Running ET21 for 306 wheels?

[Pipps]

I got the wheels I have been looking yesterday - a set of 17" 307 Challengers (6.5" ET31) on 195/40/R17 tyres for £250.



I am thinking of fitting 10mm hubcentric spacers and running them at ET21 in order to sit a little deeper under the front arches and hopefully avoid any rubbing.

Question: Any thoughts on running 306 wheels at ET21, instead of the standard ET18?

[Ben]

Would have thought they would be quite close to rubbing on the inside arch at the back, and maybe rubbing on the inside at the front on full lock?

[Pipps]

Would have thought they would be quite close to rubbing on the inside arch at the back, and maybe rubbing on the inside at the front on full lock?

That might be true. I suppose it's more likely to be the case for 7" wide wheels. Do you thikn it would be less likely for 6.5" wide wheels?

[CJ_Derv]

Does your car have 5 wheels :O mine only has 4 :S lol

Nice wheels just never been a fan of handling on these 15" all the way IMO

[Pipps]

Would having the wheels sit 3mm deeper really be likely to cause any steering problems?

[Oil-burner]

Your forgetting the extra width of the wheels!
I've got 6.5j, et31 wheels with 15mm spacers and they are close at the back!
Try this

http://www.willtheyfit.com/

That's 15mm closer to the inside edge!

[Pipps]

I fitted the new wheels this evening - ET31 with 10mm hubcentric spacers and 46mm flat-seated bolts.

I'm pleased to report that there is not rubbing at the rear at the inside of the boot's arch-liner.

Also, no problem at the front with steering on on full-lock.

They also look fine - they don't look as if they're sitting too deep within the wheel arch at all. Photos to follow.

This seems to conclude that ET21 is fine for a 306 - and with the improved arch clearance, it is arguably even better than standard!

[Pipps]

I can provide a quick update after six months of running these Challengers at ET21.

When I posted earlier above, I was running 10mm spacers with the Challengers. I have now updated to 20mm spacers. It has definitely been worthwhile doing it.

On 10mm spacers, I had a lot of creaking coming from my coilovers at the front corners. There could have been some internal rubbing before.

The thing which forced me to upgrade, was having two front punctures within two weeks. It turns out that the wheel was rotating so closely to the coilover, that upon accidentally hitting a dangerously deep pothole one day, the tyre was punctured by colliding with the coilover.

I am now running 20mm spacers, and there seems to be much better 'internal' clearance and no longer any rubbing of the wheels against the coilovers.

There is also still no external clearance issues either. While I did roll my front arches some time ago, which appears to have been necessary with a 70mm front drop, I have not needed to do anything with my rear arches - they are completely standard and even still have the arch liners inside them.

I want to fit the front arch liners back inside the front arches next. So time will tell if this will be successful.