38 replies to this topic

[Evan]

Hi Everyone.

 

After a lot of searching there is very little information on how to get 10 inch rims on all for corners of a flared Torana.

In light of this, i thought i would share my journey for other people who are attempting this in future and to gain as much information from other people that have done this.

 

I will only cover the front suspension as the rears are the easy part and have been covered elsewhere.

 

I have seen photos of race cars with Performance alloy challengers so i thought i would go with these rims as i currently have them and they are relatively affordable.

 

Tyres i am using are Yokohama 285/40/15. These are currently available in Australia but are only made in batches so i will have to remember to get my order in early when i am due for new tyres. Your other options are Michelin TB15's which like the AVS Yoko's, are road legal and  are sometimes available as they are popular with the old school Porsche / lambo guys.

 

My current set up is as follows.

 

Performance alloy challengers 15x10.

LX K frame.

UC upper arms.

Torana stub axles.

LX torana Lower arms.

290mm hoppers kit.

AxisTr Power steering kit

Commodore offsets. (22mm wider each side? It was a few years since i ordered my hopper stoppers and did the diff conversion.)

1200 pound, 1 inch lowered king springs.

Koni adjustable shocks.

Cut guards under flares.

Cut, recessed and welded fire wall.

KMAC front mount sway bar.

 

As you can see they they stick out the flares a little and full lock in not achievable. This is only due to the flares. With the flare off it only slightly touches the kmac sway bar which i will bend in an extra cm or 2 for full clearance.

 

From my research, there is nobody that makes an extra wide flare like i have got on the rear. The bloke that i got the extra wide rear flares off said he only has a extra long front flare which is 1 inch longer from front to back. In light of this, today i started the flare modifications.

 

If anybody has any information about wider and longer front flares i would like to know.  From pictures i have seen, it does look like the cars with 10 inch rims on the front have wider flares. I could be mistaken or if anyone knows of who makes them, i would love to know. I'm thinking that they would just be a custom job.

 

I only have a few pics of the start but will keep updating this thread on the flare mods.

 

Evan.

 

 

[/URL]

 

 

[/URL]

 

 

[/URL]

 

 

[/URL]

 

 

 

 

 

 

[N/A-PWR]

Hi Evan,

I wonder how the tyre will wear being steering wheels? anyhow great look and the TA rubber pattern brings back memory's. Dave I

[Ice]

Hi Evan,
I wonder how the tyre will wear being steering wheels? anyhow great look and the TA rubber pattern brings back memory's. Dave I

arh there yokis

[Statler]

Who needs suspension travel anyway? 

[76lxhatch]

I wonder how the tyre will wear being steering wheels?

Should be OK if set up right, wide tyres tend to wear in the centre and fronts on a Torana tend to wear the outsides (balance the negative with your driving style to keep it even).

So are you saying they clear the firewall at full lock? My biggest concern would be the effect on steering feel and tramlining with such a big positive scrub radius, with a bit of luck some extra toe in will dial it out. Having wider front track to make up for the wide rear will be good though.

I think you'll just have to make or modify your own flares (maybe using pieces of a pair of the wide rears?). Will look awesome!

[N/A-PWR]

Hi All,

Here is a Link to your tyres now, 4 pairs:-

 

http://www.ebay.com....1#ht_482wt_1184

[Evan]

Hi All. 

 

 

These tyres are cheaper from the tyre shop than on ebay, Got them for about $440 each, fitted and balanced. My tyre guys said there were 96 tyres left in Australia.

 

76LXhatch, Yes they clear the fire wall at full lock. They clear better than the tyres and rims i had before (15x8 challengers with 225/50/15)  I have done the cut job on the firewall previously. I will put some photos of how much i recessed it. It was only about and inch.

My track is both the same front and back as i got the diff done too.

 

Im not sure how they drive. All going well i should know by next week.

[Heath]

Geeze that'd be a lot of scrub radius wouldn't it?

[Struggler]

Years ago I had 15x10 Hotwires front and rear on my Gp C A9X. Front tyres were 265/50R15 Yoko 352's.

 

The firewall/footwell area was heavily beaten and I ended up with about 5° neg camber to get the top of the tyre under the guard.

 

I cut the life out of the flares at the lip and front and rear. I later had someone look at it and inquire why I didn't just make an extra-long flare from 2 normal ones.... That would have looked a lot better.

 

FWIW it was very hard to steer at walking pace, the powersteer is a wise investment !

[Evan]

Cheers for the info Strugler, that's a good idea about the 2 flares joined together.

 

I have put some progress pics up of the new flares.

 

Not only have i extended the flares by about 5 inches, but have changed the angle in which they sit so they stick out further.

 

Cheers

 

Evan.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[myss427]

I have 9.5 inch on the front with 5.5 backspace and they don't touch anywhere. Took a couple of wedges out of the flares, glassed them up and you can't tell. I think a lot of the clearance is from great flares to start with, most you see these days curl at the bottom and need work just to bolt up.

[REDA9X]

10 inch Mawers all round no flare mods

 

[a9x868]

10 inch Mawers all round no flare mods
 

no roadworthy certificate there red the tyres are bald!!!!

[REDA9X]

Not bald, slicks.

[Evan]

Hi Red. Are those Mawers 14 inch rims?

 

MySS427 is correct, as there are so many combinations in flares, some allow for better clearance than others. The other thing i had to consider was that as i do some track work extra clearance has to be made for these conditions. I have had flares in the past that were fine on the street but scrubbed horrendously on the track.

 

I haven't done much over the last few days but will get back into it soon and hopefully have some pics of the finished products soon.

 

Evan.

[REDA9X]

They are Mawers, they are 15".

 

 

[LS1LX]

The car needs to be sitting low and at least 4-6 -deg camber.

If you want your 0 camber your wheels are going to stick out, like in your pics.

[Evan]

wow time fly's!

 

I have to update this thread.

 

Have been super busy in the last year and haven't had much time to work on the car.

 

They are 80% finished.  A few last bits of glass to do and then get them looking pretty. 

 

I want to get some track time in first to make sure they dont scrub at high speed.  I took it a few months back but had to retire early due to ignition issues causing lots of exhaust smoke due to unburnt fuel.  I wondered why my eyes used to burn when driving it!

 

I had it wheel aligned with 1.4 -deg of camber. They fit under the flares and im impressed with the handling. I wont truly know until i do some timed laps in it.

 

Next time i take it out ill post up some more photos.

 

Evan.

[Evan]

 

[LXCHEV]

Interesting thread. Instantly made me think of Glenn - does anyone else remember Glenn's A9X from quite a few years ago? (ultrabluea9x). Not sure if he's still around the forums these days, but his sedan was just about the fattest Torana (sedan) I've ever seen and had the pleasure of cruising with. I probably still rate LITRE8 as my all time favourite Torana, but jeez Glenn's A9X comes close. There's something about the colour, the stance, the fat wheels filling out the flares, and the colour contrast of the Simmons.... what a beautiful combination....

 

15 x 10's front, and stuff the 10's.... we're talking 15 x 12's on the ass. Not bad for a sedan! He was running Yokohoma's all round. 345/40x15's up back, and I can't remember front sizes, but fairly sure they would be the common 285/40x15. I even recall Glenn telling me it drove like a dream and wasn't overly heavy in the steering.... it was pure car porn watching it on the road. Best wheel/tyre combo I've ever seen on a Torana full stop.

 

Not great photos, but here's a few from a very early GMH-Torana forum cruise we did....

 

If you look close, you'll notice the side exit exhaust too...

 

 

Bloody hell - look at those front bags!!!!

 

 

This was back when I only had 8.5" wide Convo's on the rear of mine with 265/50x15's... makes them look like cheese-cutters. Mine sits a tonne lower, but with 345's, you don't need low to have a mean stance. My 10's look much better these days, but still not a bar on those sweet 12's...

 

 

 

 

 

 

Another rear comparison - this hatch runs 8's on the rear I think. Makes them look half the size....

 

[LXCHEV]

Yeah I've often wondered where this car is now too.