17's it is...

Ok so here is the story. Not long after I picked up my supra (a few months ago now) I noticed the tyre pressure in the front passenger side kept going down. Now, the tyre was pretty rubbish so I bought 2 new ones for the front (the other one wasn't too good either, but the backs had a new set on, so no worries there). Great, I thought problem solved....or so it seemed.

The next day it was going down again, spoke to a few people and they said as my wheels are right angled valved tyres maybe the valve is busted. So I sought after and found a right angled tyre valve fitted it on...Problem solved... but wait, the next day...guess what, that's right it went down again. So I asked around took it to more tyre places and their theory was to 'check the bead' so got it checked, nothing wrong.

Then one guy at kwick fit wanted to find out what was making it go down (This guy is the only guy who looked at my car EVERY time I went there to query etc) then after about 30 mins of examination he comes in and says "You need new wheels mate". He showed me that the alloy itself has holes in it small pin hols but where the supra weighs alot, having pressure put on it, it decides to come out quicker.

So I told a mate of mine who unfortunately wrote his supra off (Masenko) and he soaid I could have his wheels. Now mine are 17" wheels with 255/40/17 (i think) and I just tried to put his wheels on my car they're 18" with tyre sizes of 2x 245/40/18 and 2x 265/35/18. Put the 245/40/18 and the front and took it for a drive just to test. and when I turn the wheel it gets caught on something (im guessing the wheel arc). So I've had to take them off and put the pin hole wheels back on. Was I correct in putting the 245/40/18 on the front?

Point to note. When I bought the car the guy said it has lowered suspension on it and when I checked the brand it has KYB Street Suspension written on it along with Japanese writing. Is it worth trying to alter the suspension or should I just seek a new set of 17's

p.s. sorry about the long thread, just thought I'd let you guys know all the detail, people on here have always been extremely helpful.

do you know the offsets of the front wheels?

and a bit of spacing between sentances may make it easier to read too

My Apologies, I get abit carried away when I start typing. How do I find the offets of the front wheels please?

on the inside of the wheel it will say ET-- then 2 numbers

Et 35

my 18s on my old car used to catch on the front wall of the arch on the plastic liner where the vent is on full lock. Suspention was stock i dont remember the tyre sizes though. It eventualy destroyed the plastic vent and didnt catch any more

My car now is on 18s but i think the radius of the tyre is less and they dont look as wide. And even with lowered suspention they dont catch. My speedo is out by about 10mph when over 70-80 though.

This tyre/wheel/offset/width/size thing is a black art. I dont understand it

well your tyre sizes are the same as mine and so is your ET.

and mine dont rub

all i could suggest is you turn the wheels and take a look to see if or what it catches on and try and rectify that

Cheers Guys! It always seems like once I find a solution to a problem, something goes wrong

I want 18's lol

Ok so I put the wheels back on yday to see what was causing the problem so i could try to rectify it and took some pictures too. As ou can see when I put on the 18" wheels they got caught against the plastic casing for the screen wash.

So i took it off to see if it would be OK without it. Turns fine now doesnt get caught against anything except as stated before as the car is lowered, when I take a rather sharp corner and the suspension kicks in the wheels gets caught on the top of the arch.

So back to square one I guess?

My 17's

The Suspension

17" and the 18"

You can see where the tyre catches

With the plastic Guard

Without It

In the picture the car is up on the Jack, if only I really had that much room.

This tyre/wheel/offset/width/size thing is a black art. I dont understand it

Like wise, think I'm getting the hang of it...eventually

how low is your car?

Not too sure? Ill get the old measuring tape out later. In the first picture with the 17's on. You can see roughly the height. (not too good a view but I'll update you later)

Looks very low.

Ludicrously low, even if, by magic, you stopped the tyre rubbing the arch liners, it'd handle like a total dog, and be on its bump rubbers round corners. It needs raising at least 25 mm at the front, not seen a photo of the back, but that needs balancing to the front, too.

Agree with Chris (of cause, it would be stupid otherwise )

But the fact is that my own is too low and I'v had a problem like yours but not the exact same spot. Mine is down 40mm (about 20mm too much) but was riding ok until my dampers gradually failed. There was nothing visually to see so I didn't take notise until it started bottoming out once in a while and when on a trip the the Nürburgring it really showed..

My point is that maybe your dampers have gone. I didn't notice untill I put my fill weight on my headlights pressing the car down hard. It stood there bouncing a few times. Try that out.

So I'm not alone then, Ill give it a go later to check the dampers, as far as I'm aware they're fine. But, no harm in double checking. Ill post a picture of the back later as the ones I have with me right now don't show the 'correct' visual level.

Would I have to buy new shocks and springs in order to raise the car or is there an adjustable alternative?

Maybe I should stick to 17's?

As Promised here is a picture of the back end.

Let me know how low it looks to you guys

Thanks

(I need new wheels )

Not as bad as the front anyway!

Top of tyre to top of wheel arch photo would be more useful, can't tell much by that, sorry.

the tyre size you mention for the fronts is incorrect, it should be 235/40/17, thats why you are getting rubbing, your car doesn't look any lower than mine, and I get no rubbing issues at all.

with regards to the leaking wheel, I suspect they are leaking on the seal between the joints in the wheel, put some air in it and lay the wheel on its back, poor some water onto it where the bolts are, I bet you see bubbles.