(Cross-posted in Fit Shoes thread)

I will be collecting my new Fit EX next week, and have been researching wheel/tire packages for it. There doesn't appear to be a lot of info on the board here yet about wheel fit for the GK Fits, but from what I could gather, the stock wheel & tire specs are:

185/55R16H tires
16” diameter
6.5” width
+45mm offset
56.1mm hub bore
4x100 bolt pattern
12x1.5 lug nuts, ball seat

I used the tire/rim calculator here as well as on a couple other sites, and it looks like a 16x7 wheel with 40mm offset and 205/50R16 tires should work okay without any other mods to the car. That combo is pretty close to the stock circumference and should cause the speedo to indicate approximately 0.24% too fast (negligible). I looked at a couple 17" options, but they all seemed to be 7.5" widths (more likely to rub) and the circumferences were somewhat larger, which would cause more noticeable differences in indicated speed. The 16s should be fine for me - our Central Illinois rural farm roads are more pothole than pavement.

Also, I haven't been able to confirm from what I've read, but it appears the rear wheels may benefit from a wheel spacer (~20mm?) to push the rear tires out to a similar distance from the fender lip as the front tires.

I photoshopped a few photos with the wheels I'm planning to get (Rota RB). I'm also planning to swap my front and rear trim panels for the LX (non-chrome) bits, and that's shown in the images.

If anyone reading this has *actual experience* with this combo on a GK Fit, please confirm it will work (e.g. no rubbing). I don't plan on any suspension mods, other than maybe a rear sway bar if they ever come available.

Looking forward to my new Fit!

es

 

i was just playing around with a tire/wheel calculator doing the same thing. now that tire rack is listing the 2015 model, they are saying the 16x7 +40 will work, but with the stock 185/55 or 195/55, not a 205.

after a quick inspection, there is less room to work with on the front of the car vs the rear. again, this is stock with no camber changes up front.

i think the 16x7+40 w/ 205/60-16 will easily work in the back, but not sure about up front. i still need to do a little more research.

 

Where did you find the wheel specs at? Edmunds shows the wheel being 6".

 

The idea of Rotas on a brand new car will never cease to blow my mind.

 

why? sure, there have been failures, but all manufacturer's wheels have failed at some point. we see more of the failures because there are SO many wheels that are on the market. just a case of averages.

i am looking at a set of rotas myself, new, so i know the history.

 

There aren't THAT many sets of Rotas out there though. At least not proportionately in relation to the number of issues.

That and I just find it wild people will pay for a brand new car, but then cheap out on bargain basement wheels.

 

Maybe some folks don't want to drop another $3K on ”top of the line" wheels and tires? Personally, I want to subtly change the look of the car without spending a mint doing it.

It's been decades since I last bought a set of wheels (so I'm not familiar with who makes what these days or their reputations), and I didn't run across any warnings about Rota when researching. What's the specific issue?

If you know of another manufacturer that makes a "quality" Minilite lookalike wheel, please let me know - happy to consider them.

es

 

Look up 'Rota cracking' or shattering. That's what Rotas do when faced with an impact of some sort, a good wheel should bend.

What about the Enkei Compe?

 

Thanks for the tip on the Compe - looks good, but the offered backspacing is too aggressive for a stock-suspensioned car, unfortunately. I'm also looking for a black center/machined lip wheel, and these are not offered that way.

EDIT - I found another minilite-like wheel that's a Konig brand (link). Price looks good. Any comments on their quality reputation?

I did turn up a number of hits when searching for Rota cracking as suggested, but not many within the past year, and most seemed to be related to folks racing or otherwise hooning (not all, of course). Not everyone agrees the Rotas are sub-par product (this being the internet and all) - here's one link, for example: Rota Quality Testing

If I can find an alternative that's not $750 a wheel and looks like a minilite, I'll seriously consider it, but after reading a bit, I think I'd be okay giving the Rotas a shot - my hooning days are mostly behind me at this point .

On this site, actually. Link

Perhaps the 6" width listed at Edmunds is for the 15" steel wheels on the LX? Or perhaps the info in that thread is wrong - anyone care to go measure/look and confirm?

es

 

Here's a video on the quality testing of a quality Japanese wheel vs. a replica.


That said, do what fits your needs best. If you do go with Rota/Konig...I sincerely hope they function perfectly.

 

Nah mang! They had a heavier weight on the left hand side hitting the imitation wheel. That's why the weight on the right bounced off the wheel more. Of course the heavier weight is gonna crack the wheel.

 

The video says "imitation," which could be a counterfeit product (which are rarely made to anything close to OEM specs, in my experience working for a Fortune 100 manufacturing company that often has parts counterfeited). They could also be comparing forged to cast, and a forged part is generally going to hold up much better. The grade of aluminum could also be different between the two. Without knowing exactly what they were comparing, the video only serves to create FUD on the manufacturer's competitors products.

A test between a Rota (or Konig, or whatever) wheel and another brand wheel *of the same design* would provide actual facts and data one could use to make a decision on relative quality.

I suspect the lack of bouncing was because the wheel cracked, rather than differing setups on the two testing machines. Kind of like how a cracked bell will clunk, not ring…

At any rate, I have yet to find a minilite-style wheel from other manufacturers. Will keep looking – I don't mind spending $6-800 for a set of wheels (w/o tires) if I can find something in the look I want at a high quality level.

es

 

weds is the ish. it didnt even get scratched!

 

If I were you....

I'd buy used Watanabe RS8's.

Watanabe has been making minilte-styled wheels for 30-40 years, and are one of the great wheel manufacturers of all time.

Used RS8's can also be had very inexpensively.

 

Thanks for the tip - they look good (new is too expensive!). No luck immediately finding used in a 16x7 4-100 +40, though. Will poke around a bit more.

It also looks like Minilite may offer a "true" Minilite in a 16x7, but I'll probably have to contact them directly to confirm if the specs above are available.

Panasport FZ wheels are also an option, but same issue as above - I'll have to get a quote.

My guess is that both those options will be too spend…

es

 

Just a quick respone to this...Rotas are imitation products, as are Konigs.

For example:

Volk CE28N



Konig something or other

 

I understand… my point was there's a difference between a well-made "lookalike" and a counterfeit "lookalike" made with substandard materials and processes. The video's not clear what they mean by "imitation."

 

Most Japanese brands use high end casting and/or forging processes, as well as high quality alloys.

Most "off brand" wheels are made with lower end alloys and more basic casting methods.

 

you mean you actually get what you pay for? no way

 

Continuing to research wheels for my EX, and thought I'd add a couple links that I found helpful.

Wheel Construction - explains differences between the casting and forging processes.

If you're going racing, a forged wheel is definitely a wise choice. Since it looks like most OEM wheels are cast (low pressure casting according to the article), I would expect for DD usage, a similar cast wheel will hold up just as well.

Interactive wheel and tire size calculator - compare two different sizes with each other, with clearance recommendation (not vehicle specific, tho) as well as differences in indicated speed based on tire circumference.

es