Pics of my new wheels!!

[srbigbutt]

I ordered some Rota RB-R 17x8.5 +4 Offset for my 75 280z and got them mounted yesterday. Took my Z to work and took a few pictures. Tell me what you think. I think they came out great. I was able to mount on stock suspension with no spacers. Its a pretty tight fit, but i doesn't rub at all. It will probably rub if and when I lower it. I'm running 225-45-17.



Before...


After...







And future????

[James Salvato]

Hi SR,
Great choice.Wish I had a set of those badboys..!!!!!

James Salvato

[ktm]

You WILL rub when lowered, no ifs ands or buts. You may even have an issue where fender rolling will not help and you'll need flares.

I like the look of the wheels, but 225s on an 8.5 is too much of a stretch for me on a Z.

Still, very nice looking wheels.

[srbigbutt]

You WILL rub when lowered, no ifs ands or buts. You may even have an issue where fender rolling will not help and you'll need flares.

I like the look of the wheels, but 225s on an 8.5 is too much of a stretch for me on a Z.

Still, very nice looking wheels.

I'm a little worried about that but if the worse thing I have to do is put some small flares on i'll be ok. I think the pictures are a little deceiving. The picture was taken late after noon and the sun was hitting the car at an angle which caused the tires to look like they are petruding way out. Especially since the car is riding so high!! They are actually right at the lip of the fender.

Here are a couple more pics. My front wheel is a little turned to the right.

[mikewags]

Those old rims you have. Are those western wheel cyclone II's?

I've been looking to get 2 more of those for my car, would you be interested in parting with them?

This thread talked about it...

http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/s...highlight=rims

[ktm]

srbigbutt, my 16x8 +10 Rota Grids with 245/50s and they sit like yours, but I am on a lowered suspension. I had to roll my fenders but I still rub on bumps taken at speed. I may try pulling the fenders a little bit to get more clearance.

[Curtis240Z]

Unless you are going to run a lot of negative camber (using racing type camber kits) you will rub when the car is lowered. The other option would be fender small fender flares maybe like these http://www.thezstore.com/page/TZS/PROD/LNP1/50-1565 The carbon ones look really sharp, but of course carbon shouldn't be out in the sun full time.

Good looking wheels!

[Force Fed]

Looks good, definitely needs to be lowered I like those wheels.

[westpak]

I like the wheels I will probably go with those but not sure about the width/offset it just seems that the edge is about .5 inch or so too far out, if the inside doesn't allow a more conservative offset maybe a narrower wheel then.

looking forward to seeing it lowered and see how that looks

[srbigbutt]

Mike, i'm pretty sure they are the same wheels you are looking for. They are all in decent shape. I dont think they have any curb rash. The two front are pretty badly stained but the rears look good. I will send you some pics later if you want.

KTM, how far is yours dropped and how? Do you have any pics? I'm thinking 2" would be perfect.

[ktm]

This is with a 1-in. drop (Tokico setup):

[7277]

srbigbutt: how's your clearance going in reverse while turning the wheel slightly left. do the tires rub the R-side lower valence? i had Rotas on my 77 with 225-50 R-16's. they rubbed (lower R-side lower valence) with stock suspension, but i basebat-rolled the fender/lower valence to get clearance before the paint shop...

[Oiluj]

Nice looking wheels!

I painted my Panasports gunmetal, but they are darker than yours. I like the color of yours much better!

[xray]

I like the wheels...after you lower it will you put on bigger brakes? The OEM 9" ones look a little small next to the 17" wheels. And with the wider tires and more aggressive stance the car should both turn AND brake better than stock, yes?

[srbigbutt]

So far I don't get any rubbing in reverse turning either direction or at full lock. But thats probably because its sitting so high. Eventually I will probably buy a big brake kit, but that might not be for a while.

I liked the look of both Gunmetal and Hyperblack, but chose Hyperblack because sometimes you can't make out what the wheels look like when they are a darker color.

KTM, Using some Wheel and Tire calculators it would seem that your tires actually are taller and stick out closer to the fender than what mine do. So hopefully I won't have problems when dropped. Atleast thats what i'm hoping.

[ktm]

You will have issues. I rubbed with 14x7 running 225/50s.

[f1race79]

Think mine will rub when I lower it??

[srbigbutt]

Just a little over big bumps. But its not bad at all. I cut my springs because I was tired of the 4x4 look. I will eventually buy some new springs and struts. I think that with a stiffer setup and rolling the fender lip I will be ok.

[mike260z]

looks nice !
why does the bumpers looks shorter?

[Jeff G 78]

Your Z looks a lot better when lowered!

I run 225/50R16 Hankooks on 16x7 zero offset wheels and they rub even with the lips rolled. I need to trim the lip back and roll what's left even further. It doesn't rub during normal daily driving, but hard cornering and large dips will make it rub. I can't take it on a track until I completely eliminate the rub.

Here are some pics that I took today.

The rear isn't really as low as it looks. The car was sitting on uneven gravel so the left rear is compressed more than the right.

[Ed]

Bahh, bad ass is all i've got to say. Looks Good!

[srbigbutt]

What type of wheels are those? Also how do you like your springs and shocks. Did you cut them or is that a normal amount of drop? I still think I need a stiffer setup. I noticed that will a full tank and my fat ass in it the driver side rubs more.

Mike, my bumpers look strange because the PO took the bumper rubber off then compressed and welded the shocks so they sit closer to the car. I'm actually waiting for a guy to ship me a pair of 240z bumpers.

[Jeff G 78]

What type of wheels are those? Also how do you like your springs and shocks. Did you cut them or is that a normal amount of drop?

Are you asking me srbigbutt? If so, they are Panasports. I really wanted +6mm offset like MSA sold, but they kept raising the prices and then discontinued the gunmetal color. I found a set of zero offset wheels from a Panasport distributor that was closing up shop. This was the last set he had. I still paid a lot, but much less than MSA was getting.

The springs are Tokicos and the shocks are Tokico Illuminas. I haven't measured my ride height lately, but shortly after the spring/damper swap, each corner was exactly 1" lower than it was with the stock springs. I now have about 4000 miles on it since the swap and it looks just a hair lower. As far as the ride, it would be fine in any state other than Michigan. Our roads really suck here and so the ride is really poor at times. It really hates frost heaves. We have monster sized heaves here and they really jolt the car. Even the best riding cars have a tough time here, but my Z is the worst thing I've driven on Michigan "roads". As soon as the road smooths out to something that does not resemble the moon, the ride is very tollerable. I think the poly bushings do more to hurt the impact harshness than the springs or shocks. I am considering going back to rubber on the TC rods to help it absorb the rough stuff.

[srbigbutt]

They look great by the way. I couldn't decide on Gun Metal or Hyper-Black. They both look good.

[srbigbutt]

Jeff, I just noticed that your Z was one of the Z's I used as inspiration for what type of wheels I wanted on my car. I had this picture saved on my pc.

[madkaw]

Hey SR,
I bought the same wheels for my 71. I put on 235/45/17 and they rubbed a little. I actually took my rear spring out and ran the full travel and I only had to trim from the 12-3 O'cloch position about 1/4" of metal and the wheel and tire would go all the way up into the well.
I also want to know if you think you truly got the RBR design? Now I see the RBR's coming out on hybridZ group buy, they look different. I was anticipating a flatter spoke, but couldn't tell by the pic that Kim had on his site. Now that I see the new RBR's coming out in the 9.5" size, I feel decieved. I must have asked Kim 3 different times if these wheels were the RBR design. Do you have any thoughts on this?

[srbigbutt]

What did you use to trim the lip?

I'm pretty happy with my RBR but I wanted more curved spokes. From what i've seen the difference between RB and RBR depend on the size of the wheel. I think the 16 RBR has a flatter spoke, but the 17 has more curve. I think it also depends on offset and the amount of lip.

[madkaw]

I just used a cut-off wheel and was able to stay to the outside of the spot welds on the lip. I believe the lips are the same size on our wheels as are the larger 9.5 in. wheels. I was hoping for the flatter spoke, but like I said the pictures on the web site were not defining. I think the wheel looks like the RB, but that's okay too!

[srbigbutt]

Hmm..cut off wheel! I need to get me one of those, but then I would need a compressor! Damn it sucks not having all the tools i need. I will probably go to my brothers house and use his! haha. Also may just buy a dremel tool. Just been putting that off and could have used it hundreds of times already.

I think both flat spoke and curve spoke look good. But you are right that none of the websites show very good pictures.

[76Datsun280z]

Those wheels look great, I've always thought those wheels looked fantastic on Z cars.