Wheel sizes

[alan_stoneham]

Hi all, newbie to Marlin here, just bought the 5Exi-R ex-demonstrator!!
At present it has 195/50/15 tyres which with the Honda gearbox give it quite a low gearing as the Type R has 205/45/17's, I believe.
I will probably keep the fronts the same but I 'm wondering what size tyres any of you have fitted that are larger than 15's. My main concern obviously is fouling the wheel arch but looking at the clearance I think I can get away with up to 215/50/16 ( that is a 4.5cm greater diameter)That tyre size is very close in rolling radius terms to the 205/45/17's. I want to fit Toyo R888's so a 195/50/15 front and 215/50/16 rear combination would be perfect - if the rears will fit!! Cheers Alan

[KitCarGirl]

Re: Wheel sizes

Hi Alan

Drop Steve Chaney a line on [email protected]. As the 5EXi rep he should be able to advise.

Welcome to Marlin!

Regards

Sue

[alan_stoneham]

Re: Wheel sizes

Thanks for the welcome Sue. Will drop Steve an e-mail

[alan_stoneham]

Re: Wheel sizes

After a time spent at my very helpful local tyre place I can just about answer my own question! 195/50/16's fit fine on the back but anything with a greater diameter will be a problem. Front and back of the arch is ok but the top will rub with hard cornering. So the solution if I want more rubber on the rear is to modify the wheel arch, which may well happen over the next few months!

[alan_stoneham]

Re: Wheel sizes

The car has been back to Marlin for some "body mods" and 4 pot calipers! I've finally settled on 195/50/15 fronts and 225/45/16 rears for the R888's and 215/45/15 and 225/45/16 for the T1-R's. With an increase to nearly -2 deg camber on the rears and a little bit shaved off the arches the rears fit very nicely and filling the arch look much more agressive. The rears give almost the same circumference as the 205/45/17's on the CTR. Will put some photos on here soon with the new wheels.