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[Spin_dry]

I purchased 4 GTS-r's from Tirerack on Thursday. The price was great. $860 and change including delivery. I think the grey with red stripe will look decent on my sapphire black 135. My concern is with wheel durability. There seems to be several posting complaining about durability. Did Breyton have a bad batch of wheels a few year back or are these fragile wheels? Additionally, I'm going with a square, 8.5" width set up. What it the widest tire that can be used and with what size spacer for the front? Car is stock height.

[Pig Farmer]

I ran a set of Breyton GTS-Rs for a several years without any issues. I still think they are one of the best looking wheels out there, but I was looking to go a little wider. I wouldn't recommend dive bombing pot holes with the GTS-Rs but if you watch your tire pressures you should be fine. Quite honestly the same advice goes for any set of light weight wheels.

If you're looking to go square with a reasonable contact patch in both the front and rear, I would recommend 245/35s all around. I know you can get PSSs in this size, but other options are a bit limited. To clear the strut tube with a tire this size, you will want an offset of ET42 on an 8.5" wheel. I believe the 8.5" Breytons are ET48 (please double check) which means you would need a 6mm spacer. If this is the case (after confirming the wheels' offset), you may run into an issue finding a 6mm hub centric spacer since the lip on the OE hub is around 6mm. In addition, you will need to max out the negative camber in the front, and may even need a slight fender role. Maybe someone running 245/35 tires on the OE suspension can weigh-in what is needed.

If you can live with 235/40s on all four corners, you may get away with a 3mm spacer to clear the strut tube, but you could be faced with brake caliper clearance issues. I seem to recall that the 8.5" GTS-Rs did not clear the front brake caliper without a spacer, but I never spent the time to figure out what spacer would work. Come to think of it, I may have been testing the fitment with Stoptech ST/60 calipers so you may be fine with OE calipers, but it's definitely something to consider.

[Spin_dry]

Originally Posted by Pig Farmer

I ran a set of Breyton GTS-Rs for a several years without any issues. I still think they are one of the best looking wheels out there, but I was looking to go a little wider. I wouldn't recommend dive bombing pot holes with the GTS-Rs but if you watch your tire pressures you should be fine. Quite honestly the same advice goes for any set of light weight wheels.

If you're looking to go square with a reasonable contact patch in both the front and rear, I would recommend 245/35s all around. I know you can get PSSs in this size, but other options are a bit limited. To clear the strut tube with a tire this size, you will want an offset of ET42 on an 8.5" wheel. I believe the 8.5" Breytons are ET48 (please double check) which means you would need a 6mm spacer. If this is the case (after confirming the wheels' offset), you may run into an issue finding a 6mm hub centric spacer since the lip on the OE hub is around 6mm. In addition, you will need to max out the negative camber in the front, and may even need a slight fender role. Maybe someone running 245/35 tires on the OE suspension can weigh-in what is needed.

If you can live with 235/40s on all four corners, you may get away with a 3mm spacer to clear the strut tube, but you could be faced with brake caliper clearance issues. I seem to recall that the 8.5" GTS-Rs did not clear the front brake caliper without a spacer, but I never spent the time to figure out what spacer would work. Come to think of it, I may have been testing the fitment with Stoptech ST/60 calipers so you may be fine with OE calipers, but it's definitely something to consider.

I'd like to use 245 tires on all four corners. There's a few postings indicating that a 5mm spacer did the trick. Good to hear that you had decent luck with the wheels. I really do like the style.

[Spin_dry]

The wheels arrived today. They sure are lightweight.

[Jayymose]

Pics????

[Spin_dry]

Originally Posted by 1hot135I

Pics????

I won't be installing the wheels until spring.

[killerhurtalot]

Originally Posted by Spin_dry

I'd like to use 245 tires on all four corners. There's a few postings indicating that a 5mm spacer did the trick. Good to hear that you had decent luck with the wheels. I really do like the style.

You're not going to be able to fit 245 tires (The skinnier ones might... but not something like PSS, PS A/S 3, or Pirelli Zeros and etc...) on all 4 corners without some camber. The front will rub even with rolled fenders.

[BrokenVert]

Originally Posted by killerhurtalot

You're not going to be able to fit 245 tires (The skinnier ones might... but not something like PSS, PS A/S 3, or Pirelli Zeros and etc...) on all 4 corners without some camber. The front will rub even with rolled fenders.

That's because rolling fenders on the front does nothing. Front tires strike the bracket connecting the front bumper to the fender. Not the fender itself.

[killerhurtalot]

Originally Posted by BrokenVert

That's because rolling fenders on the front does nothing. Front tires strike the bracket connecting the front bumper to the fender. Not the fender itself.

some members reported some rubbing on the fender on bumps and during high speed corners...

[BrokenVert]

Originally Posted by killerhurtalot

some members reported some rubbing on the fender on bumps and during high speed corners...

I've run 245s up front for 4 years. They rub the bracket.

[killerhurtalot]

Originally Posted by BrokenVert

I've run 245s up front for 4 years. They rub the bracket.

what tires?

[BrokenVert]

Originally Posted by killerhurtalot

what tires?

245/40 17 Star Specs originally, those rubbed slightly on heavy dips. Switched to the same sized PSS last year, those don't rub. Same wheel for both a 17x8 et40

[killerhurtalot]

Originally Posted by BrokenVert

245/40 17 Star Specs originally, those rubbed slightly on heavy dips. Switched to the same sized PSS last year, those don't rub. Same wheel for both a 17x8 et40

That's a completely different story and A LOT different than than 18x8.5 et48 w/ 5mm spacer... Your tires will have a much steeper angle on the tire sidewall from the wheel to the surface of the wheel...

Not to mention that the 18x8.5 et43 set-up (effectively with the 5mm spacer) is 9.3mm closer to the strut than your set-up... And if he goes to a inner clearance similar to your set-up, (around 14-15mm spacers) it'll be be sticking out half inch (around 13mm) more than your set-up...

Edit: unless he's trying to fit 245 tires on the 18x7.5 wheels... which is going to be hard for the installers and look kind of ridiculous in terms of how much wider the tires are to the wheels lol.

[BrokenVert]

I'm just talking about how the tire strikes when you rub with a wide tire in the front. I'm not talking about general fitment

[Pig Farmer]

Here are some pics to give you an idea of what to expect if you choose to run 245/35/18 PSSs up front. My ride height is about an inch lower than stock. I'm running 3mm spacers (so a total offset of ET42) with -2.5 camber up front and rolled fenders (but almost zero pull). I used a Dremel on the fender/bumper connection but did not grind down the OE "body nut". As a result, I have a few grooves in the tire where it has made contact with the nut (which is razor sharp). With this setup, there's a slight rub on the inside lip of the bumper, which could be easily corrected with the Dremel. I plan on replacing the OE body nut and grinding the edge of the bumper the next time I pull the wheels.

[Pig Farmer]

Another pic.

[Pig Farmer]

From the front...

[BrokenVert]

Originally Posted by Pig Farmer

Here are some pics to give you an idea of what to expect if you choose to run 245/35/18 PSSs up front. My ride height is about an inch lower than stock. I'm running 3mm spacers (so a total offset of ET42) with -2.5 camber up front and rolled fenders (but almost zero pull). I used a Dremel on the fender/bumper connection but did not grind down the OE "body nut". As a result, I have a few grooves in the tire where it has made contact with the nut (which is razor sharp). With this setup, there's a slight rub on the inside lip of the bumper, which could be easily corrected with the Dremel. I plan on replacing the OE body nut and grinding the edge of the bumper the next time I pull the wheels.

I had that same rub with my Star Specs

[Spin_dry]

Originally Posted by killerhurtalot

You're not going to be able to fit 245 tires (The skinnier ones might... but not something like PSS, PS A/S 3, or Pirelli Zeros and etc...) on all 4 corners without some camber. The front will rub even with rolled fenders.

3-5mm spacers with -2 degrees camber seems to be the charm for 245's.

[killerhurtalot]

Originally Posted by Spin_dry

3-5mm spacers with -2 degrees camber seems to be the charm for 245's.

Yeah, but that's like $100 for spacers and bolts, $300+ for used good quality camber plates (or $400+ for new ones) and/or you got the M3 control arms and got cheaper camber plate on that... I wanted to do 245 wheels on all 4 corners but decided I didn't want to bother with having to install camber plates and etc...

[Spin_dry]

Originally Posted by Pig Farmer

Here are some pics to give you an idea of what to expect if you choose to run 245/35/18 PSSs up front. My ride height is about an inch lower than stock. I'm running 3mm spacers (so a total offset of ET42) with -2.5 camber up front and rolled fenders (but almost zero pull). I used a Dremel on the fender/bumper connection but did not grind down the OE "body nut". As a result, I have a few grooves in the tire where it has made contact with the nut (which is razor sharp). With this setup, there's a slight rub on the inside lip of the bumper, which could be easily corrected with the Dremel. I plan on replacing the OE body nut and grinding the edge of the bumper the next time I pull the wheels.

The Breyton wheels are +48. A 3mm spacer would fetch me +45 along with Dinan CP. I plan to use Hankook V12 tires which are 1/2" narrower than the Michelins at the tread and 1/10" at the body midsection. .

[Pig Farmer]

Originally Posted by Spin_dry

The Breyton wheels are +48. A 3mm spacer would fetch me +45 along with Dinan CP. I plan to use Hankook V12 tires which are 1/2" narrower than the Michelins at the tread and 1/10" at the body midsection. .

Good deal. Hopefully we've provided some useful tips. And make sure to post your results. This should be a sweet setup for those looking to go square (with the added benefit of being able to rotate the tires).