Wheel simulator

Anyone use one? If so did it work for your application? Thinking about getting one to help with finding maximum tire and wheel sizing on my E body.

Thanks
Damon

I used cardboard.

use the wheelrite tool

I feel the best thing to use is a deep offset wheel that you can add spacers to to find your correct spacing. With a Hotchkis setup the biggest wheel I can fit is a 18x10.5 as it hits the bumpsteer spacers in the fronts. Without the bumpsteer spacers you could possibly run a 18x11 in the front. I used 2 Enkei PF01's with tires mounted on them so I could drop the car on the ground on its full weight and set ride height as well.

WOuld stepping up to 19" rims be worth it? Did you try running a button head vs hex head?

You know a 19"x11 might just work and they do have Hankook RS-3's size 305/30-19s that would probably fit all four corners. The weight and cost isn't that bad compared to other extreme summer tires and with a 19" wheel you could run even bigger brake discs.

Another way to get there is to borrow a wheel/tire that is close and measure from that reference. My tire store took the chance and ordered a "best guess" single wheel/tire combo. I measured from that. The first one was not spot on so I bought is as a spare tire. Everybody was happy.

Ordering as best guess wheel and tire and the wheel rite both may be needed. I do have the Hotchkis uppers so that is good to know Rylis. But still I have a Challenger so there could be some differences? I gave up on the 17" tire thing for looks. 305/30/19 are no problem but if the 10.5 x18 wheels will work on mine that's likely a better choice due to tire availability at this time.

Damon

I just checked out the WheelRite and that looks like a waste of about $80 bucks to me. How can you simulate the ride height of the front end with one of those plastic things if you cannot put the full weight of the car on it? Looks okay up on a lift but how would you measure lock to lock clearances when the suspension isn't able to be compressed on the ground?

A 18x10.5 doesn't really have a lot of tire choice because there are only a handful of companies that make 295-305-315 sizes. Falken RT615K's, Nitto NT01's, Toyo R888's and BFG Rivals off the top of my head and maybe some Hoosier Slicks would fit. You could go with a 275-285 tire and the selection really widens from there as there are a bunch of Extreme Summer tires in those sizes.

I really think that a Chally fender has as much room as a Cuda because if you take a tape measure from the frame rail to the edge of the fender it should be around 19 inches. My 295's do rub, but only when lock to lock doing U-turns and only wears on the corner edge of the tire on the frame so no harm done. Measuring for correct offsets is the key to fitting the larger sizes.

305/30/19 appears to be a tire sized used for Porsche. Found 23 tires in that size on Tire Rack, but this was just a quick glance. Uncertain whether a 30 series would experience a super harsh ride with the typical accompanying suspension mods (specifically heavy T bars in the 1.12 + sizes). It would be about a 26.2" tall tire. How tall of a tire can you get up front without hitting firewall braces (if you have them)?

Just some things to think about

EDIT: I'm no expert, just wanted to poke around and do some digging.

Sorry I didn't mention I was pulling the T bars for the intended wheelrite testing. Guess I didn't do good enough research on tire availability. Was thinking the 18" dia had more choices than 19". Need to dig into that more. T bars are 1.15" and I do have the US Cartool inner fender braces. So that is a concern as well. I'm OK with modifying the fenders some but not to the extent of loosing the body lines. Lips have been rolled for over 20 years but that is minor compared to what I expect for the current changes.