I want to put 18" wheels on my tibby and I would like to lower it about an inch,is this possible without having trouble turning or rubbing the tires?

 

Stick with 215 or 205 tires and you should be okay.

You will need
215 x 30 x R18 tires
Or
205 x 35 x R18 tires

The ride quality on the 35's will be much better than the 30's...but they are going to be DAMN HARSH either way. You will feel EVERY bump in the road.

Also..go for high quality/strong wheels. Those wheels don't have much rubber between them and the road and they are going to take a BEATING.

Those high quality/strong wheels are also going to be damn heavy..about 25 to 30lbs per wheel. MUCH heavier than stock. Expect much slower 0-60 times and 1/4 mile times.

 

should i just use 17" wheels instead of 18"
I know what your talking about with the strong wheels. I had a set of MasItaly 17's with Nitto 215/45 on my ford focus zx3 and I bent two of the wheels pretty bad just hitting bumps in the road,I dont wanna go through that again. Ive been looking at Konig Monsoons and Toxxins for the Tib. Do you know how durable those wheels are? What kind of brand would you suggest,I need to stay around Konigs price range. Do 17" fill the fender well pretty good on a Tib.?
Thanks alot for your input!

 

hey whats up, i got a 225/30/18 on mine and it rides perfect!! Plus u get better handling! ummm...what random said about, you feeling every little bump is not really true, i live on a messed up street and the car feels just as good as stock. Also im going to have the eibach 1.2 kit installed pretty soon, soo yes u can lower it, just not alot! and they look good as hell! well good luck and hope u get them!! fred

 

BIG RED.

Those tires are 1.2" (30 mm) wider than stock tires. If you lower your ar 1.2 Inches, you will rub on corners.

The Eibach springs/dampners are fairly stiff, they will maginify the bumps/vibration from the larger wheels.

Also...rounded bumps are one thing...18"s can roll over those more or less just like 15"s. Square edged bumps or potholes are where the poor ride quality really makes it self known.

I guarantee you that from the inside, no one will confuse 18x30 wheels/tires ride quality with stock tire/wheel ride quality.

That being said, ride "quality" is a subjective term. one persons "harsh" is anothers "too soft".

 

sorry random, i didnt mean to offend u or anything, i just meant that my car still rides good, maybe im wrong but i do drive it everyday and it feels fine to me smile.gif oh and ill tell u if they rub or not its gettin lower thursday

 

Naw, no offense taken. I have 17"s and I'm NOT happy with the ride quality. They are too harsh for my personal taste, but friends have ridden in my car, and they have no complaints. So for you, your 18"s may ride just fine for your personal taste, but I'm sure you admit that you can feel more road irregularities with the 18's than you could with the stock 15's. That's the kind of harshness I'm trying to avoid.

Different strokes for different folks. BTW..give the springs 500 miles or so to bed in before getting your alignment done. They will "settle" a tad more after 500 miles.

 

lol i guess ur right random, i looked at my tire and its a 215 hehe!!!! i dont know y i said 225. i got a question is there any way i can make the tires a little more flush with the car? i mean they look hell of alot better then the stock 1's there are inset by like a inch and i want them even... any thoughts?

 

A different offset will move them out...but then you would hit the outter wheel lip on bumps. Then you would have to roll the fenders...which makes the wheels look "in" again.

On our cars...it's damn hard to do. The best you can do is about a 38 or 36 offset.

 

I dont recall what the stock offset is, but I would like the same thing..having the wheels close to flush. Using an offset like 38 or 36 would it be succeptable to alignment problems? I dont have to tell you that 17" tires arent cheap and I cant afford to have to replace them every few months. What offset should I get if I get a 17" not to have these kind of problems? What brands are stronger wheels? I live in northern louisiana and I think they must have left road construction out of the state budget for the past few years!!! rolleyes.gif