86Bible presents... Everything you need to know about wheels and more!

Wheels are much more than just round bits you put under your car to make it roll. They can be an expression of who you are, bring uniqueness to your ride and allow to you fit bigger meatier tyres to match your power and braking requirements.

There is a lot more to choosing wheels than choosing a style that suits so in this blog I will cover how to pick the right size wheels for your 86, regardless of if it is stock height, lowered on springs only, lowered on coilovers or wide-bodied.

WHEELY IMPORTANT STUFF:

1. Wheel dimension terminology

This can be broken down further into 3 key components:

Diameter (measured in inches) = The measurement between the top lip & bottom lip
Width (measured in inches) = The measurement between the front and back of wheel
Offset (measured in mm) = The displacement from the center line of the wheel
Bolt Pattern (PCD) = GT86 standard bolt pattern is 5 x 100 mm

See the figure below for a visual on these key aspects:

Understanding offset is critical as this will determine whether your wheels are going to fit within your wheel-arches, suspension or brake-calipers. Wheels with zero to high negative offset are usually reserved for wide-body 86's or very high camber suspension setups.

The effects of offset can be seen in the figure below:

2. Tyre dimension terminology

Choosing the right tyre can be a little daunting the first time, but the best place to start is by learning what the numbers on the side wall mean.

Section width = is the measurement of the tyre's width from its inner sidewall to its outer sidewall
Aspect ratio = is the ratio of the tyre's width to the tyre's height
Tyre construction = the style of tyre production; cross-ply, radial etc
Wheel diameter = this is the dimension of the wheel without the tyre
Load index & Speed rating = is related to the maximum weight and speed that tyre can carry and achieve, see chart below for more

Sidewall Markings:

Load Index:

Speed Index:

How to check if it fits your 86:

Once you have an understanding of how wheel and tyre sizing works you can begin to experiment with which wheel and tyre package will fit under your 86. I like to use the online wheel fitment site www.willtheyfit.com this site allows you to punch in any combination of wheel and tyre and it will compare the fitment to your current setup. Lets say that you found some mint Enkei RPF1's in 17x9+35mm and the tyres fitted are 245/40/17. Assuming that your current set up is factory GTS wheels, which are 17x7+48mm you can punch them into willtheyfit and it will give you the below:

CONGRATULATIONS YOU HAVE MADE IT TO THE FUN PART!

There is a forever growing list of wheels that fit our cars thanks to strong aftermarket support. Below are my selection of wheels that I have saved over the years thanks to our friends over in the USA & their FR-S/BRZ forum.

I will break up the selection into three categories:

Factory suspension/Springs Only
Coilovers

FACTORY SUSPENSION/SPRINGS

"What are the limits of factory suspension?"

I'm glad you asked.. The limits of the factory suspension is the size of the spring and shock combination itself. This limits the width and offset you can run on factory springs, additionally, factory height will make wheels that are +40 or less offset and width more than 9" poke straight out of your guards.. and trust me you don't want that!

Keeping stock suspension will limit your ability to run big width and high offset (to avoid your wheels poking out of the guards you would need large positive offset).

Stock suspension vs KW V3 Coilovers below:

Don't do this please:

Don't worry though, there are plenty of wheels that will fit with the stock suspension!

1. TWS T66-F 18 x 8.0 +45

2. ENKEI RPF1 17 X 7.5 +48

3. BBS RF 17 X 7.5 +48

4. Volk Racing CE28N-Ls, 18x8.5 +44

5. Enkei VR5 18x8 +45

6. TE37 18 X 8.5 +35 front and 18 X 9.5 +40 Back

7. ENKEI RS05RR 18 x 8.5 +42 (Cheers Aaron Wyeth for sending this in!)

Lowered on STI Springs for perfect fitment

As you can see you can still have a really sweet set-up on stock suspension as long as you don't go too aggressive with your wheel choice. I will continue to add to this list for stock suspension on request and feedback! Send me pictures of your ride and I will feature them in this post!

better on COILs FROM HERE

1. Work Meister S1R’s front 18 × 10 +12 rear 18 × 10.5 +17

2. ENKEI RPF1 17 X 9 +35

3. Enkei RS05RR 18x8.5 +42

4. TE37 18 X 9.5 +38

5. Work Emotion CR Ultimate "Kiwami" 18 x 9.5 +30

6. Rota Grid (Good for the budget) 18 x 9 Front 18 x 9.5 Rear

7. Rays 57 extreme SP-Spec 18 x 9.5 +40

8. SSR TYPE-C 18 x 8.5 +49 (25 mm spacers on the car below)

I hope you have enjoyed having a look at some nice wheels with me. I'm on the lookout to add more sweet set-ups so please send through your suggestions!

Like and Share with your friends looking to add wheels for their 86!