Advice re new wheels

Hi all,

I have 458 and I'm considering putting new wheels and tires on it. I'm considering replacing the stock wheels with a set of 20"front/21"rear wheels, with Pirelli P Zero tires in 245/35/20 and 325/25/21. I've been told by some friends that the larger wheel size in the rear (and resulting smaller tire sidewall) will result in the appearance that of a larger gap between the top of the tire and the bottom of the fender. Those same friends have advised because of that I should lower my car. On the other hand, others have told me not to worry because the new tires will be much wider than the stock tires and will fill the wheel well much better, resulting in a more aggressive look without having to lower the car.

Does anyone have any experience with this?

Also, I expect that the ride will be harsher with the 21" wheels in the rear, but will the handling of the car be adversely impacted?

Thanks,

D

 

325/25/21 is a very low profile, lowering your car would definitely fill the gap however, depending on if you track the car, you'll need to make sure it isn't going to rub on the inside of the fender during tight cornering.

Most likely you will not feel a difference between a 20" and a 21" wheel, adversely or otherwise - However, I'm about to order some forged wheels for my 488 (being delivered next week) and i chose not to go with the 21" in the rear only because I will be tracking the car and want to lower it on a more aggressive spring setup, and by doing so i believe a 20" wheel is the best fitment for what im trying to achieve.

If you're mainly looking to fill the wheel gap and you want to stagger a 20" Front / 21" Rear, There shouldn't be a problem just throw some novitec springs on it and have the coilover system adjusted to your preferred wheel gap - Just be sure the offset, width of the wheel, camber etc. is accurate to be able to run that wheel and size/width/profile tire.

Hope this helped,
All the best

Sam H

 

Sam, thanks very much for your reply and your thoughts. I do want to preserve the option to track my car, so perhaps 20" rears and not lowering it will be my better option. I still want wider tires and am hoping that by not lowering the car I won't have rubbing issues.

D