Questions on 348 versus 355 tires/wheels...

I think you will be ok. When I was in Europe, there were many 348s running around with 355 wheels, even at the dealer in Frankfurt. I thought it looked terrific, and I don't recall that the wheels stuck out at all as the 348 and 355 are quite similar.
hth
rt

 

Hey husker,

You'll be just fine with the 355 rims. Remember that the base body of the 355 is the same as the 348. The 355 rims are 10" wide in the back. I have seen 348's with 512tr rims on them, and those fit just fine. The 512tr rims are 10.5" wide in the rear. How ever I think that the rear fender may have needed to be rolled. Anyway the 355 rims are a direct bolt on. However you may need to get the 355 wheel bolts, due to the offset of the rims.

Almost forgot, no the 355 rims will not stick out past the fender. The only way that they will is if you have spacers that make them stick out more. But if you just mount them on with no spacers they will fit just fine.

 

Just to ditto Ernie’s post - 355 wheels will work fine. 348 lugs are 55mm under the head and 355 are 52mm - should be OK but check that the extra 3mm that protrudes through the hub does not foul up on anything.

Regarding offsets of the wheels, I thought this might be useful.
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I noticed in "Huskerntexas" profile that he has a 1990 348ts - I believe the offsets for the rear are going to be different then the later GTS/GTB/Spider models.

I know they widened the rear track to improve stability in the later models.

I think 348Paul's chart is based ont he later models but I am not sure.

BTW I am one of those people with 360 wheels on my 348 Spider and my tires are wider but they do not go any wider than the body of the car. They fit within the wheel well in all directions. Yes, it is tight but it does not protrude unless you add additional spacers. I can add a photo later if you want to see.

Becasue I have the Spider I had to purchase new wheel bolts for the rear only. The originals are to long for the 360 wheel. The wheel bolts on the earlier model may be perfect.

 

Good point David.

The figures below for the 348 are based on the cars without the wider track. One easy way to tell if you have the wider track wheels on the rear is to take out a lug bolt from one of the rear wheels if it measures 80mm under the head - you have the late USA 94 spider/speciale rims. The offset for these wheels is +43mm.


Paul

 

95 348 spider with 10" rear and 295/30 tire. fits perfect and huge improvement handling.

 

What is being talked about ( off set ) has to do with the shape or depth of the rim / wheel. The measurements are describing how indented the shape of the rim / wheel is. Kind of like a deep bowl sitting next to a bowl the same size but much shallower. Get it.

When you place the rim on the car it has to go over the caliper, etc.. and line up in the wheel well properly.

Sometimes people add spacers in between the rim and the mounting point to make the tire sit further out from the car.

Ferrari re-designed the later production 348's with the rear wheels further out to improve the rear tracking at high speeds. They did not just add spacers but re-designed the whole suspension.

I think this is the correct way to describe.

As for better handling - I also notice better grip with the 360 wheels - I would say it is the simple fact you have "a lot" more rubber touching the ground and a slightly lower profile also.

The 348 is a wonderful handling car the 18" wheels just make it little better. I actually like using the stock wheels for track events as the car becomes more tossable without going beyond the limit. I could probably achieve slightly better times with the 18's but it just feels more fun with the 17's.

Does any of this make sense ??

 

I'm with you - I bought mine because I thought the factory 348 wheels were the worst part of the car. Personally I thought the 360 wheels gave it a modern look without destroying the lines.

Actually - I just liked it also !!

The stuff about offsets was learned while trying to find out if they would fit.

I can't say if the price is good or not as I have not checked the maket in a while. Try a search here and see if you find anything. E-bay might help a little.

Word to the wise - DO NOT sell your 348 rims - you will need them later when you sell the car. If you don't have them you may take a hit on the re-sell because the next owner may want it original.

 

i was looking for a set of 355 wheels for my 348, didnt like the way the 348 wheels fit in the wheel wells, instead i got a set of hill engineering spacers, 20mm for the front and 30mm for the back, now i love the 348 wheels, its not the wheels that look bad its just the way they fill the wheel wells, gives the car a completely different look