I finally got around to getting some new wheels for my '92 ES. I didn't want anything too big or expensive, so I bought some 2GS 16x5.5(? not sure about the width) wheels because they were conservative, but they looked nice.

Anyway, I'm just walking inside at the moment from attempting to put them on. Front went on with no problem, and it looked great. I was excited. Went to put the rear on...not so good. The wheel was touching the strut. I've read around from plenty of people about putting wheels on, and I just thought that 5.5 width not fitting was a bit strange. I looked at the rear stock rim on the other side...there's about a finger's worth of clearance between the stock rim and the strut. We examined the strut closer, and it looks like it might be broken or at least damaged.

But, I'm not giving up hope yet. Could I just purchase spacers to get the wheels to fit? Or am I going to need to replace a lot more than that in the suspension? I'm a n00b when it comes to car mechanics, so I'm turning to the trusty guys here at CL for help. Sorry this was so long, and thanks in advance for any help.

-Colin

 

If the strut looks damaged, dont hesistate to replace it first. THEN try the rims again.

 

I doubt the wheels are 5.5 wide, more like 7.5. Anyways, you should be fine with a 5mm spacer, no big deal. Lots of people use spacers with various wheels to clear the struts. Best of luck!!

 

7.5 sounds right. My stocks are 6 wide so...yeah haha. My mom has a GS with the stock wheels but smaller tires on, so we're going to try that tomorrow, and if that doesn't work, we'll resort to spacers. And Ray - we'll take a closer look at the strut to make sure it's not broken. Thanks guys!

 

Alright, update time. We tried my mom's rims (same wheels, but 215s instead of 225s) and it was closer to fitting, but didn't quite fit. So I think I'm going to go with spacers. My question is, what's an average price that a shop would run to install them? And is there anyway to calculate what size spacer I'll need exactly or should I just overshoot (better safe than sorry)?

 

I have 17x7.5 all around with 205/45 tires and don't need spacers at all! I am also dropped 2inches.

 

I see. So 205s would probably fit on the GS wheels? They're 16x7 or 7.5 as far as I know.

 

it should be stamped on the inside of the wheel! post a pic of all the markings if you can!

but 205's will fit fine on 7.5's

 

Do you think you could post some pics or pm me with some pics of you ES with the GS wheels? I'm thinking about getting a set of the GS wheels myself. Thanks!

 

I'll check it out. They're 7 inches wide so they should be fine.

Mike - I'll post a picture once I get them on! They looked pretty good for the 5 minutes I had them on there. Does anyone know about what it would cost to get spacers installed at a shop?

 

^^From what I've seen and read, it doesn't seem very hard to install spacers. Somebody correct me if I'm wrong. So if what I've seen is true, then I would say install them yourself.