't the main driver for my purchase.

If AD08r's came in a 195 width for a 16" rim then that would be immediate choice, but they don't and 205 is narrowest for 16s.

It seems as if you want to run 195 or less on the fronts then you are stuck with using 15 diameter rims, unless you switch tyre.

So to your comment, would you still advocate not running 205 on front 16's even if meant ditching AD08r's for something like Toyos or Contis in 195 or 185's??

[1979scotte]

@ChrisToffa

That's a really good question.
I don't know.
I've only fitted AD08R since I first tried them.
Superior in every way to the OEM Yoko or T1R I've tried.
But I also don't advocate stepping away from stock sizes unless you are going for a big increase in torque.
I don't think there is anything to be gained going for bigger wheels and low profile rubber it's purely an aesthetic thing.

I run stock PFL size AD08R currently and thick it's great.
Although I am a bit mad.

[Topdownman]

I went for aftermarket wheels but bought a mixed set of 2 15"  and 2 16".

Possibly a bit late to tell you that though!