Vibe R Replica...19x11.5 vs 12"

...well, I guess this could apply to any wheel, but wanted to air this one out before pulling the trigger.

So somewhere buried in the Vibe thread about the forged R replica wheels, Jake mentioned being able to do a 12" wheel. It didn't seem to gain any traction and I don't think anyone else even responded. I've been struggling with tire choice because IMO (and this is all just my personal preference), I think most of the 325's out right now are too wide on the 11.5" wheel. I prefer a little more stretch than that. (If folks would come out with more 315 offerings, that would be perfect, but that's another topic). So for me, most 325's would fit pretty good on a 12". I'm sure you guys are like me and know that a 1/2" when it comes to wheels/tires can make a significant difference.

So I called and talked to Jake and got the details on the wheel. A 19x12 replica would look and fit exactly like the 11.5 R specs. Once all done and the offset is adjusted accordingly, that extra 1/2" would all sit to the inside, leaving stock R "poke" as it were, and visual appearance.

So that's why I wanted to throw it out to you guys...any reason you can think of to not go this route? Any reason a 12" would not be good? Am I missing anything? Yes, plan is to just run a 325/30 on it; I don't want wider than that. Thanks guys.

When I got my 6GR 5 spoke wheels, I was concerned about the clearance to the shock at the rear. It was really close, but OK. Adding another 1/2" of wheel/tire back there - I'd be a little skeptical. Trust but verify!

I stuck a set of 325/30's on OEM 11" rims. With the OEM 62mm offset, the inside sidewall rubs on the upper shock mount. The interference is small, so I suspect that if I had 11.5" rims with 56mm offset, they'd fit ok, at least to the inside.

That means that your idea of going from 11.5" to 12" and putting the extra half-inch on the inside will probably cause the tire to rub. If you split the extra equally, keeping the 56mm offset of the "R" wheels, it might just work. Keep in mind that it's the tire that has to fit, not the rim. If you widen the rim by 0.25" on each side, the tire will be about 0.15" wider to each side, which isn't a lot. It's when you push it all to one side that you're at risk of running out of room.

And before anyone jumps on me for putting 325's on 11's, the manufacturer's spec sheet for the tire is 11" to 12".

I also wonder how much weight 1/2" would add?

A ~19" dia ring of aluminum, ~.25 thick and .50 wide would weigh ~0.75 lbs. Proportion the weight relative to the thickness.

There used to be a super cool interactive backspace calculator with awesome visuals on line, but now I can’t find it. Was gonna throw the idea into that, and take the results to compare to on the car.

Is it fair to say the consensus is as long as it doesn’t rub on anything on the inside, then there’s not much reason to avoid a 12”?

I think it depends on your tire plans. If you get a set of 12" rims, you're pretty much committed to 325's if you want to run DOT tires. Michelin says a 305/35 MPSS can go on a 12, but the narrowest MPSC2's, MPS4S's, NT01's and Trofeo R's are the 325/30's. If 325's don't fit, you might get a tire shop to mount 305's for you, but they might decline if they know it's beyond the manufacturer's specifications.

The exception to all this is Hoosier, and they say 295's, 315's, 325's and 345's can go on 12" rims, so if you're planning to run R7's or A7's, 12's work fine.

Tire plans would ideally be a 315, but as we know, noting available but SC2's. Thus I'm forced to a 325; have zero intentions to run a 305 as I love the staggered look, so no threat there. If anything, I'd go back to a 315 if they ever came out with one. And considering how wide some of the Michelins and other brands run, a 315 would be safe, and even ideal in terms of the look I want.