MR2 Owners Club

How's it going guys, looking to pick some brains! Iv'e got a uk rev4 t-top sitting on 17s at the moment with standard suspension. Iv'e got a set of HSD monopros on the way now and i'm thinking about going pretty aggressive with fitment. (I know everyone seems to have and opinion on the HSD's but i had them on my evo and they performed perfectly). My offsets on the 17's are fairly conservative, 17x7.5 et45 front 17x8 et35 rear.

Judging by the look of the wheels on the car currently, i think it would suit a set of 18 inch wheels perfectly. Now i know what all the handling nuts are gonna say so i'll beat you to it, although handling is a critical part of the car to me, the aesthetics are just as, if not more important. Yes it'll be a bit lower than recommended and i may have to stretch the tires a TINY bit but if that's the looks i'm going for. not a race car, not a stance boi, somewhere in the middle. Anyway, with that out of the way..

So i'm thinking 18x8 front and 18x9.5 rear. I'm just not sure on offsets. (Obviously i'll need to use some low aspect ratio tyres on these to keep the rolling diameter as close to my current set up as possible.) I can always use spacers but id rather just buy wheels that fit in the first place. I'm currently looking at the japan racing jr23 (essentially a fake Enkei Algernon). They have a pair of 18x8s on clearance on Driftworks at the moment for custom machining, with offsets between et 40 and 45. The 18x9.5 ones have offset options of et 40 to 48. I don't mind if i have to put a little bit of camber on them to make them fit. Will these need spacers, will they even fit? Can anyone running a mk2 of 18's please give me some insight here!

Kind regards all!

I had 18's ages ago on my first MK2. I felt they looked too big without a kit.

Yeh I know what you mean, some of em can look a bit stupid on 18s. But from some of the cars I've seen online, if you run low aspect ratio tyres and a low ride height they can look pretty mean.

For example this is wild! A bit low for me but that fitment is something to behold.

Bet the handling is to

That took longer than expected. I already know that's its not the ideal set up for handling. My question wasn't "what are the perfect wheels to make my mr2 feel like an F1 car". My question is, does anyone have a fairly aggressive set of 18s on their sw20 and if so, could they give me a hand with offsets? Simple really

although handling is a critical part of the car to me, the aesthetics are just as, if not more important.

You can't have it both ways .. simple really. Same as you can't expect to post on a forum and not get differing opinions

So you can't have a car with tight fitment that drives acceptably? People can have differing opinions, and I'm fully aware I'm very much the minority with my opinions and preferences. And again, I'm not here to discuss the pros and cons of each preference, I just want help with offsets, but it doesn't seem like I'm gonna get that.

The picture you posted isn't about "tight" fitment it's about "stance". Nothing wrong with that if "stance" is your thing, however as you say it tends to be a minority preference.
In my experience MR2 owners tend to be slightly more biased towards the driving experience, perhaps that's the reason no one is offering the assistance you are looking for ?
i.e. there's not much experience (of that kind of setup) within the club to offer you ?

Yeh guess your right, time to surf some other forums I think

https://91mr2.com/wheel-and-tire-calculator/
Calculator to help with your 18" offsets. gives you ide how they fit compared to standard setup
flush
rubbing
good
Starter for 10 here in know your 2 is a few common set ups
https://www.mr2oc.co.uk/know-your-2.htm ... bartid=261

I had 17x8 ET35 and 17x9 ET32 on mine and they were flush with around 5mm clearance to strut leg fronts and around 15mm clearance to rear strut leg. shod with 215/40 and 245/40 tyres

for 18s the et is the same so
18x8 ET35 with 215/35/18 tyres (225 will rub struts and if spaced will be outside of wing line and rub wing)
18x9 ET32 with 245/35/18 tyres (will need arch rolled to stop rubbing depending on how low you go.
all on BC coilovers

Ah mate you're a star! Thanks for the help, now the real wheel hunt can begin!

Just a heads up, with coilovers the 5mm clearance mentioned above doesn't apply as the spring passes down past the wheel. With most coilovers you'll most likely have wheel rim and spring contact with x8 et35 up front. a small 3mm spacer or et32 or lower wheels should avoid this problem.

Another option is to use a camber bolt on the hub mount and add POSITIVE camber to provide more space between the coilover and wheel. Then use the camber adjustable top mount on the coilover to bring the wheel and strut assembly back to your desired camber and to bring the tyre back inside the arch.

Thanks sk8, that's a lot of good info to consider! I'm gonna set it up properly on the 17s then spend some time working out the 18's, wanna get it right first time. Thanks again