5zigen Fn01r-c in matt black:
with Falken Ziex Ze 912's, 225/45/ZR17 tread.
Bought from edgeracing. now originally online I ordered 17x7's with the same tread in hyper black - I got a call saying 5zigen was discontinuing the hyper black and they couldn't source them anymore; so I could pick from bronze (bad for the color of my car, a sandstone metallic) or matt black, which would go with just about any color of any car.
He said he was sending the 17x8's; I protested, said I didn't think they'd fit, but he assured me they would. I had a bad feeling about this.
So they get here today (ordered last friday, not bad service).
They don't fit, not stock anyway. the fronts fit fine - except the fenders need to be rolled or they'll rub when you hit a hard bump (which will roll the fenders I figure)
The rears are a different beast all together, the tread and area where the sidewall meets the tread rubs the lower section of the spring perch, it barely rubs; so I was insisting on using this setup since my current tires are SHOT (two have plugs, I swapped out one with a seriously broken belt and the other has a flat spot shaking the suspension loose at speed)
You need each of the following:
Propane Torch
Big fucking Imperial crescent wrench (or hammer, whichever you have available)
Large c-clamp with flat end of the screw section removed leaving just the ball.
Good lighting
plenty of time.
I heated, hammered, heated hammered, heated and hammered some more, then bent with the c-clamp, heated, hammered again; I bet I was pissing my neighbors off fiercely.
In the end I bet I only beat it back by an 1/8th to 1/4th inch, however it was enough that once the tires were mounted, inflated properly, and loaded with the car on them, I could see a small gap and also run a full page of paper through the gap without it hanging on anything.
Wow, such a pain in the ass. I started at 6:15PM and didn't finish till about 9:30 when the last front tire went on (did the rears first)
The result? it feels like a different car, it doesn't roll nearly as much as before, it's tighter in corners and it corners without tire squeel at faster speeds.
After driving about ten miles I stopped and double checked the tires, it does not appear they're rubbing but I will know for sure tomorrow when I take the interstate into work for 15 minutes at speeds of up to 90-100mph; they should heat up pretty good and expand the tires, hopefully not too much as I'd hate to have shredded tires once I get off the interstate.
The good thing is the perches are rounded, so there shouldn't be any grooving if they do make contact.
I'll just have to get coilovers in the near future, and probably put on some 235's or 245's.
As a result, if anyone ever asks in the future: do 17x8 wheels work for us stock? the answer is no, not unless you want to hammer away at your spring perches (if you cut them, you suffer integrity issues; I'd hate for a perch to break and send a loaded spring through the tire at 100mphs on the interstate, that would be a very nasty wreck)
I wish I had pictures, they do fill out the wheel well a lot better now; I'll work on that in the future.
