[ms1991]

So I installed my Dobinsons 40mm lift in the vit yesterday, gave me some grief but eventually got it done and now its time to call around for wheels and tyres..

I have just been reading on here about Rim offsets and it just confuses the shit outta me!

Now lets sort this out,

I have a 97 swb vit with the Dobinsons 40mm suspension lift, camber bolts and rear ball joint spacer..
What offset rim would give me minimal to no scrubbing/rubbing if i was to run a 235/75 tyre on a 15x7" rim?

thinking of also installing 15/30mm coil spacers if needed later down the track.

Hope you can help,
thanks fellas.

[got_bar_work]

King do 10p that should do the job

[ms1991]

anyone running king wheels 15x7 10p that can shed some light?

[matty_wall]

my old vitara use to run 15x7 -12. after hammering the guards they worked well. stuck out the guards about 50mm

[ms1991]

everyone seems to run different offsets in terms of negative and positive and to me its all so conflicting lol.

i guess i'll just let the tyre joint work it out.

[cooo]

the tyre joint wont know dick. ive got zero offset 15X7 with 31X10.5 on my vit and didnt have to do much to make it not scrub, only scrubbed on the guards not the chassis. so i think youd be safe with zero offset the further out they stick (less offset) the more itll hit the guards.

[GRPABT1]

Use your current rims as a reference. Flex it up to the bump stops with your current rims and tyres and see where you have room, on the inside or outside of the wheel and then get a rim offset that suits accordingly.

[Gwagensteve]

Or use a calculator like this one:

http://www.1010tires.com/WheelOffsetCalculator.asp

Very helpful.

I think stock vitara wheels are 15X5.5 25P offset.

[got_bar_work]

i had 235 on 0 off set when i got my vit
u could hear them scrape on road every now and again
i think it was on the firewall when turning
10p to 0 should be easy to clear
any more and ur going to need a bit more work

[ms1991]

had a mate come over with 15x7 king wheels with 235/75s so grabbed two from his jimny to try, didnt touch anywhere on full lock which was good. although they stuck out about 50 or 60mm from the guard..looked mean! so definately need to fab up some flares.

I'll just take his spare to the shop and ask for 5 of them i suppose.

thanks for the help everyone.

Mark.

[Gwagensteve]

Mark, be aware that with an IFS car, increasing track width actually reduces spring rate on the front end. It won't change the car's ride height, but you will notice the front end feeling softer in both springing and damping. That may or may not be a bad thing, but it's worth noting.

I'd be trying to keep offset as close as possible to stock.

increasing offset increases load on struts, ball joints, bearings etc.

Steve.

[ms1991]

Thanks for your input Steve,

I had a fair idea that it would put more stress on other components but I'm still leaning towards the wider offset to help soften things up a little. unfortunately after i installed the lift the car now rides like its on bricks.

I guess the extra stress is something I'm willing to cope with for now..I'll just see how it all goes and if its not worth it i could always sell the rims and buy a different offset, no biggy.

cheers, Mark.

[Gwagensteve]

If you don't like the ride you'd be better off changing springs rather than relying on the added leverage of non-factroy rim offset to attempt to soften things.

Steve.

[ms1991]

Yeah good point, but im afraid of making the same mistake again and buying more stiff springs...also not sure if the dobinsons springs need to 'bed' in a little.. afterall.. I only installed them yesterday?
Probably just spend the extra bux and go OME next time.

[Gwagensteve]

There's no such thing as "bedding in" with coil springs ( unless you are Calmini and think that bottoming springs out = bumpstops) if the springs don't bind -which they shouldn't- then they won't "bed In" - you get what you get.

Steve.

[got_bar_work]

what spring did u get
what extra things do u have on ur car winch bull bar extra batt etc
if u have nothing on ur car then u want the soft spring
i find harder spring and shocks on a coil car to be much better to drive
is the car just bottoming out on the bump stops
i find xl7 front struts to be better as i have a heavy front end
the high valving stops the front from bottoming out all the time
i need to do something about the rear as the commo one are way to soft and its doing the same thing

[ms1991]

The springs and struts/shockies are dobinsons and come from their 40mm lift.
atm there's no extras on the car.. rear seats have been removed though, soon to come are front and rear bars and tyres+wheels tomorrow or wednesday i hope.
its just very stiff and bumpy on the road compared to stock, I'll have to wait till its loaded up to see how much of a difference it makes.

[got_bar_work]

U can get different spring rates u might have the heavy duty ones

[DarkHorse]

Aren't most aftermarket lifts significantly firmer than stock? I know the OME stuff I've used were, they work better with a bar/winch etc fitted. Theory being that firmer unladen is better than collapsing under the extra weight of accessories.

If Dobinson do more than one spring rate you might have the harder type, but if you're planning on hanging bars and refitting those seats I'd live with it being harsh for now.