A6's on 5.5 four lug narrow body Options

[ww914]

Will they work? Anybody running them?

[brant]

what is a V6?

do you mean R6?

[ww914]

what is a V6?

do you mean R6?

Yep, I meant Hoosier A6. It's hell to get old.

[Woody]

Don't see why they wouldn't work. 205/50/15??

[brant]

Hoosier is pretty specific about rim widths that work best
they recommend a 7inch rim for their 205 tire
It should fit on a 5.5 rim but it may not offer as much grip as a smaller tire might on that same rim

go to the hoosier website and see what is available for sizes.
they also show their width recommendations for best performance.
I know from one conversation I had with their technician that a 205 on a 7inch rim should be faster than a 225 on a 7inch rim.

[ww914]

Hoosier is pretty specific about rim widths that work best
they recommend a 7inch rim for their 205 tire
It should fit on a 5.5 rim but it may not offer as much grip as a smaller tire might on that same rim

go to the hoosier website and see what is available for sizes.
they also show their width recommendations for best performance.
I know from one conversation I had with their technician that a 205 on a 7inch rim should be faster than a 225 on a 7inch rim.

You're right, all the tires I looked at, Hossier, Kumho, BF Goodrich, & Hankook all had recommended measured rim size of 6.5", but they do say that 5.5 to 7.5 will work. I can't find a smaller tire or a wider 4 lug rim. I guess I will have to convert to 5 lug to get what I want. I would hate to buy expensive tires that aren't doing what they are supposed to do. I do want to keep the car narrow, at least for now.

[brant]

I would give it a try.
because they are recommending 5.5 - 7.0, I'd definitely give it a try
the A tires are really really really good!
the only problems I see are:

1) your giving up a tiny bit of the tires capability
2) a hoosier 205 may or may not fit inside of a stock fender. Hoosiers are made wider than any other tire... so a 205 hoosier is going to be nearly an inch wider than a 205 street tire.. you should be able to cut the lip, bend the lip, or pull/roll the fender enough pretty easily. A 5.5inch rim is probably not going to change the need to pull the fender lip any different than you would have to do with a 7inch rim. Plus you can stay 4 bolt and find different 4bolt rims that are wider if you want to. There are 4bolt 7's out there.

[ww914]

I would give it a try.
because they are recommending 5.5 - 7.0, I'd definitely give it a try
the A tires are really really really good!
the only problems I see are:

1) your giving up a tiny bit of the tires capability
2) a hoosier 205 may or may not fit inside of a stock fender. Hoosiers are made wider than any other tire... so a 205 hoosier is going to be nearly an inch wider than a 205 street tire.. you should be able to cut the lip, bend the lip, or pull/roll the fender enough pretty easily. A 5.5inch rim is probably not going to change the need to pull the fender lip any different than you would have to do with a 7inch rim. Plus you can stay 4 bolt and find different 4bolt rims that are wider if you want to. There are 4bolt 7's out there.

Brant - Thanks for your input. Your knowledge about tires has prompted me to do a little more research. Here's what I have found:

I am currently running Falken 205/55R15 tires and there is plenty of clearance:

The section width is approximately 8.5, tread width is 7.2. I say approximately because I can't find my exact tire. Must not make it anymore.

Tires that I am looking at are:

Hoosier A6 with sw 8.7 and tw 8.0
Hankook z214 with sw 8.4 and tw 7.6
Kumho v710 with sw 8.3, with tw n/a

All measured on a 6.5 rim

Looks to me like the Hankook might be the pick as it is about $74 less than the A6. For me, with only 3 AXs under my belt, they will probably be just fine. Fine for me and fine for my budget.

Oh, and I did find some Centerline 4x130 15x7 rims, but they want over $200 and I already have an extra set of Fuchs, so I guess I will go with them for now. I say for now because I have most of the stuff to convert to 5s. Just want to get this going now for this season.

[Randal]

I would give it a try.
because they are recommending 5.5 - 7.0, I'd definitely give it a try
the A tires are really really really good!
the only problems I see are:

1) your giving up a tiny bit of the tires capability
2) a hoosier 205 may or may not fit inside of a stock fender. Hoosiers are made wider than any other tire... so a 205 hoosier is going to be nearly an inch wider than a 205 street tire.. you should be able to cut the lip, bend the lip, or pull/roll the fender enough pretty easily. A 5.5inch rim is probably not going to change the need to pull the fender lip any different than you would have to do with a 7inch rim. Plus you can stay 4 bolt and find different 4bolt rims that are wider if you want to. There are 4bolt 7's out there.

Here is my car (some time ago) with the narrow body and 205 Hoosiers. I think we did do the baseball bat thing on the wheel wells.

[ww914]

Here is my car (some time ago) with the narrow body and 205 Hoosiers. I think we did do the baseball bat thing on the wheel wells.


[/quote]

Very nice looking, but I guess somewhat different now. Do you recall what size 5 lug wheels you were using?

[Chris Pincetich]

15x7 Centerline wheels - score! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)
Probably cheaper to go w those wheels than the full 5-lug conversion, then those new wheels (cookie cutter type wheels are cheap though).

Wider wheels are best, period. Its too bad there is not a 195/50 racin tire, because that would work great on a narrow 914. My 205/50 Hoosiers on 3-piece 4-lug wheels w thin spacers to perfect the backspace still required I roll the rear fender lip, which cracked the nice paint on there (d'oh!). I sold those wheels 2 years ago for what I bought them for. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)

[Randal]

[quote name='ww914' date='Mar 1 2013, 10:33 AM' post='1828097']
Here is my car (some time ago) with the narrow body and 205 Hoosiers. I think we did do the baseball bat thing on the wheel wells.


[/quote]

Very nice looking, but I guess somewhat different now. Do you recall what size 5 lug wheels you were using?
[/quote]


Ha, yea somewhat different.

I believe those fuchs were 7"ers as that was the max wheel width we could run with the GGA PCA group here.

[ChrisFoley]

In the '90s I ran Hoosier R205s on 4 bolt Fuchs alloys and barely had to pull on the fenders for goood clearance. I don't think the A6s are any wider than the older design.

[brant]

those fuchs pictured above are 6inch fuchs

[Trekkor]

I've ran just about every brand of 205/50/15 on 5.5" rims including A6/R6 Hoosiers.

No problem and not dangerous.

You will likely need to roll the fenders.


KT

[ww914]

I've ran just about every brand of 205/50/15 on 5.5" rims including A6/R6 Hoosiers.

No problem and not dangerous.

You will likely need to roll the fenders.


KT

Does rolling the fenders mean just bending back the inner lip or more?

[Trekkor]

Rolling the fenders means passing a round object between the tire edge and fender lip.

Start with a small pipe, "roll" the car forward and back and allow the tire to draw the pipe.

Increase the size of the object until the tire no longer touches the fender lip under compression.

I've used up to the fat end of a baseball bat to get the results I needed.


KT

[Trekkor]

The flat surface on the fender lip may be flattened or you may need to to slightly move the fender itself.

Take your time.
The paint may crack.
If there is bondo under the paint, it could pop.


KT

[ww914]

The flat surface on the fender lip may be flattened or you may need to to slightly move the fender itself.

Take your time.
The paint may crack.
If there is bondo under the paint, it could pop.


KT

KT, thanks for the above explanation on fender rolling.

I have now installed the A6's on the car. I can get my finger between the tire and the flat fender edge on both sides. There seems to be about the same clearance on the inner fender. Is that enough clearance or shall I "roll" the fenders a bit to be safe? I would hate to ruin those brand new tires. I would rather wear them out than kill them.

[ChrisFoley]

...
I have now installed the A6's on the car. I can get my finger between the tire and the flat fender edge on both sides. There seems to be about the same clearance on the inner fender. Is that enough clearance or shall I "roll" the fenders a bit to be safe? I would hate to ruin those brand new tires. I would rather wear them out than kill them.

Has the car been aligned? What's your rear toe-in per side? How much camber?
A finger width is probably plenty but only driving at the limit will tell for sure. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

When I baseball bat a fender I have someone at the wheel roll the car forward and back, slowly so I can carefully direct the bat (or shovel handle, closet bar, etc.) as it rolls.
The tire absorbs most of the energy so it isn't nearly as traumatic on the fender as one might expect.

I actually keep a short length of closet bar with my track tools for emergencies ever since this happened. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/dry.gif)