Staggered wheels on awd...

[turbowop]

Quoting prove_it:
Just thought of another question, if you were using a four gear spider for a center diff instead of a VCD, could you run with different sized tires front and back without damaging the trans?



The only thing different is that the center diff has two extra spider gears. It still uses the viscous coupling like the stock two-spider diff.

 

[H05TYL]

Quoting prove_it:
so pretty much in conclusion we've learned today that staggering looks good, however is best left for the track only.

Next question: Running a wider rim and stretching the tire like that basically increases the slip angle of the tire, or does it decrease it? I'm under the assumption that it increases it.



There isn't actually any stretch going on there at all - both those rim sizes are inside the manufacturers specs for that size tire.

In a case where there is actually some stretch happening (for example, a 215/45 on a 9" rim) the supposed benefits are: Reduced sidewall flex, improving feel/response - this also reduces the absolute ultimate amount of grip available by a small amount, but in the case of drifting it also makes the transition from gripping to sliding less sudden, and much more predictable.

 

[atc250r]

I agree that it isn't really a "stretch" but on a narrower wheel the tire will effectively be taller than on a wider one.

John

 

[RedTwo]

Ah-ha, I found the old Bozz Speed Evo article. (sorry dial up dictates that I must crop the original down from 3 megs)
It runs the factory center diff, but also has adjustable LSDs at either end of the car. The width of the wheel only seems to make the sidewall more or less vertical.

 

Quoting crankwalk:
^Who else uses staggered on this board?

No its not my daily, it's a semi built tranny. The reason I haven't just done it is that the car is getting painted and I was looking at the other wheels in the garage and thinking about throwing them on but wanted to get some input first. If the car was just here they would have been on by now from the responses I have gotten.



Jay back in 98 when I first bought my VR4 I put a set of 3 piece Racing Hart C5's in 17 x 7.5 with +38 offset in the front and +44 in the rear (come to think of it I still have those wheels at a friends house in LI). They were on the car for 5 years + and I noticed no ill effects. I've also used two new tires and two older tires on my Evo without issue. I say if you want to try them go ahead.

Daryl

 

[boostedinaz]

If they were the same width but had a different offset that isn't really staggered. It may have given the look of a staggered fitment though.

 

[prove_it]

Quoting prove_it:
so pretty much in conclusion we've learned today that staggering looks good, however is best left for the track only.





Oh my bad, I put a period instead of a question mark. Should have read:

so pretty much in conclusion we've learned today that staggering looks good, however is best left for the track only ?
I was a bit unclear, but I get it now thanks to the last couple posts.

 

I searched for an older thread that discussed this, and my scans of an SCC article that explained it, but it appears to have been deleted. In a nutshell, you should be ok. If you want to get any benefit out of it though the 8" wheels have to go up front and the 7" wheels in the back. If you do it the other way around you'll be one cool tool, I guess. The awd Nissans and Toyotas that someone mentioned of evidence as to why staggered wheels w/awd is ok use a totally different awd system and so have no bearing on this discussion, which is how the mitsu system would react. The key difference being that our setup is full time with a normal 50/50 torque split, whereas the others are a rear drive type that send torque forward as necessary, and are therefore much more accommodating of different size tires (as long as the difference between them remains the same, so as to appease the factory computers).

Quoting crankwalk:
OK, so I know you aren't supposed to do it but I have a set of wheels laying around and I want to see what the ruckus is about. I have a set of wheels 17x7 and 17x8 +32 all the way around and 225s all the way around. Obviously the rear wheels are wider but the tires are the same width all the way around. Will that work or does it even matter?

I have heard about "You can't do it unless the contact patch is the same front and rear etc" but anybody have firsthand experience. The wheels are hot and I'd like to throw them on for a bit if I could but I dont want to completely ruin my drivetrain. No hearsay, just facts and first hand evidence please. Like Toybreaker style facts.

Overall diameter is what messes up drivetrains from what I have researched and these would be fine.

 

Just an small update for reference purposes, the car feels great just cruising around the neighborhood with the staggered wheels. Not that it matters much, the real proof is a long term test which I can update. But as for now with 2-3 miles the staggered is working out with no ill effects like crazy noises or drivetrains falling out.

 

[G]

Quoting crankwalk:
^Who else uses staggered on this board?

No its not my daily, it's a semi built tranny. The reason I haven't just done it is that the car is getting painted and I was looking at the other wheels in the garage and thinking about throwing them on but wanted to get some input first. If the car was just here they would have been on by now from the responses I have gotten.



My staggered wheels just came in from jp, special order took 3 months /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif click

 

[Terrance362]

Very nice I like the sti with the RPF's

 

[Tre3zy]

i was there on the hella flush meet.... there was a galant gsr in front of the shop that day but i couldnt find the owner LOL

 

Ok well its been 6 months and 120 miles. Still no driveline issues/noises. Granted its not a lot of miles but I only put about 200 miles on my play cars a year. If it takes 15k miles of staggered wheels to wear the driveline out I don't think I'll be able to tell if it was from the wheels or 400hp wide f**king open everytime I get it out.