20" or 19" wheels on 360 + lowering

20" wheels and lowering on a 360 = rubbing!!!!!! With the 19" you have a better chance of avoiding the rubbing. For sure better handeling, but the rubbing sucks. My good friend lowered his 360 and this is based on his info as well as both my Fcar mechanics. They talked me out of lowering.


Robert

 

I don't have a 360 (yet) but my comments on lowering and widening tires. I have a 997S which is lowered; it looks much better and rides well as I got very high quality springs, it is a pain to drive in some places so be ready for inconvenience.

I widened tires on an SL500 (actually looked very similar to the pics you posted) and it was a huge mistake, destroyed what handling the car had (SL500 handlng is an oxymoron I know), steering was awful and it tramlined.

Remember that some of the best chasis engineers in the world designed the 360 for that specific width (and diameter actually) of wheel and tire so be ready to accept a degradation in handling. And of course bigger wheels will probably increase unspring weight (especially if you get those shiny things or anything by HRE which is what I had - anchors..) and that will impact handling, acceleration etc.

Also check Rifleman posts; I believe the additional width on the back can possibly accelerate wear and tear on the drivetrain.

 

While I didn't lower my 360, I did put 19" HREs on it. See my profile for the picture.
If you lower the car and/or put bigger wheels on it, you should have your front fenders "rolled". This is a process where the metal lip of the fender (inside the fender well) is rolled up and back onto itself to eliminate the perfect place for a big tire to come in contact with the metal. When this happens, the metal loses every time and you get "fender pulls"... unsightly areas of bent metal which, in a worse-case scenario can deform the fender itself.

Rolling the fender is cheap at a body shop... $300 or so and gives you considerable piece of mind.

Good luck.

Frank

 

those would look sick on a lowerd 360

 

The best look IMO I have seen on a 360 are 20" rears and 19" fronts ....

 

I would not go with anything larger than 19". 20" wheels are just too risky and the ride will be too bumpy. Too many problems associated with 20" wheels.

 

I agree completely.

 

My comments only apply if you are planning to drive the car. For the purposes of impressing women (or men if that works) then lower and put 20's on

My 997S as an example, drives very well.
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

+1
The 19" and 20" is our most popular fitment for this car, and those are the perfect tire options. As far as the fender rolling goes, IMO all Ferraris need fender rolling in the front with aftermarket wheels. The factory fenders are so inconsistent from car to car.

 

There is some great advice posted above. Be sure to have the fenders rolled professionally (i.e. NOT with a baseball bat and/or mallet), most definitly in the front. I have seen MANY 360s and 430s with cracked fenders due to improper tires/wheels/fender rolling. Don't ask me how I know but a 22" wheel on the rear of a F430 WILL crack the **** out of the rear quarter.

Anthony

 

+1111111

 

Your calcs on rolling radius are correct (so the speedo will be fine) but don't forget you are increasing the width, contact patch and unsprung weight with bigger wider wheels and tires. Just something to bear in mind, I went up 20mm width on the Mercedes and wrecked what little steering feel there was..

I totally agree on aesthetics, heck my Audi has bigger wheels than 18's just don't go too far..

 

Not telling you what to do but this is what I have used in REAL WORLD applications with ZERO problems. This appication has been put on dozens of 360s w/o any negative side effects. Do note that aggressive fender rolling in the front is necessary and easily done with the correct fender rolling tool.

FRONT: 9" x 19" et28 w/ 255/30/19
REAR: 12½" x 19" et51 355/25/19

Any questions let me know.

Anthony

 

Guys, with all due respect, going with wider larger heavier 20" wheels will most lilely DECREASE performance.. I would say 305 rears, mayyybe 315 would be the widest necessary for the power and torque of this car, beyond that you will lose handeling, acceleration, braking, resonsiveness and will probably throw off cornering at the limit. Going super wide may increase traction in some cases, but may make things unpredictable at the limit with less weight per square inch. Also remember, tires vary widely among brand and model. Some 305s may have nearly the same contact patch as say a 295, and so on. With that said.. most people never drive ther Ferrari, let alone any other car, near the limit on the street. Putting heavy 20s on will not only increase unsprung weight, but put it further away from the axle increasing its effect. Getting the overal diameter close to stock is important, but doesnt mean the new tire/wheel package wont have an effect on performance, as mentioned above. increasing width should theoretically be done equally on either side of the centerline of the wheel, not pushed out to the widest point in the fender necessarily. This will have an effect on the suspension geometry and change the handeling characteristics. Again.. it may be that some drivers will not notice the difference and each car responds differently to these changes. I am not an expert, but do have some experience. It should just be known that there are a lot of variables and factors that go into handling/performance. Dont get me wrong, I love aggressive looks, but it makes sense to draw the line somewhere compromising performance with style. do your research on wheel weights!

Good luck

 

i know of a 360 locally that i cleaned during my internship and it has a novitech rosso body kit and h&r lowering springs, with 20's up front and 22's in the back. and yes he got his fenders rolled.

 

Don't understand the lowering desire. for the perfrmance and looks gain the bottoming out problems are just not worth it. Have to be too careful now. Wish I had a front lift.

Lower profile tires risk damaging the rims. 19" is max for me on a 360.

 

I have 19" Stradale tires on my 360. I rolled the fenders and no rubbing at all. I think 19" is about as big as you can get away with IMO.

Brad
Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login