Wheels: Any definitive answers?

R

Rob M

Member
Ive used the search engine on here to gain as much info pertaining to wheels as i can, however, Im probably more confused than when I started! :wink:
Basically can somebody ( people) give me chapter and verse on wheels for the P6? What is the PCD? Offset? Inset? Do post '99 Grand Cherokee wheels bolt on ( 14 and 15in) to the P6 without mods? Ive found a pic of a white V8 with Grand Cherokee rims and, i assume, they are no bigger than 15in? Any advise to finally nail this one down for me will, as per usual, be greatly appreciated.
Rob
EDIT: Tyres. whats recommended size wise IF I were to find Grand Cherokee wheels at 14 or 15in?
Many thanks
 
Hi Rob,

There have been big discussions in the past as to what wheels can be used on the P6 / P6B. If you have a scan through the Suspension / Steering section, you should come across them.

Briefly though, the Jeep wheels that you mention have a different offset, so spacers are needed on the front hubs. There is little advantage in buying 14" wheels as good quality tyres are becoming harder and harder to source. The original P6B spec tyres were 185 / 14 with an aspect ratio of 80 and a speed rating of H. You can use 195 / 75 or 205 / 70, both of which are very close to the original rolling diameter. Some people use 195 / 70 which gives a smaller tyre by a noticable margin as opposed to the 75 profile which is much closer to the original sizing in terms of profile.

Jeep wheels when used are usually 16" or 17 thus providing a far greater range of quality tyres.

Ron.
 
OK.

There's generally no problem at the front with aftermarket / non Rover OE alloy wheels providing that you take some effort to match the rolling radius of the tyres fitted to that of the originals.

At the back there is no problem with the rear wing clearance (unless you're really silly). BUT there is a big problem at the front of the wheelarch in the base unit. The side of the boot comes quite close to the back face of the tyre (note we don't talk wheels for this discussion until much later). And the wrap round portion of the D post comes very close to the front face of the tyre.

In practice the widest tyre that can be accomodated without major mods at the standard rolling radius is 205. Even then the base unit D post may need massaging out a tad. And this is with the centre line of the tyre running dead in the centre of the pinch point. To achieve that, you need an offset on the wheel of between 40 and 43 mm positive. Ie the hub of the wheel sticks out at the front. Such wheels are very few and far between!

The offset of Jeep wheels vary greatly from model to model, so you really need to interrogate the particular wheels you are looking at.

You can buy suitable wheels from Cragar in the US and import them specially.

SD1 Vitesse cross spoke 15" wheels are a pretty good fit, but if you don't like the look of them, that's tough, and they are very heavy!

When looking at other wheels there is no point buying anything less than 15" diameter - the tyre choice is too limited. Over about 17" the aspect ratio starts getting rather low to replicate the OE rolling diameter. For 205 section tyres you probably don't want to go wider than 7" or narrower than 6", otherwise the tyre won't sit right on the wheel.

As examples, the correct rolling diameters (give or take a tad) are 205/65 X 15, 205/ 60 X 16 and 205/50 X 17

So those are the key criteria. Most people finish up on SD1 Vitesse wheels as a result.

Does that get it into reasonably simple language?

Chris
 
Thanks fellas.
Yep, that is exactly what I was looking for, a nice, clear and concise masterclass in wheel/tyre fitment.
Thanks
Rob
 
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