Wheels sizes, widths, offsets, centerbore???

Joined
22 April 2013
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378
Location
Pittsburgh PA
I admit, I don't know sh*t about the specifications of wheels.
I have stock calipers/rotors and I would like to upgrade to 18s in the front and 19s in the back. (or at least 17/18)
I do not know what widths I would need, or what offsets I would need? (and centerbore??)

I would like to have a wide-looking rear tire, but nothing that would compromise handling... I've been reading threads and it looks like a lot of people go with 8.5 or 9 or 9.5 and even 10. I have no clue what to go with?
And for the front, seems like most people stay around 8?

I would like the tires to look flush with the edge of the body (or close to it).
And I kind of like the concave look of wheels, which I guess plays a part in the offset I would need?? (concave like on Stormriders BC Forged wheels... now who doesn't love those wheels!!)

Also, tire specs??

So if you feel like lending a hand to a new NSX owner, feel free to reply with your specs, or any info in general. I've been reading threads and the wiki section for WEEKS and I'm still not confident I fully understand. I just don't want to buy a set of wheels and have them not fit! (I saw threads of people experiencing that) Or I don't want to get the wrong offset and have the wheels not look right.
 
I can help you out.

First off to the NSX center bore. They are different front and back, the fronts are 70.1 and the rears are 64.1.

As for the fitment, first you need to decide your driving behavior and what look you want. I prefer 17/18 on this car if you want to keep it performance oriented. For looks go with 18/19 if you are lowered. I actually prefer the 17/18 look now, I use to love the 18/19 but seems to big.

I could talk all day about wheel fitment for this car but don't want you to get more overwhelmed, so I will make this easy as I can. If you are looking for a flush look you need to really research different offsets on prime to get a good idea. Heres a list of good fitment specs, this is my research list so some may disagree with me. Also remember the lower the number offset the more it pokes towards the fender. Also I don't recommend the 8.5 but I have used it. Every setup can look different depending on the amount of lowering as well, keep this in mind too!

Fronts
17"
17x7 +35 to +45
17x7.5 +35 to +45
17x8 +35 to +43
17x8.5 +40 to +42

18"
18x7 +35 to +45
18x7.5 +35 to +45
18x8 +35 to +43
18x8.5 +40 to +42

Rears
18"
18x9 +35 to +42
18x9.5 +35 to +42
18x10 +30 to +45
18x10.5 +38 to +42

19"
19x9 +35 to +42
19x9.5 +35 to +42
19x10 +30 to +45
19x10.5 +38 to +42

Please PM with any questions please, I have been in the wheel business for many years now.
 
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Since you care about handling, stick with 17"/18" wheels and tires. The problem with 18"/19" is that none of the really sticky tires are available in the NSX sizes for those diameters, so you'll never get the same handling as you will with 17"/18".

The tire sizes you'll want are 215/40-17 front and either 255/35-18 or 265/35-18 rear. Sticky tires in those sizes include the Dunlop Direzza ZII, Yokohama Advan Neova AD08R, and Falken Azenis RT-615K.

You'll find center bore specs here.
 
based on what you stated the coles notes of what you need are

17/18 (balance between looks handling) where wheels size combos that would work fine would be 17x7/18x9, 17x8/18x9, 17x8/18x10.

offsets will vary depending upon the suspension of your car and how low it is but you'll be looking at running +45 to +35 in the front, and likely +45 to +35 in the rears and still have a nice aggressive look.

while i've seen some people say they can safely run 17x8 +30 but ive personally seen 17x8 +38 in the fronts cause rubbing. so perfect fitment can vary greatly from car to car as well as tires themselves.

i've also seen +20 in the rears causing rear poke (too aggressive) where it starts to stick out of the car, you will want to avoid that as well. in general with nsx's suspension the more aggressive your wheels are the more slammed or low your car will need to be.

if you're not sure, go more conservative and run spacers to figure out what works best for your situation. ie ive seen some nsx's rock 2002+ oem 17x7 18x9 wheels. and the offsets are conservative (i think fronts +55 rear i cant recall); + a set of 15-20mm spacers and they look fantastic with good clearance for getting around re daily driving. the wheel gurus i know all have recommended this approach to me.

one last thing, having the wheels perfectly flush with fenders i would actually recommend against. my car's wheels are perfectly flush to teh fenders and imo in certain angles and in some photos they look like they are poking out. ive also noticed the same thing re some nsx's on prime. other practical issues is that if your wheels are perfectly flush to the fenders and you run any tire shine products, there is a good chance that the tire shine ends up splattering on your body panels (ask me how i know).

personally, i would recommend being inset 5 mm from flush, visually it looks flush enough but gives you that extra bit of day-to-day practicality.
 
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i stand corrected.

which end is required for spacers to have them fit on a pre 02+ car? i saw a few oem 2002+ cars with the oem wheels with spacers and i thought it looked awesome.

The 2002+ OEM wheels are 17x7 and 17x9, and you'll need a spacer at one end to get them to fit. The best tire sizes for those wheels are 215/40-17 and 255/40-17.
 
I can help you out.

First off to the NSX center bore. They are different front and back, the fronts are 70.1 and the rears are 64.1.

As for the fitment, first you need to decide your driving behavior and what look you want. I prefer 17/18 on this car if you want to keep it performance oriented. For looks go with 18/19 if you are lowered. I actually prefer the 17/18 look now, I use to love the 18/19 but seems to big.

I could talk all day about wheel fitment for this car but don't want you to get more overwhelmed, so I will make this easy as I can. If you are looking for a flush look you need to really research different offsets on prime to get a good idea. Heres a list of good fitment specs, this is my research list so some may disagree with me. Also remember the lower the number offset the more it pokes towards the fender. Also I don't recommend the 8.5 but I have used it. Every setup can look different depending on the amount of lowering as well, keep this in mind too!

Fronts
17"
17x7 +35 to +45
17x7.5 +35 to +45
17x8 +35 to +43
17x8.5 +40 to +42

18"
18x7 +35 to +45
18x7.5 +35 to +45
18x8 +35 to +43
18x8.5 +40 to +42

Rears
18"
18x9 +35 to +42
18x9.5 +35 to +42
18x10 +30 to +45
18x10.5 +38 to +42

19"
19x9 +35 to +42
19x9.5 +35 to +42
19x10 +30 to +45
19x10.5 +38 to +42

Please PM with any questions please, I have been in the wheel business for many years now.
Hi There

I know there are a lot of threads explaiing offsets and sizing, but can anyone tell me how close to the outer edge a 17*8 et35 would be on an NA1 front wheel?

If that is too close or would be a rubbing issue, would a 17*8 ET47 work with a 5mm spacer.

Which is the better option please?
 
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