[200q20v] Max wheel/tire combo on pre-91 Type 44

[Dale McCormack]

I've a '90 200 TQ Avant w/o flared fenders featuring stock front
springs/Bilsteins and coil-overs w/Bilsteins in the rear.  Several years ago I went to the TireRack facility in South Bend to find out what would be the largest tire/wheel combination to fit on the Type 44 body without clearance problems.  As you can imagine, we attempted several tire/wheel combinations that were not successful.  What we discovered, was not on the "normal
fitment charts" provided by wheel manufacturers.

I wanted 17" wheels and discovered that the South Korean 205/50-17 Kuhmo Extas would (barely) fit when mounted the Mille 1000 Spyders and 35mm offset.  I have encountered ZERO rubbing since they were mounted in April 1999.  The tires were rather inexpensive, but highly rated and have indeed stuck fabulously for two summer driving seasons and decent wear characteristics. The car hasn't been on any racetrack and I swap to stock wheels/snow tires in December.

IMO spacers are a bad idea for several reasons; added stress on wheel bearings / mounting bolts and they're not needed due to correct wheel offset availability.   We are very fortunate with today's worldwide automobile
aftermarket to have so many wheel diameter, bolt pattern and offset choices available.


HTH,
Dale McCormack
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