Gram Lights 18x8.5 with Goodyear F1 All-Seasons in 245/40ZR 18



((This is the repost of my thread in the 5th-Gen Forums. I will also include specs on the setup and a brief review of my Initial Impressions on these tires.)

 

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Any plans for spacers and front caps?

Those mothertruckers look nice on the black. I bet would look on a polished Ti too.

 

Wheel & Tire Specs ::

Gram Lights 57Maximum
18x8.5" 45mm Offset.
Weight: 21.0Lbs. per wheel (source:Tirerack)

Goodyear F1 All-Season Directional High-performance Tires
245/40ZR 18
Load & Speed Rating: 97Y (XL)
Weight: 28.0Lbs. est. per Tire (source:Tirerack)

Initial Impressions:

I must say, I LOVE this setup! If anyone has seen my previous statements, you will know my Michelin Pilot A/S tires were getting LOUD.
These are MUCH more quiet, while iirc they are louder than the michelins were new, but not in a distracting manner. I firmly believe this is because of the higher width.
the sidewalls are softer than the Michelins, but don't let that fool you. these feature Carbon Fiber-reinforced sidewalls, which seem to retain their flexibility but act
MUCH stiffer when cornering as they are quite responsive. I've put about 2-300mi so far and can attest they are very stable at high speeds. I've yet to try them in the
rain.

the whole setup ran me just under $2400 and Tirerack's cheapest shipping took them like... a DAY to get them to me!

 

I have Endcaps on order from DAVEB. (picked out TE-editon center caps)
Right now the front hub bolts protrude more than 10mm from the rims, so my plan is to get the bolts cut flush with the hub nuts, and drill straight through the nut for the cotter Pin. for the backs, I'm dealing with some rubbing on the right rear, so most likely i will either attempt the beam re-alignment, and live with the open centers on the back, or use some poly coil spring spacers to lift the rear and fix the suspension geometry. I'm sure i only need to lift it about 15mm to get a more level appearance and resolve the issue with the suspension geometry. added benefit of raising the rear back up is i will be able to carry passengers weighing more than 50lbs. & should be able to add 5mm spacers and clear the rear hubs for the center caps.

 

UPDATE::

I've driven them today in some pretty rainy area, and I'm impressed yet again. they actually grip even more in the rain, whereas the michelins felt "slick" and were a bit slippy. VERY confidence insipiring, taking some 35mph corners at around 60 IN THE RAIN. So far, if i had to do it over again, I think I'd still pick these. Great tire all around. one of these days snow will come and my testing will be complete.

 

+45 offset......shoulda done +30

 

nah, with +30 they'd be so far out i'd be rubbing the fenders like crazy. +45 on 8.5" rims is almost too much. I think what i'm going to do is once the beam is aligned, I'm going to get some coil spring spacers and raise the rear a little. I think about 15-20mm and it should be level. if it isn't I can live with a slight rake because it should let me once again sit people and cargo in the back without rubbing. and when that goes down i think some 5mm spacers should let me clear the hubs so i can install the center caps.

 

kool........

 

no they wouldn't. I'm running 33 offset on my 18x8.5 with plenty of space to push out.

 

I'm running +33 offset with 18x8.5 with no rubbing and I have a huge system in my car.

 

Hey Law;

I'd really like to know how you're doing that. Did you roll the fenders or what? I have about 10mm to play with, and once the beam gets aligned, I should have roughly 5mm on each side before it starts rubbing. with a +30mm offset, we're talking an additional 15mm on each side, which I can practically guarantee will rub on both sides. Then again maybe it how the different brands measure offset?

 

I'll Post up some pics tonite of spacing on each side. . . .

 

You need to roll your fenders to make it flush no matter what, Also if you want the look of your rim lip flush, you need to run slightly stretch tires so your tire can tuck underneath the fender during hard cornering...

 

Umm, I think you're misinterpreting what I'm trying to do. I Just want the rubbing to stop so i dont fark up my tires. I don't have any preconcieved notion of making it flush. I ONLY intend to get spacers to clear my rear hubs so I can install the center caps. If you'll notice on a previous post I mentioned this, as well as my intent to chop down the bolts on my front hubs. Also, the only reasons I'm considering coil spring spacers, is ::

a)extra protection against rubbing,
b)Allow extra suspension travel for carrying passengers, &
c)make the ride appear more level

I Love this setup, I'm just reporting on what I intend to do to resolve some common issues I'm encountering.

 

im not a 5th gen expert but it looks like your rear is sagging. are you dropped? it looks to me like you may need to repair/replace some things rather than doing the beam alignment and spring spacers. once you got it where its supposed to be, you could do the wheels spacers to avoid cutting bolts and get a nice flush fit. +45 is A LOT of offset. like i said i'm no expert but take it somewhere and have it checked out. the rims themselves are sick. great balance between sporty and stylish.

 

My bad, reading > me...

Im just a flush freak, and that rear is way to sunken in for my tastes...

But anyways, what suspension are you on? Must have missed that or you didn't post it, your rear is sagging as it is, if you had coilovers I would say lift the rear or lower the front, get the rear beam aligned, roll your fenders and just add a small spacer for the rear...

 

Yes; I'm Dropped. Eibachs/Illuminas FTW

The reason my tail is saggy mainly is because i usually have a toolbag, cabling, and powertools in there at all times. The mark of an IT guy. Eibachs deliver a slightly uneven drop, but what makes the "saggy butt syndrome" more apparent, is the intial rate of the rear springs. about 194 iirc. the stock springs are linear and have a more load-friendly 250 rate. Eibachs quickly make up for this with an intermediate rate that is slightly stiffer than stock, and the final rate is around 300+ iirc. They handle awesome, but again, not as load-friendly.

My intentions with the Spacers are to clear the non-modify-able hub ends on the rear beam. they are not bolts, but large caps. right now they sit on these rims in exactly the same place where my center caps need to go. As for cutting the Hub Bolts, That's only on the front, and I have no desire to apply spacers to the drive wheels. Well, I really don't want to cut the bolts either, but there is more than 10mm of thread past the tightened bolt position. I figure that trimming the bolt flush should not affect the structure, save money on spacers, and side step any other potential issues running spacers on the front drive wheels, such as exaggerating the already narrow in appearance rear track width.

Thanks Man! Always great to get props from a fellow max owner.

 

Well, the beam is misaligned. There's 10mm of extra space between the rim and the wheel-well on the driver side. Getting that resolved will make it look alot better, and hopefully will let me get away with adding spacers.

Eibachs/Illuminas; I currently have crap in my trunk that mostly has to stay there, so eibachs(slightly saggy) + weight = more saggy.


I'm thinking that adding 15-20mm of height via a poly coil spring spacer will resolve the saggy issue PLUS let me carry the weight of passengers/luggage without rubbing.

 

cool.

have you considered ordering custom spring rate rear eibachs rather than coil spacers? i also think you should consider wheel spacers all the way around. think of it like this: you don't have to cut anything, you get to use center caps on all 4 wheels, and as an added bonus you get the fitment. being flush might not be that important to you, but if you do it for the first 2 reasons i promise you'll be happy w/ the 3rd.

i know you it guys got all the money, this is just my .02

 

Custom Spring from Eibach? Yeowch. sounds too expensive for me. Actually, I'm way poor lol, This car is my baby, and I'm doing these mods mostly because I want to stop myself from trying to get a new car sooner than I actually need to.

...well that, and My wife made me promise that this would be my last big "toy" expenditure from our shared accounts. Everything past buying the tires/rims is coming from my shallow pockets. Notwithstanding that, I'm already quite happy with the front wheel placement in relation to the body. Thanks for the info, I'll be sure to post pics when i get the caps on.

...anyone have raised caps?

 

My fenders are not rolled. Also I run eibach prokit springs and I have yet to have any type of problem with any sort of rubbing.

 

alright man. ..It's just strange. . .you're running the same size rubber too? I don't know what else it could be between our maxes. . .

guess im that unlucky

 

I like the design. However the rotors look tiny in them. LOL.
Jae

 

Yeah, I'm running 245/40/18 and if you look at my system its weighs atleast 150 if not more.

 

well, I got that tab ground down today. rear beam is still misaligned but now it's much better. here i was thinking it was rubbing the inner fender. d'oh.

 

hey i saw in the GD section the guy running specials on eibach has the ers (custom rate) for about 200 a pair, also has eibach spacers.

 

I'm not about to dump $$$ again for springs, these ride great and perform well. I'll prolly grab the Eibach spacers as i need to clear those back hubs for my center caps, unless someone knows of a cap spacer i can use, lol

I have some coil spring spacers off an F-250 that are pretty spot on fit-wise, though I'm currently debating on grounding them down a few mm prior to install so they don't lift as much as i suspect they will.

 

My local tire shop sells some cheap **** ones. But, IMO, wheel spacers are the last place you'd want to cheap out. get some H&R units. Money well spent.

Check the GD forums for some prices (auto_95_Max sold me mine).

If not, there's always the Classifieds on here and the entire world aka internet.

 

oh no i have no plans to cheap out on wheel spacers, In fact, I'm generally against adding components on top of other components as it increases complexity and the potential for failure. What I was mentioning above, was only half-serious and I was asking is there was spacers for the center caps themselves. it might look a little strange, but it would keep me from having to add WHEEL spacers, trim wheel-wells or cut my hub bolts. Kinda like the center caps on typical SUV/Pickup rims.

 

When I first got my wheels, the center cap didn't fit. Added spacers, and now they do. It's not an act of congress tog et spacers. In fact, it might help your situation like it did mine.

If I were you, I add rear spacers. (5mm-15mm) Anything 10 & under shouldn't rub.

 

nice! I love Gram Lights. I'm the only guy to my knowledge running 57Optimise's. keep rockin