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I just recently picked up a 2012 TSX wagon and put some ST-X coilovers on it. I've been mulling over wheel choices for a while now and I'd temporarily landed on Niche Targa in 18x9.5 +40 all around.
My goal for the car is to has a pretty aggressive fitment, but I'm not slamming it and I want it to be plenty drivable. My issue is that, because the offsets are what they are, you have to go kind of aggressive on this car to get anything with concavity--which I think is a must, since the styling of the TSX kind of begs for it.
I'm planning on leaving it right around the current height (pictured here):
I'm not seeing a ton of people running 9.5" in the front, and I'd prefer not to, but I think the risk is worth the reward. That said, I just wanted to see if anyone else had run a similar width/offset and what their experiences were. My main concern at this point is sharp turns while exiting parking lots, as NorCal can have some pretty abrupt pavement height changes (and I do share this car with my fiance).
Here's what the wheel looked like when I threw it on really quickly (Note: I didn't have the control arm jacked up at all, so I'm hoping it pulls in considerably):
I am planning on rolling the rear fenders, since I'm sure it'll be necessary. The fronts, I'm hoping they'll be fine as-is. Maybe a hand pull, worst case.
Anyhow, chime in if you have any feedback on fitment or drivability issues given the setup I'm proposing. I've only got the one wheel as of right now because I didn't want to have to pay restocking fees and such if they don't work out. Planning on doing a more in-depth test fit this weekend, if weather allows.
And if anyone lives in the SF bay area and wants to help roll some fenders this weekend, PM me
I have ST-X's too. I went with 18x8.5 +38 and 245/40/18.
Your proposed setup won't fit without a camber kit. My front camber naturally went to -0.5 to -0.7 deg. The rear ended up around -2.7 to -2.9, for reference.
My front wheel sits totally flush with the fender. The tire pulls it clear.
Height as shown. Obviously, they will pull in more as you lower it more. But...I don't think yours will fit without a camber kit.
I forgot to mention tire size. I was looking at 235/40/18. So it would pull in a bit compared to yours, but your photos do cause me some concern about fitment in the front. However, a few friends have assured me a .5" pull in the front is doable by hand without any issues. I wish I had more experience with this stuff because I hate learning on a newer car haha.
Originally Posted by Roland_Bluntzs
I have ST-X's too. I went with 18x8.5 +38 and 245/40/18.
Your proposed setup won't fit without a camber kit. My front camber naturally went to -0.5 to -0.7 deg. The rear ended up around -2.7 to -2.9, for reference.
My front wheel sits totally flush with the fender. The tire pulls it clear.
Height as shown. Obviously, they will pull in more as you lower it more. But...I don't think yours will fit without a camber kit.
Oh and btw, your wagon was the inspiration for the ST-X decision. I was looking at getting them, and once I saw your install thread and review, I pulled the trigger. So thanks for that!
I'm on Tien SA with 19x95 all around. I think +35 offset. There's a sliiiiiight poke in the front but sort of where I want it. Fenders rolled so no rubbing issues. Only when I'm backing out my driveway with the wheel turned all the way. The tire is really close to hitting the fender. I also went with 9.5 in the fronts for more concave on the face. Well worth it. In the process of putting in a bag set up so I could drive slammed with no worries
Interesting. Do you have any pictures of how the front looks? And you rolled the front too? I didn't think there was much to roll there, so I'm curious.
Thanks!
Originally Posted by b_munky419
I'm on Tien SA with 19x95 all around. I think +35 offset. There's a sliiiiiight poke in the front but sort of where I want it. Fenders rolled so no rubbing issues. Only when I'm backing out my driveway with the wheel turned all the way. The tire is really close to hitting the fender. I also went with 9.5 in the fronts for more concave on the face. Well worth it. In the process of putting in a bag set up so I could drive slammed with no worries
Interesting. Do you have any pictures of how the front looks? And you rolled the front too? I didn't think there was much to roll there, so I'm curious.
Looks good. It doesn't seem to have any annoying amount of poke IMO. Did you have to dial any camber in or anything? My coils don't have camber plates and I was hoping not to have to modify anything other than fenders.
Thanks. I didn't have any camber adjustments done. Kept the natural camber and only fixed the toe. My camber is somewhere around the same as the post mentioned above. I wouldn't worry about running 9.5 in the front. You're on coilovers so you could always adjust your height for clearance if needed
I shopped the wheels on quickly and I think they're going to look nice.
Originally Posted by b_munky419
Thanks. I didn't have any camber adjustments done. Kept the natural camber and only fixed the toe. My camber is somewhere around the same as the post mentioned above. I wouldn't worry about running 9.5 in the front. You're on coilovers so you could always adjust your height for clearance if needed
Hah, thanks. Yeah, I was always partial to black interiors but I saw this one and I didn't hate it. And BWP is such a great color, I had to snag this one.
Oh and btw, your wagon was the inspiration for the ST-X decision. I was looking at getting them, and once I saw your install thread and review, I pulled the trigger. So thanks for that!
Ha! Nice! The irony is that I'm selling my ST's haha.
I got an insane deal on mine, so considering that, I'm very happy. I wouldn't mind control over the dampening and camber plates, so next time around I'll probably get something a bit higher end.
I got an insane deal on mine, so considering that, I'm very happy. I wouldn't mind control over the dampening and camber plates, so next time around I'll probably get something a bit higher end.
A little bit of damping adjustment would be nice. The ST's are damped pretty much how you'd want them....but it would be nice to go a click or two down/up.
You can't use camber plates for a double wishbone/multilink car, though.
As for mine...I might return the car to stock to possibly sell/trade it in.
Duh. I keep forgetting the TSX is double wishbone. We were surprised when we found that out. Used to RSXs I guess.
Sorry to hear you're getting rid of the wagon. Just time for something new? For the first time in years, I feel like I might keep this car for a while. I love it for a DD, for its utility and as a compromise to share with the lady. I do need to get a second car soon though. Driving and automatic with all of these great roads around is killing me. Maybe an S2000 or something.
Originally Posted by Roland_Bluntzs
A little bit of damping adjustment would be nice. The ST's are damped pretty much how you'd want them....but it would be nice to go a click or two down/up.
You can't use camber plates for a double wishbone/multilink car, though.
As for mine...I might return the car to stock to possibly sell/trade it in.
Duh. I keep forgetting the TSX is double wishbone. We were surprised when we found that out. Used to RSXs I guess.
Sorry to hear you're getting rid of the wagon. Just time for something new? For the first time in years, I feel like I might keep this car for a while. I love it for a DD, for its utility and as a compromise to share with the lady. I do need to get a second car soon though. Driving and automatic with all of these great roads around is killing me. Maybe an S2000 or something.
Eyeing a white 3 series wagon. Maybe. Unsure AF lol. Its my GF's car either way.
I think her wagon is the only car I would even consider driving as an automatic. I have a manual TSX, ITR and S2000. Always MANual.
Did another test fit today and I think I'm going to find another wheel. They poke about 3/4", and while I'm sure that's a pullable distance, I just don't have the experience or the motivation to do that much without risking damage to the fenders.
So, if anyone has suggestions for lower offset/width wheels that would fit with little/no modification to the front, I'm all ears!
Did another test fit today and I think I'm going to find another wheel. They poke about 3/4", and while I'm sure that's a pullable distance, I just don't have the experience or the motivation to do that much without risking damage to the fenders.
So, if anyone has suggestions for lower offset/width wheels that would fit with little/no modification to the front, I'm all ears!
Roland_Bluntzs, you selling the Enkeis?
I may keep the Enkei's for my sedan. I'll let you know if I change my mind though.
8.5 +35ish is about where you want to be for a "bolt on" style agressive fitment. Mine are 8.5 +38. That is just about all those fenders can eat. I live in the salt belt. Not willing to roll fenders on any winter driven cars lol.
Pro-tip. Buy mudflaps if you plan on buying wheels that are agressive. Or put extra heavy duty plastic shield near your rear door flanks. The rocks from the front wheels will pepper that portion of the car and remove paint very quickly.
I bought a full set of 4 genuine Honda mudflaps in BWP from ebay seller "hammy's auto" for $50 shipped!!!!
Good point. I've got the OEM mudflaps on the car already (see above). So hopefully that's enough.
I spent last night scouring the web and talking to my insane friends and I'm coming back around to running the Niche. I think I'm just going to find someone in the area who can roll/pull for me, that way there's no risk of my ruining the metal and I can stick to the original plan.
I was going to go with a 235/40 anyhow, so it will pull in a bit. And I'm not slamming the car, so the wheel shouldn't come in contact with the fender. But I'll pull the front just to be safe. It's just, the more I look at the "safe" offsets, the more I realize that this car really needs concavity to stand out. And because of crappy offsets from the factory, you kind of have to go wide to achieve that. I think it'll be worth it in the end. I don't want to look at the car every day and wish I'd spent extra time getting the right wheel on it.
Since you're pretty set on these wheels, I think it would be worthwhile to test fit with tires before deciding on a roll/pull. If you find that your tire rubs after a few miles of driving, then sure proceed with the roll and potential pull. You don't wanna do it if you don't need to because it's irreversible, unless you get a new set of fenders.
Since you're pretty set on these wheels, I think it would be worthwhile to test fit with tires before deciding on a roll/pull. If you find that your tire rubs after a few miles of driving, then sure proceed with the roll and potential pull. You don't wanna do it if you don't need to because it's irreversible, unless you get a new set of fenders.
Oh, definitely. I'm going to order everything, get the tires mounted up, and then I'll bring them to whoever I find to do the roll/pull and get it all figured out at once. Then drive for a few days to make sure the ride height is good and get an alignment.
Found a local dude with a great reputation who can roll/pull the fenders and fit the wheels for me. So now I just need to figure out tire size. Most of the people I've seen on the forums running 18x9.5 went with 235/40s, but I have a couple people urging me to bump up to a 245. I'll have to do more searching, but I'm hesitant to go any wider than 235.
235 is going to be quite a stretch. How do you want the tires to look? Prefer more stretch, or more square? IMO, square or slightly under-square looks great. Stretched tires are outdated a bit...
235 is going to be quite a stretch. How do you want the tires to look? Prefer more stretch, or more square? IMO, square or slightly under-square looks great. Stretched tires are outdated a bit...
9.5" section width, and the Conti is 9.5" as well.
A friend of mine was showing me photos of his old 245/40 setup on a 18x9.5 and it looked perfect as well. And it's .1" off from the 245 Conti. So it didn't really help my dilemma
Well since you're set on rolling/pulling, then go 245. I went 235/40 on 9.5 +45 on my first set of wheels (same wheels as chris_cu2) and didn't rub and I was lowered almost 2".
But honestly, don't commit to rolling/pulling until you know you need to!
I have a 2011 wagon and am running 8.5 wides +30 ET with 245/40/18, along with an effective 1-1.5 inch drop (Eibach + Koni, using lower spring perch in front only). That width + offset combo is similar to a 9.5 +45, FWIW, based on the calculators I've used. The rear fenders needed to be rolled, and the front pokes ever so slightly, but I have had no issues with full lock turns or bottoming out. None that I'm aware of anyway. After alignment, camber was around -0.7 front and -2.8 rear, IIRC.
Last edited by Puppetmaster; 01-12-2016 at 02:59 PM.
Oh, and I'm actually also using Conti DW. Great tires btw, but they are starting to get louder. Can't remember how much tread is on them, but it's still a decent amount. Will have to measure that one day.
Oh, and I'm actually also using Conti DW. Great tires btw, but they are starting to get louder. Can't remember how much tread is on them, but it's still a decent amount. Will have to measure that one day.
I'm a fan of these contis for a DD as well. The pilot SS is still a MUCH better tire overall. But you can't beat the price and rain traction of the contis. The ones on the wagon are starting to get louder as well. My Pilots (on my sedan) have like 15-20k on them, still have tons of tread, and are still quiet.
Yeah, absolutely. I got them off Tirerack and I think it was less than $150 per tire, which is ridiculous for the quality. Like you said, the wet traction is so good, I'm willing to accept some tire noise for that sort of grip. I remember owning a set of the older ContiSportContact or whatever and those were freaking loud too.
After much consideration, I went with the 235. I think it was the right choice. Nice amount of stretch for clearance but doesn't look insane.
Got one tire mounted up for now, since the other 3 wheels won't arrive for a while. Taking it to a dude in the Bay Area this weekend to do the roll/pull and should have everything together by mid next week.
That'll be a comfortable fit it seems, esp if you're concerned about the front. Once you roll the rear fenders, there will be a lot of space back there.
That'll be a comfortable fit it seems, esp if you're concerned about the front. Once you roll the rear fenders, there will be a lot of space back there.
Yeah, from what I've seen I'll likely have to run 10mm spacers in the rear to match them to the front. I'm in no rush for that part, though.
Fitted the wheel/tire combo with the fender roller guy and we decided to hold off on doing anything to the front. Rolled the top portion of the rear mildly, since it doesn't have any major clearance issues yet. I'll have to re-check if I go lower and do the 10mm spacers in rear.
Since I'm not slammed, everything seems to fit pretty well so far. The poke in the front is a little more than I'd prefer, but I'll see how it looks once I get all 4 tires on and drive it a bit. May need to dial in some camber or pull the front after all.
Here are a few photos of the one wheel/tire I do have. The rest should be mounted up in the next day or so once the shop gets around to it:
You can't "dial" anymore camber in the front even if you wanted to, unless you get an aftermarket camber kit. Of course, lowering your car further would induce more natural negative camber, but there are no camber adjustments on the OEM arms; only toe.
Your shop made a good call on holding off on the front pull/roll. If you plan on lowering your car some more, do that first and see if it rubs. If it does, then roll/pull.
Wow these wheels look great! Keep it up. Careful pulling the fenders and rolling, don't want to have to deal with paint work after too. Looking forward to the final shot of them on.
Threw the wheels on tonight and I'm happy with the result. No rubbing issues yet, they drive nice and quiet, and look great. I will need to lower the car a bit more and I think I want 5 or 10mm spacers in the rear to even things out. But overall, I'm happy with the sizing.
01-08-2016, 05:49 PM
