Advan RSII fitment issues (17/18); which tire size works?

[dwe8922]

I bought a new set of Advan RSII wheels for my 1991, in 17x8.0 +37 Front, and 18x10+35 Rear, and went with 235/40-17 and 275/35-18 Dunlop Direzza tires. I have a stock suspension at stock height and alignment, and the left front rubs the outer top of the fender liner in long right hand sweepers, and the inner back (which was expected) in tight turns. My plan was to go to bilstein shocks with the stock springs, on the lower perch, to get the ride height a little lower.

What have you guys experienced with tire fit on these wheels? I believe Chris from SOS runs this same setup with KW shocks and SOS sways, and just gets rub on the inner. He suggested trying adjustable sway bars to limit wheel travel when turning under compression. I really want to stay with a the stock suspension is possible, and am thinking of trying to sell my new tires, and go down to 215/40-17F and 265/35-18R tires.

What have you guys experienced with tires on these wheels?

Thanks!
David

 

[mwagner10702]

You are definitely running too wide a tire - both front and rear with those wheel offsets. I am running the following:

Advan RGIII (17x8 +37, 18x10 +35) with 215 front and 265 rear
Bilsteins on the lower perch with Zanardi springs (approximately 1.3" drop all around)
Standard sway bar in the front, Zanardi sway bar in the rear (which is how the Zanardi car came from the factory)

I have slight rubbing on the front left under extreme compression. Otherwise no lock-to-lock rubbing, no rubbing in the rear, no front rubbing under normal to aggressive driving situations.

I'd be surprised if stiffening your sway bar settings will materially effect the suspension geometry enough to prevent your rubbing issues. Running the Bilsteins with the stock springs is somewhat of a mismatched combo in terms of spring rates and damper settings (too much dampening and not enough spring rate). Combine all of this and you're going to have a sub-optimal configuration for spirited driving. If you are just lowering for looks I'd keep the stock dampers and go with a lowering spring that has similar rates to the stock springs. See the Wiki page below for charts on springs and damper rates.

http://www.nsxprime.com/wiki/Suspension

Also in the Wiki a discussion about sway bars:

http://www.nsxprime.com/wiki/Sway_and_Strut_Bars

Hope this helps

 

[dwe8922]

I read up on the wiki links; thanks! I'm looking for more of a functional lowering with improved handling without sacrificing much of the ride quality. I semi daily drive a GT3, and will be splitting that time with this car, and try to always take my circuit route to and from work. I club race, and just enjoy spritited driving. I took the recomendation for the 235/275 combo for the grip, and less tendency for front end push than the 215/265 setup. I just didn't expect this much rub.

How do you like the type s / Zanardi suspension? How is the ride compared to stock? The Bilsteins do have very similar damping characteristics to the Zanardi setup; I was surprised they were that different than stock, as I was expecting them to be very similar to stock. What change did you notice when you went to the type s rear swaybar? I found a type s swaybar for sale, but not springs.

What do you think of the SOS sway bars combined with KW Variant 3 shocks?

I also did not realize the Comptech swaybars were so stiff compared to stock; and I also read somewhere that the SOS swaybars are the same as the old Comptech's? I wonder how close they are to stock in their full soft position.

 

[mwagner10702]

How do you like the type s / Zanardi suspension? How is the ride compared to stock?

I like the Zanardi setup. The ride is stiffer than stock given the higher spring rates and damper rates over stock. However it is not objectionable. If you drive a GT3 then you'll be used to the ride.

The KW3 will be a definite upgrade over the Zanardi setup. Those who run the KW3's love them. They do come at a cost however ($2700+). Given how I use my car I couldn't justify the cost over the Zanardi springs ($518 shipped from Japan). You should PM user Jinks as he has the KW3's. Based on what he posted he's had a couple different coil-overs and likes the KW3's the best. I don't know what sway bars he is running. See my thread below where I asked what sway bar to run with the KW3's.

http://www.nsxprime.com/forum/showthread.php/202306-KW-V3-What-anti-roll-bars-are-you-running

I got a couple of responses so you'll get some idea. Biggest benefit with coil-overs is the infinite suspension height adjustment available as well as the ability to corner balance the chassis if you want to get into that kind of suspension tuning.

I ordered my Zanardi springs here: http://www.amayama.com They have a lot of parts that are NLA through US dealers.

I am going to take back my previous comment about your tires being too wide. There are owners here that run that combination. Probably to be successful with those tires you would want to consider something as follows:

KW3 with 457lb spring rates from the Clubsport line with factory top hats
NSX-R front sway bar
Type S / Zanardi rear sway bar
- or -
SoS front and rear sway bars

Lots of other brands / combinations out there.

 

[dwe8922]

Chris form SOS runs KW3's with his sway bars, on those wheels and tires, and says he only gets inner fender liner rub at full lock. I hesitate to go all the way and replicate that at this point, for cost reasons, and I'm not sure if I want such a track focused suspension.....

 

[Anopheles]

when i had 215 on the same wheel, they never rubbed on shock suspension or when i installed Kwv3. now i run 235 for the track and that size will always rub