"We have BBS LM's at home!" - Help me make these fit

[Just A Dad]

Hi everyone,

Relatively new here, as well as new to the FiST platform. My primary vehicle is my 2017 Focus RS, which is currently in the shop for an extended period to replace/rebuild the motor and trans after a shop grenaded my engine. Long story, for another time! Anyway, rather than pay for a long term rental, I found a great deal on a local, stock, 2-owner (adult) FiST. Because so much of my "car money" is tied up in the FoRS, I am trying to re-use or re-purpose as much of the existing stuff as I can, and mod smartly whenever the situation arises. Luckily, the car is in GREAT shape, so most of this is just going to be improving the aesthetics and putting my personal touch on the car, and not me chasing max power or being a track-focused build. I purchased this 2015 FiST in November, and it was bone stock minus a set of 16" Enkei's.

So, because this car/build is on a shoestring budget, I am not going to consider swapping in a new set of wheels/tires at this time. I would like to consider going back to 17s in the future for the aesthetics, but for the time being, I am trying to make the most out of what I have. Hoping that someone can help me figure out how to work with the setup that came with my car. With some quick searching, I believe they are 16x7 et42 Enkei J10's:

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As you can probably see here, the stock ride height is one problem, but also the offset seems to be even deeper than OEM! I am not 100% sure, but it appears that the rears are more sucked-in than the fronts? Is that normal on these cars, and does that mean that if I was going to run spacers, that I should run a larger size in the back to end up square? Something like 10mm/15mm F/R, or even 15/20? Can someone suggest a proper spacer setup that would put these wheels at or just short of flush? I have a set of the ST DZX spacers from my FoRS that I ran on the OEM wheels, which allowed for 15mm spacers on stock studs, by using extended shank lugnuts. However, it doesn't look like ST makes those in 4x108, so I was not sure what the best option would be to get these wheels spaced properly.

In the meantime, I decided to get to work with some "arts and crafts" to try and make the car look a little better. I've always been a fan of BBS Motorsport style 2-tone wheels, but obviously those aren't in the cards for this car. But maybe I can at least make it look kinda like it...if you turn your head and squint?

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Tried some "glamour shots" of the finished product. I'm digging the results for my personal style, especially for only being in for ~5-6 cans of Hyper Dip and caliper paint. Just need to get the stance sorted out. I've got a lead on some good coilovers, but would love any suggestions on spacers and specs to ensure proper fitment and minimal/no rubbing.

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Thanks!

 

[SteveS]

The 16" wheel is going to allow for a much better selection of tires than the 17". Unfortunately the 205/40-17 is pretty much an orphaned size. And the tire that gave the Fiesta ST its signature feel and handling was axed by Bridgestone at pretty much the same time the 7th generation Fiesta ended.

The Enkeis you have are at the stock offset and the stance if your car is the way it comes. I'm not a believer in spacers or pushing the wheels out.

 

[JAMADOR]

No help on the spacers or anything, but nice work on the color change, and that's a great color combo. Looks fantastic.

 

[Just A Dad]

The 16" wheel is going to allow for a much better selection of tires than the 17". Unfortunately the 205/40-17 is pretty much an orphaned size. And the tire that gave the Fiesta ST its signature feel and handling was axed by Bridgestone at pretty much the same time the 7th generation Fiesta ended.

The Enkeis you have are at the stock offset and the stance if your car is the way it comes. I'm not a believer in spacers or pushing the wheels out.

Oh, if I ever went to 17s I'd likely go 17x8 and run a 225/35/17 or similar. I'm not married to OEM sizes, nor to OEM stance/offsets, which is why I was looking to change it up. But appreciate the insight.

 

[SteveS]

The Fiesta doesn't have enough wheelwell space to go much wider than 215 without doing something drastic. Bear in mind the car was designed for 185/60-15 tires.

 

[scooter123]

IMO 17 inch rims on the FiST is a Fashion Thing and I just don't believe that Fashion should have any involvement in cars. The best wheel size for the FiST is 16 inches, it provides enough sidewall to minimize road damage, enough stiffness for excellent handling and a softer breakaway transition so that the traction loss is gradual enough you can correct for it. The 40 profile traction profile at the limits is very much On or Off and the end result is takes a much higher level of skill to work at the absolute limit. Perhaps 5% of us have that level of skill and that means the rest of us don't push the limits or we "push" off the track or spin out. End result is most drivers will be faster with the 16 inch rims instead of the 17's. I will also point out that I started with Hot Rods in 1969 when a 70 profile was "low". Still think that the 60 profile tires on my 1985 Monte Carlo SS look damned sweet and how well that car handles has surprised quite a few Harley Riders.

 

[M-Sport fan]

I am not a fan of a silver/polished/chrome lip on wheels, or a very 'deep dish' either (it's that current/latter tarmac rally car aesthetic that I seek, which is the opposite of that old school '911 Turbo look'), but those look really good, and much better than the black, or even silver version of those same wheels.

What actual name brand and color/color code is that gold paint?

That is really close to the actual color I wanted for my Team Dynamics Pro Race 1.2s, and even my newer KE Motorsports T12s, even though I have no place to actually paint them myself (other than going to a deserted park's parking lot, possibly).

BTW; Our factory OEM wheels are a 47ET offset, so those same width J10s actually have even more 'poke' (stick out further towards the outside of the wheel well) than the factory wheels.
(The lower the ET number, the further out they protrude to the outside.)

 

[Just A Dad]

The Fiesta doesn't have enough wheelwell space to go much wider than 215 without doing something drastic. Bear in mind the car was designed for 185/60-15 tires.

Ah, I thought I had seen a few on 225's but maybe it took more work to get them there than I realized. I'll be going with adjustable coils and probably camber plates out back, but either way, appreciate the heads up! It's very unlikely I'll ever invest in a new set of wheels for this car as it's basically a daily only. I'd have preferred it came on the stock setup, as these 16's aren't my fav design nor spec, and aren't even much lighter than OEM, but it is what it is with a used purchase! For now, my plan is to make the most out of what I have, and I don't plan to go above 205s on these 16x7s.

IMO 17 inch rims on the FiST is a Fashion Thing and I just don't believe that Fashion should have any involvement in cars. The best wheel size for the FiST is 16 inches, it provides enough sidewall to minimize road damage, enough stiffness for excellent handling and a softer breakaway transition so that the traction loss is gradual enough you can correct for it. The 40 profile traction profile at the limits is very much On or Off and the end result is takes a much higher level of skill to work at the absolute limit. Perhaps 5% of us have that level of skill and that means the rest of us don't push the limits or we "push" off the track or spin out. End result is most drivers will be faster with the 16 inch rims instead of the 17's. I will also point out that I started with Hot Rods in 1969 when a 70 profile was "low". Still think that the 60 profile tires on my 1985 Monte Carlo SS look damned sweet and how well that car handles has surprised quite a few Harley Riders.

I think we're just coming from totally different worlds, generations, and preferences, and that's awesome! If you like what you like and it works for you, more power to you, brother. I downsized my OEM 19x8s to 18x9s on my main vehicle (Focus RS), and run 255/40s (vs OEM 235/35s) on that with a SLIGHT sidewall gain over stock. It helps with a bit more compliance in the sidewall, but I gotta say I have noticed zero difference on track or off with any significant sidewall rollover or speed difference. In fact, the largest contribution to any changes in laptimes (which the Fiesta is not a track car, but I'll carry on with your line of thinking regardless) is from the lighter package and reduction in rotational mass. And since these J10s are not much lighter than OEM 17s, and we have 16 AND 17" options that are even lighter STILL, I'm not sure I'd feel comfortable making blanket statements about what will always be faster or better. Even on 35 series sidewalls and terrible/potholed roads, I've never encountered any wheel damage. Then again, wheel technology and construction has come a long way in 50+ years! As long as you like your build and it works for you, that's what really matters.

I am not a fan of a silver/polished/chrome lip on wheels, or a very 'deep dish' either (it's that current/latter tarmac rally car aesthetic that I seek, which is the opposite of that old school '911 Turbo look'), but those look really good, and much better than the black, or even silver version of those same wheels.

What actual name brand and color/color code is that gold paint?

That is really close to the actual color I wanted for my Team Dynamics Pro Race 1.2s, and even my newer KE Motorsports T12s, even though I have no place to actually paint them myself (other than going to a deserted park's parking lot, possibly).

BTW; Our factory OEM wheels are a 47ET offset, so those same width J10s actually have even more 'poke' (stick out further towards the outside of the wheel well) than the factory wheels.

(The lower the ET number, the further out they protrude to the outside.)

Thanks man! I actually really am not a fan of multi-piece wheels either, and much prefer something more simple and sleek. In fact, I've got a thing for gold wheels, and this is what I'm running on my FoRS:
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BUT, these came with the car, and after watching some vids of e30s on those older BBS LMs (gold spokes and polished lips) I decided I might see if I could make something like that haha. I used "Bronze Gold" hyperdip from DipYourCar, in case it was awful and I wanted to remove it. 4 cans was plenty for 16s, and I just laid down a tarp for overspray and did them in my driveway (outside the garage). I was looking for something close to that TD Pro style gold, and this is a tad darker, but for the price and effort I can't complain.

Thanks for the heads up on the OEM specs! Since I never had the stock wheels, I guess I just assumed that 42 was about right for stock. 47 is nuts!

 

[JAMADOR]

Mine is on OE 17s, not sure I've ever noticed an ST in person on 16s, or if I'd know the difference without looking.
My only real complaint on the 17s is the lack of decent tire options in the OE size. Go 1 width wider & there's not only more selection, but better pricing too. Just have to deal with or correct the speed difference for the taller tire.

 

[Stubborn Approach]

Those J10s weigh less than 17lbs. The cast OEM boat anchors are 23lbs. The only downside to the J10s is the x7” width, which limits you to 205 and skinnier tires. On track, the balloon for sidewalls is not only reacting slower, but has less lateral grip & are adding unnecessary unsprung weight.

After DD’ing 215/45s on x7 & x8 back to back, the difference is very noticeable how much slower the tire reacts on skinny 7” wheels just driving on the street.

Spacers are going to increase your scrub radius and hurt handling.

Camber shims in the rear are going to unnecessarily wear out tires sooner as they always add toe out. Not to mention, you will never use the entire contact patch, even on track. I suspect they are installed to increase rear rotation only, less tire on the ground, toe’d out. Or to clear tires that are too large to begin with.

For the track I run 225 on x9“ but daily 215 on x8” only for the extra rim protection from curbs. 205s belong on a x8” in any competition environment. Contact patch is decided by wheel width, not the tires section width. More tire is not more grip.

 

[Just A Dad]

Those J10s weigh less than 17lbs. The cast OEM boat anchors are 23lbs. The only downside to the J10s is the x7” width, which limits you to 205 and skinnier tires. On track, the balloon for sidewalls is not only reacting slower, but has less lateral grip & are adding unnecessary unsprung weight.

After DD’ing 215/45s on x7 & x8 back to back, the difference is very noticeable how much slower the tire reacts on skinny 7” wheels just driving on the street.

Spacers are going to increase your scrub radius and hurt handling.

Camber shims in the rear are going to unnecessarily wear out tires sooner as they always add toe out. Not to mention, you will never use the entire contact patch, even on track. I suspect they are installed to increase rear rotation only, less tire on the ground, toe’d out. Or to clear tires that are too large to begin with.

For the track I run 225 on x9“ but daily 215 on x8” only for the extra rim protection from curbs. 205s belong on a x8” in any competition environment. Contact patch is decided by wheel width, not the tires section width. More tire is not more grip.

Interesting, on first search (well, information told to me about them, specifically) was that they are within 2 lbs of the OEM 17s. I was having a hard time finding concrete weights on either online, lots of sites quoting different weights, so I just took the forum guy at his word.

Appreciate everyone's input on track dynamics and handling, and normally I LOVE that kind of talk, but just to bring this thread back on topic, my FiST is not going to see track time nor will it be built in a way that focuses on track. I have my FoRS for that

I am simply trying to work within the confines of what I have, to get the build a bit more to my personal liking for daily driving around town. I DO prefer to set my cars all to a relatively aggressive alignment for street driving, out of personal preference (-2.5*+ of camber, 0 toe all around), and I am aiming for a ~1.75-2.25" drop in ride height to go with pushing these J10s out to approximately flush. I will not be rolling fenders or anything like that.

So, if anyone can give me a quick and dirty approximation on how much offset I need to gain to move et42 to approximately flush, that'd be great! THEN, I'd love to talk shop about contact patch, unsprung rotational weight, sidewall rollover, and all that other fun stuff

 

[Stubborn Approach]

12mm spacers will put you flush with that offset while increasing tramlining & torque steer, which should be fun with the added bumpsteer from lowering the car.