Fitting 17" Simmons Wheels on a vortex

Johnny T · Post by **Johnny T** » Mon May 25, 2015 11:01 am

Hey guys,

Just wanted to know if it is possible to fit 17's onto a Vortex without adjusting the ride height.

As I had some free time and I wanted to know if you can get custom wheels made with the 4x140 stud pattern so I contacted Simmons Wheels and they said they can make them to any stud pattern.

Later on when my car is actually running and is safe to drive I wouldn't mind putting some new rims and finding out that Simmons can make the stud pattern was a bonus, only issues that might be is the height clearance and space.

Does anyone know if it would be possible for 17's to fit on these cars?

dfoyl · Post by **dfoyl** » Mon May 25, 2015 11:37 am

17's on a Vortex would be a bit of a stretch if you want to keep the same overall OD (and therefore same ride height, and keep your speedo accurate). You'd probably be looking at 40 profile tyres, maybe 45 profile (assuming you don't change the width).

What are a set of custom pattern Simmons going to cost - $2k ?

wagonist · Post by **wagonist** » Mon May 25, 2015 12:46 pm

17s on a Vortex go not too bad (especially as the guards are wider), but you prob won't be able to keep the same overall diameter.
Seeing as Vortex's had disc brakes all round, you're better off getting the hubs re-drilled for 4x114.3, then you've got a much larger choice of wheel to choose. Just watch out for the hub locators. A mate of mine had this done to his Vortex to fit a set of 17s I got off a crashed Excel I'd bought.
If you go custom rims, what happens when you bend one...

Johnny T · Post by **Johnny T** » Mon May 25, 2015 1:34 pm

Thanks for the reply guys,

I'm waiting to get a quote and some specs on the rims.

When you put larger wheels on a car can you get it celebrated to suit the speedo?

Also if the wheels get bent, I’ll just end up crying lol

As I am a long way from this stage for the car, it is just getting quotes and seeing if it is possible

and also helps anyone else who wants to put some new rims on the car too without using a new break & suspension kit

Johnny T · Post by **Johnny T** » Mon May 25, 2015 2:22 pm

Just got a quote back from Simmons

They are $770 each wheel in 3 piece and need 4 weeks to make them.

I have also asked what the rim width is and offset and once I get an answer I will post the details up, fingers crossed we can make it all work and hope it helps someone who is also looking for something differnt option.

Post by **TOONGA** » Mon May 25, 2015 7:12 pm

The offset would have to be the same as the stock subaru rim for the tyre and rim to sit within the wheel arch properly.

to go from a 185/75/13 to a 17 inch wheel you could use a 215/40/17 which would be close to the original tyre aspect ratio but wider.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/tirecalc?ti ... -215-40r17

it is a fun calculator to play with

TOONGA

wagonist · Post by **wagonist** » Tue May 26, 2015 9:47 am

It would prob cost a machine shop maybe less than $200 to redrill the hubs. You don't need to fill in the old stud holes, so the pattern can be changed back (but who'd want to).
Off the shelf 4x114.3 rims would be $200ea, $400ea for good ones.
You do the maths

Johnny T · Post by **Johnny T** » Tue May 26, 2015 1:54 pm

Thanks for the reply guys,

I dont think I would redrill the original hubs, just depends if the person stuffs something up I dont have any replacements lol.

I did get a reply back from Simons and they can make the rim to any width and offsett so now its just a matter of time i can get some cash and fix everything on the subi

dfoyl · Post by **dfoyl** » Tue May 26, 2015 2:56 pm

Sweet zombie Jesus, $3080 for a set of 17" wheels. I like the look of Simmons wheels, but that's a lot of money these days for alloys. I'd spend the money on a Cr0ss**** kit ($1000) and get a nice set of 5x100 Simmons for less than a grand. Improve your brakes instead of just the looks of the car at the same time. You could get $300-500 back on the rear discs to a Brumby driver looking to upgrade too, which would easily cover the costs of EJ front brakes, hubs and struts.
On calibration, yes there are a few options. There are some over-under drive mechanical units around (have a look at a thread from Ben James when he put 14's on his L wagon), and most speedo shops can still do it too. I would strongly recommend NOT increasing the OD however (at least, not significantly increasing it!), or again you'll have the same problem Ben had.

Johnny T · Post by **Johnny T** » Tue May 26, 2015 3:05 pm

I know its expensive

and you have to add postage too so it properly ends up being around 4k, only problem is that Cross B doesnt make the kit anymore, would be great if they started making the kit again.

dfoyl · Post by **dfoyl** » Wed May 27, 2015 2:44 pm

There are a few kits kicking around that come up for sale, or otherwise create your own with XT6 hubs and pick-a-part the rest. The XT6 hubs I have seen up for sale 4 times in the past 6 months on USMB (I bought one pair of them, I think another went to Sydney, the third didn't sell AFAIK (wanted $300 US just for the hubs) and the last one sold for $250 as a complete rear end.

YouTube · Post by **El_Freddo** » Wed May 27, 2015 9:20 pm

Can totally be done. But you'll have rubber bands for tyres!

And at that price you could have another vortex or two! But you'd have a pretty unique vortex with a set of wheels like that!

Cheers

Bennie