Hey guys

I'm going to take a look at a low K Series II ES on Saturday. As I understand the ES is a base model with 16" wheels, is this correct? If I was to switch the wheels and tyres to 18" or 19" later - how much alteration is there in speedo accuracy and final gearing?

Just for my interest - is there a favoured rim and tyre size amongst the brethren? :happy:

Also - Western Victoria's roads are famous for their potholes - anyone have experiences with fancy alloys and craters??

AND finally - Wikipedia says that the ES has foggies, but pics of them that I've seen do not show them. Is Wiki incorrect?

Cheers

Steve

firstly, when you go up in rim size, you go down with sidewall size so everything fits and speedo reads fine. The miata tyre calc can explain a little better...... http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html

the 380, as mentioned by others has massive guards, so 19" rims seem to be the preffered choice

ive ran 18" Apec rims before and remember hitting a huge pothole that jumped about 6 songs in my CD player and had the rims on that side checked out later on just as a precaution and it was perfectly fine. It had the VIA and JWL stamps on the rims which are a recognised & respected japanese compliance. Alot of new cars bear these same stamps. So i guess, if you pick a quality rim it can take some punishment.

oh and you will find out quickly theres not many rims made in the 380 offset, and yes im aware theres many people running falcon offset with no problems. You are looking for a rim with +42mm offset and up to +46mm.

also any rim you find will usually have a centre bore hole of 71mm, so you will also have to purchase locator rings which take the hole size down a few mm to match your cars hub, i forget the size now.

My choice of rim for the 380 would be a set of 19" Speedy Obsession, which come in a +45mm offset

http://wheelworx.com.au/stock_wheels/speedy/large/obsession.jpg

I'm going to take a look at a low K Series II ES on Saturday. As I understand the ES is a base model with 16" wheels, is this correct? If I was to switch the wheels and tyres to 18" or 19" later - how much alteration is there in speedo accuracy and final gearing?
It depends on what tyres you go.

For example, on a 18" rim, 235/40/18 will be massively undersized and your speedo will over-read (eg 110km/h on the speedo will be an actual 101km/h). 235/45/18 is the same as OEM. 245/45/18 will be larger and the speedo will under-read - but the speedo will under-read from standard so it will simply make it more accurate.

If you go for 19s, you would be looking at 245/35/19s (a fair bit smaller than OEM), 225/40/19s (a little smaller than OEM) or 245/40/19 (a bit bigger than OEM).

I would go for a bigger tyre rather than smaller, as it will fill up the guards better, and more sidewall = more protection from potholes and better ride comfort.

What size you go for is up to you. 20" wheels look the part, but I would be worried about driving them on bad roads. Yes, you are more likely to crack or flatten a larger wheel. Build quality will also affect this, as cheaper rims generally won't be as strong as more expensive rims.

At the end of the day, you have to weigh up what kind of trade-off you are prepared to make regarding practicality, cost, comfort and looks.

You also need to keep in mind that large rims (19" or 20") will generally look out of place if your car isn't lowered.

Hey guys

I'm going to take a look at a low K Series II ES on Saturday. As I understand the ES is a base model with 16" wheels, is this correct? Correct If I was to switch the wheels and tyres to 18" or 19" later - how much alteration is there in speedo accuracy and final gearing? Red is on the money, the stock set up over-reads about 5%, so depending on what size and profile tyres you go for you can end up with anything from 5% over to 5% under.

Just for my interest - is there a favoured rim and tyre size amongst the brethren? :happy: Again, 19" rims are the best compromise. Not too expensive, plenty of choice both rims & tyres. If you go to 20's the choices reduce a lot and the cost goes up a lot. 18's just look too small on a 380.

Also - Western Victoria's roads are famous for their potholes - anyone have experiences with fancy alloys and craters??

AND finally - Wikipedia says that the ES has foggies, but pics of them that I've seen do not show them. Is Wiki incorrect? Wiki is talking BS, no ES ever came with foggies as stock.

Cheers

Steve

Steve,

See red bits.

I know nothing about rims and speedo accuracy, but I can add some info on the fog-lights lol

Series 1 and series 2 380 ES's were not fitted with fog-lights from factory. However, SIII ES's were fitted with them. They also received the GT/VRX style front bar.

If you go for 19s, you would be looking at 245/35/19s (a fair bit smaller than OEM), 225/40/19s (a little smaller than OEM) or 245/40/19 (a bit bigger than OEM).

I would go for a bigger tyre rather than smaller, as it will fill up the guards better, and more sidewall = more protection from potholes and better ride comfort.

What size you go for is up to you. 20" wheels look the part, but I would be worried about driving them on bad roads. Yes, you are more likely to crack or flatten a larger wheel. Build quality will also affect this, as cheaper rims generally won't be as strong as more expensive rims.

You also need to keep in mind that large rims (19" or 20") will generally look out of place if your car isn't lowered.

Since I am not expecting to lower the car - I was thinking maybe 18's? But then if you take a good look around - good quality tyre and wheel packages can easily set you back $1700 - $2000. Might be a while before I can even contemplate this, when you consider car purchase price, RWC and transfer fee - then a full years rego! Who am I kiddin'. :eek2:

Steve

I know nothing about rims and speedo accuracy, but I can add some info on the fog-lights lol

Series 1 and series 2 380 ES's were not fitted with fog-lights from factory. However, SIII ES's were fitted with them. They also received the GT/VRX style front bar.

Will the stock foggies fit? I work nightshift - and we get a lot of fog out here in the boonies!

Steve

Since I am not expecting to lower the car - I was thinking maybe 18's? But then if you take a good look around - good quality tyre and wheel packages can easily set you back $1700 - $2000. Might be a while before I can even contemplate this, when you consider car purchase price, RWC and transfer fee - then a full years rego! Who am I kiddin'. :eek2:

Steve
Just keep an eye out for the tyres included, as most wheel/tyre packages come with pretty crappy tyres.

If you go for a set of 18s, don't get rims with a dish or lip as they'll simply look too small.

Personally, I reckon a lot of the OEM 380 rims look pretty decent - better than a lot of aftermarket rims anyway.

Just keep an eye out for the tyres included, as most wheel/tyre packages come with pretty crappy tyres.

Yeah - I had noticed that. And two things I don't believe you should skimp on - tyres & brakes.


If you go for a set of 18s, don't get rims with a dish or lip as they'll simply look too small.

Thanks - had not even thought of that.


Personally, I reckon a lot of the OEM 380 rims look pretty decent - better than a lot of aftermarket rims anyway.

I've seen some on Ebay and Gumtree for not that many $$$. Might also be that you could have a set powder coated satin black - maybe with a machined (or masked) facing?