Why do the F430 GTs (that are actually driven) have a lower offset wheel in the front compared to the rear? A few friends and I are avid racers and enthusiasts of all things Maranello, but we have not had the opportunity to scrutinise this car in person yet. A few theories I have are: 1.) The rear bodywork is very near stock (thus the relationship between wheel hub and fender well is close to stock, while the fronts have more widened front fenders and thus to fill the fender wells, they are afforded the opportunity to run a wheel with a lower offset (bigger hub-to-fender horizontal distance) 2.) There is some benefit to the car running shorter control arms than the stock F430, thus moving the hub inward and allowing for a lower offset wheel. Whether or not this is helpful in the rear is moot b/c the transaxle and engine are between the rear wheels, not allowing you to move suspension points inward. *This one is not my favorite, but it crossed our minds 3.) For some reason the brakes used in the rear needed a different wheel design to clear the calipers versus those on the front. 4.) Simply, the car had a bit of understeer, so they modified the rear track width by putting higher offset wheels on. For reference of what I am asking, look at the curvature of the spokes and the wheel nut distance on the horizontal axis: Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
the 360 GT had a big increase in front track width over the stock and challenge car. with the pickup points slightly fudged--Road and Track compared all three cars awhile back, and with the GT, there was absolutely no understeer (the wider slicks up front had an affect there as well i'm sure), i imagine the 430 GT front track was increased as well...that factor must have something to do with differences you're looking at...
