New rims - camber kit?

[mysterio2099]

I've never bought new rims, but my cousin has some 18s that used to be on his Pont. GrandAm. He didn't have anything extra done to his car and never had a problem. I might buy them off him and put them on my 97 Eclipse N/T. I was wondering if camber kits or anything like that have to be put on? I haven't lowered my car or anything.. I'm a newbie at all this, so remember that when you reply. .

Thanks.

 

[c5chris]

No lowering involved, you dont need a camber kit. You just have to worry about the wheel offsets and lug pattern.

They might not be compatible.

 

[mysterio2099]

No lowering involved, you dont need a camber kit. You just have to worry about the wheel offsets and lug pattern.

They might not be compatible.

Well.. say they fit fine... there's absolutely nothing else I would need? A friend of mine was telling me that if I went over the overall diameter of my stock rim/tire setup that I would need a camber kit? ...

Just trying to learn here.

 

[DubV]

The only time you need a camber kit is when you lower you car, and usually when it's over 2". The only thing that would happen with a different rim diameter would be a change in your speedometer accuracy, and even that could be compensated with a different tire size. This link lets you see what tire size on a bigger rim you would need to match your stock tire diameter so you know how much if any your speedo would be off.

http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html

 

[mgcook]

any time you lower a car it will throw off the TOE. unless you have a camber kit that is set a -3 then camber will have LITTLE to NO effect on inner tire wear. what you will need to do is go to an alignment shop and have them set the alignment to the factory settings and ZERO out the TOE. that will solve any inner tire wear.

 

[mysterio2099]

I used the miata.net tired calculator and it said that my speedometer would be 1.4% slow.. when it read 60 mph I would in fact be going 60.8 mph.

I'm cool with that, but I read somewhere else that it would screw up my odometer reading. Is it even possible to adjust these things, and if so how much would it cost?

I'll be going from a 195/70/14 to a 225/40/18

So after doing this I'd need to get my alignment changed and whatnot???

 

[DubV]

You speedo will be saying you are traveling less than you really are, which could be a benefit I guess. Depending on the last time you had an alignment, I would consider getting it done. After you put your new wheels on, you are probably going to want to lower you car and therefore the need for a camber kit will arise along with an alignment.

 

[wret]

I used the miata.net tired calculator and it said that my speedometer would be 1.4% slow.. when it read 60 mph I would in fact be going 60.8 mph.

I'm cool with that, but I read somewhere else that it would screw up my odometer reading. Is it even possible to adjust these things, and if so how much would it cost?

I'll be going from a 195/70/14 to a 225/40/18

So after doing this I'd need to get my alignment changed and whatnot???

You will not need to adjust your speedometer/odometer and it will not break. You will not be able to detect a difference. I doubt if your speedo is accurate to 1% now.

The larger wheels and tires will not affect your alignment. If it's been a while since your last one and you want to protect your investment, then get it checked.

 

[mysterio2099]

Alright, so basically I shouldn't have any problems or after work to do... if the tire goes on, I should be all good...

There was one thing I was wondering about... since I'm a car newbie I don't know the technical names for a lot of things, so I just took a picture of what I am talking about.

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when you hit bumps and stuff, does the tire go up torwards this part? I mean, it's so close to it.. seems like it would dig down into the tire... How do the mechanics of this work?

 

[wret]

You are looking at the front steering knuckle and ball joint where it is connected to the upper control arm. The tire will not get an closer to (or further from) it during suspension travel. It moves exactly relative to the wheels up and down and steering motions.

Where the knuckle curves over the tire is the primary tight spot for 2g wide-tire fitment, but it's closer in the rear than the front.

 

[mysterio2099]

Thanks Wret, that helps me understand it a lot better. I guess when I get the rims I'll post some pictures up in the forums to let you guys see how they came out!

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