15 inch wheels

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Ghia15
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15 inch wheels

Post by Ghia15 »

Hi all.

I am thinking of upgrading, when funds allow, to 15 inch wheels on the capri.

This is because there is so much bigger choice of tyres now than the 13's, the bigger contact patch to handle the power and just time for a change.

What size wheels and rubber will I get away with under standard front and rear arches.

I would like to run reasonable dish on the back of the car and lesser on the front with a slightly narrower tyre on the front compared to the rear.

any thoughts on size and offset much appreciated.

thanks
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Re: 15 inch wheels

Post by D366Y »

What size wheels do you have currently depth wise? (6J/7J)

I have just upgraded to 7.5J 13" wheels so nice deep dish but I think if I went 205/70 it would probably rub the arches...

Worth bearing in mind that 280s had 15" wheels fitted as standard but can't remember if they had 195s on as standard? I'm sure someone on here with more knowledge than me will know...
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Re: 15 inch wheels

Post by Ghia15 »

Currently have 13 inch 7j on the back and 13 inch 6j on the front.

Ideally would like a little wider than 195 on the back. Probably be the tyre of choice on the front.

Thanks
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Re: 15 inch wheels

Post by Andrew 2.8i »

D366Y wrote:Worth bearing in mind that 280s had 15" wheels fitted as standard but can't remember if they had 195s on as standard? I'm sure someone on here with more knowledge than me will know...
I can't say I've got more knowledge than Danny, but I do know that the 280 came with 195/50 tyres.
The offset of the standard 280 wheels is +5. If you stick to these specifications, or close to them, the wheels/tyres should fit with no issues.

Andrew.
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Re: 15 inch wheels

Post by D366Y »

Ghia15 wrote:Currently have 13 inch 7j on the back and 13 inch 6j on the front.

Ideally would like a little wider than 195 on the back. Probably be the tyre of choice on the front.

Thanks
I know people fit 205s on some capris but as you said it depends on the offset of the wheel, and you can obviously get bigger if you have a body kit or roll the arches so not sure what other mods you currently have or plan to have in place at all?
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Re: 15 inch wheels

Post by Ghia15 »

For the moment the body is staying standard.

At some point in the future it will be getting the RS Xpack kit fitted but with saving for a house deposit and paying for a wedding is leaving funds tight for the foreseeable future.

I need the wheels to fit under standard arches for the moment.

were the 280 wheels 6j or 7j?

Thanks
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Re: 15 inch wheels

Post by Andrew 2.8i »

Ghia15 wrote:were the 280 wheels 6j or 7j?
7J.

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Re: 15 inch wheels

Post by D366Y »

I think that the main thing that will decide your eventual tyre size is the offset and he depth of the wheels you decide on fitting so would choose the wheels you like first then look at tyres from there really,

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Re: 15 inch wheels

Post by Ghia15 »

That is a very fair point.

I have no idea on the wheels but I know I will be limited on the offset available for RWD capri's.

Then it will be a case of a wheel that I like that suits the car.

Thanks
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Re: 15 inch wheels

Post by johnd444wph »

What wheels have you got at the moment I'm after some steels
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Re: 15 inch wheels

Post by Ghia15 »

Currently running superlight alloy wheels on the car.

205 tyres rear and 185s on the front
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Re: 15 inch wheels

Post by Not_Anumber »

Ghia , you have a PM
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Re: 15 inch wheels

Post by Vermilion »

Mk1 maximum tire size in front is 205 (really really close to front antirollbar maybe 1-2m space if tires turned to maximum)
In rear if I am not wrong 225 or 235 is what fits inside original wheel arcs.

I am using 205-50-15 in front (with 6,5x15" wheels). 195-50-15 is much more safer to use with all wheels.
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Re: 15 inch wheels

Post by Ghia15 »

Hi.

What size rims and tyres are you running on the rear.

Probably going to run 195's on the front and 225's on the rear if I can make it work.
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Re: 15 inch wheels

Post by -JC- »

For a 205, you generally want to stay in the range of ET0 to ET10 ish imo. Mine are 15" ET0 with 205s, and it's quite close to the arch lip already. You could maybe get away with a bit more negative or wider tyres, but might be in danger of rubbing. Supposedly there's a lot more room at the back (ET higher than ET10), but I think it'd look odd, and depends on your exhaust etc.

Pics of the fit on mine here: viewtopic.php?f=10&t=49119#p328791

Edit: for 225s on the back, ET0 might put the tyre close to the arch too. ET10 or so might be a safer bet based on the maths - a 225 tyre is 20mm wider than a 205, with 10mm on the outside and 10mm on the inside. ET10 is 10mm further in than ET0!! Actual tyre shapes can vary a bit between manufacturers, so it's hard to say exactly.
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Re: 15 inch wheels

Post by D366Y »

-JC- wrote:For a 205, you generally want to stay in the range of ET0 to ET10 ish imo. Mine are 15" ET0 with 205s, and it's quite close to the arch lip already. You could maybe get away with a bit more negative or wider tyres, but might be in danger of rubbing. Supposedly there's a lot more room at the back (ET higher than ET10), but I think it'd look odd, and depends on your exhaust etc.

Pics of the fit on mine here: http://www.fordcapriforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=49119#p328791

Edit: for 225s on the back, ET0 might put the tyre close to the arch too. ET10 or so might be a safer bet based on the maths - a 225 tyre is 20mm wider than a 205, with 10mm on the outside and 10mm on the inside. ET10 is 10mm further in than ET0!! Actual tyre shapes can vary a bit between manufacturers, so it's hard to say exactly.
Apologies for the mini-Hijack I'm about to do but I'm losing myself reading over your description... My wheels currently have an offset of -19, does that mean I can go bigger that the 175s I have or not?? I would assume yes but I'm clearly doing my maths wrong not to be able to figure this out :sorry:

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Re: 15 inch wheels

Post by -JC- »

-19 is standard offset for 6" 4 spokes. If that's what you have, you can run up to 205s (I did this for a bit) but it technically falls outside of what's recommended for 6" wheels. 185 or 195 is probably a bit more reasonable. If it's a different width wheel, that throws the calculation out slightly.

http://www.willtheyfit.com/ is a great resource for this sort of thing btw.
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Re: 15 inch wheels

Post by D366Y »

-JC- wrote:-19 is standard offset for 6" 4 spokes. If that's what you have, you can run up to 205s (I did this for a bit) but it technically falls outside of what's recommended for 6" wheels. 185 or 195 is probably a bit more reasonable. If it's a different width wheel, that throws the calculation out slightly.

http://www.willtheyfit.com/ is a great resource for this sort of thing btw.
The wheels I have are 7.5J and I've tried to use the website you've recommended but I always worry I will get the maths wrong measuring the distance when it gets to converting it from a screen to the car itself :oops:
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Re: 15 inch wheels

Post by -JC- »

D366Y wrote:The wheels I have are 7.5J and I've tried to use the website you've recommended but I always worry I will get the maths wrong measuring the distance when it gets to converting it from a screen to the car itself :oops:
Yeah, it can get tricky if you have to actually measure anything, because it's never as precise as the on screen measurements. ET19 on a 7.5 means you're probably a bit closer to the strut than the common Capri alloys (I don't have stats on the ghia wheels etc or steels). So that means you have masses of room out to the arch. Ignoring the spacing at the back for the moment, even if you put 245 width tyres on, you'd be only 1mm closer to the arch than my own current setup, which is fine. So the issue is really down to how much space you have at the back. In those terms, a 205 tyre is almost certainly going to be fine unless you have an exhaust that comes out close to the wheel - a visual check should be enough to tell how much space you have there (or not) if you want to go wider. Might also be worth checking the struts at the front too, can't remember how close they are, but can't imagine it being that close.
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Re: 15 inch wheels

Post by Not_Anumber »

15"s work ok so long as the offset is fine and they are the right tyres. Thanks to the PO mine is running 195x 50x 13 rubber on a set of 15x 7 RS 7 spoke rims which look similar to 280 rims but have the Sierra offset. Im told they have spacers behind them to bring the offset back right for the Capri which they do fine. The setup works well but Im reverting the car to 13" pepperpot wheels with 60 profile tyres to get it closer to it's original spec.
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