ST185 Front Wheel Fitment Question

I'm considering purchasing new wheels (17x8") but because of my 205 calipers, I can not simply "Shop By Vehicle" like offered on TireRack. As their site suggests, a 35ET will fit the front perfect without the need for a spacer but my concern is that the wheel will not clear the brakes. My question is. . . Do any of you have wheels mounted to your 185s in the front (w/o spacers) just using this desired 35ET and do they clear your 205 calipers? and if so, how were you able to select to proper wheel needed to clear the 205 calipers? Trial and error?

My current wheel set-up is 17x7-52ET OZs on 25mm spacers. These fit great but I recently bent a wheel and am using this as an excuse to get something new.

This is one wheel I'm considering but I can not find any more specifics than what this site has listed. And I cant go by images on OZ's site either since there's no telling which size wheel I'm looking at (spoke contour varies by different sizes/offsets). .
https://www.tirerack.com/wheels/Whe...el=Celica+All-Trac&autoYear=1992&autoModClar=



*Edited for clarity. .

As far as clearing brakes I'm not sure if offset is the main concern, more it's the design of the back side of the face can make wheels that have the same specs fit or not fit if the caliper is close.

What might be a roundabout way to find out is to see how much larger ST205 brakes are from ST204 brakes, and if the width is similar then ask TR if they'll clear a 204 (I can't imagine the 205 brakes are much thicker than 204 ones). Alternatively try to find someone nearby with a VW or older Subaru that has a 17x8 et35 wheel you can test fit.

underscore":asm3gstk said:

As far as clearing brakes I'm not sure if offset is the main concern, more it's the design of the back side of the face can make wheels that have the same specs fit or not fit if the caliper is close.

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Correct, this is the problem I'm running into. . I Can't find info and I can't go by images either since I have no telling if I'm looking at a 35 or 0 ET (face design different from one ET to the next).

underscore":asm3gstk said:

What might be a roundabout way to find out is to see how much larger ST205 brakes are from ST204 brakes, and if the width is similar then ask TR if they'll clear a 204 (I can't imagine the 205 brakes are much thicker than 204 ones). Alternatively try to find someone nearby with a VW or older Subaru that has a 17x8 et35 wheel you can test fit.

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This is a great idea but because spoke/wheel design has a lot to do with this delima. . one brand/model 17x8-ET35 wheel might fit but that doesn't mean the other will. Are older Subarus 5x100?

Enkei is another brand I'm considering and although they offer a size chart for each model (pretty helpful if you know exactly what you want), there's still no way (that I know of) to determine fitment without trial and error. . which may be the route I take. I'm gonna try calling Enkei.

Here's one from Enkei (PF05, 17x8-ET38) that I really like. The design looks promising but I haven't found mounting flange area pics.


*Edited for clarity. .

This is the best I've found of the PF05, it looks roomy in there but I'll need to confirm with Enkei before getting my hopes up. . Awaiting a response now, I just sent a message through their FB page.

17x8 Et 35 is the best offset for a big brake kit. Here's mine with a BBK

That looks great, what wheel is that? I love five spokes, if that one is still available and the Enkei wheel won't work for me, I'd like to consider this one.

FC Zach":i4nr33sd said:

That looks great, what wheel is that? I love five spokes, if that one is still available and the Enkei wheel won't work for me, I'd like to consider this one.

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Its the OZ Cronos. Very hard to find. PF's and Enkeis are a good fit as well.. I'm sure you'll find something that'll work for you. Good luck

It mainly has more to do with the spoke curve/back of the wheel face then offset. Enkei RPF1 17x9 +35 will not clear BBK, however 17x8 +35 will.

msanders2":21bnc3rj said:

Its the OZ Cronos. Very hard to find. PF's and Enkeis are a good fit as well.. I'm sure you'll find something that'll work for you. Good luck

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"PF's" what is this, Enkei? Thank you! I PMd someone from Enkei through FB so hopefully they have something for me

MARLON1211":21bnc3rj said:

It mainly has more to do with the spoke curve/back of the wheel face then offset. Enkei RPF1 17x9 +35 will not clear BBK, however 17x8 +35 will.

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Correct but like mentioned, I can't go by comparing images because most sites display a generic pic and one offset/width wheel will differ from the next. . like the second Enkei PF05 image I shared for example. . Enkei lists this wheel with different faces: "F= front face, M= middle face, R= rear face. Rear face is most concaved design". My guess is that image is of an "M or R" face (which will probably clear my calipers) but the closest offset they list for the diameter and width I'm looking for is 38 which is an "F" face and whether that will fit or not is unknown at the moment. This particular wheel is a 38ET so that may change things but I'll see what Enkei says when/if they respond.

When I contacted Enkei to request measurements for this wheel, they responded that they "don't release wheel drawings, but we'll be happy to confirm caliper clearance". They asked a few specifics about my application and said they'd "e-mail Enkei Japan and ask them to confirm fitment for us". It's pretty awesome they're doing this

If you can go by the specs from Enkei I can tell you my 17x8 et45 RPF1's comfortably clear my very large calipers to the backside of the face. I don't know how much width than the stock calipers the 205 ones are but I'm guessing they're skinnier than the 996 calipers I'm running. So anything close to whatever measurements those have will give you loads of room.



That's stock 185 vs the 996.

FC Zach":m6qf2s88 said:

Are older Subarus 5x100?

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Some are, I know the 04 and older WRX are, as well as the first gen Legacy.

underscore":24m4fhq2 said:

If you can go by the specs from Enkei I can tell you my 17x8 et45 RPF1's comfortably clear my very large calipers to the backside of the face.

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Awesome, this is promising! Crossing my fingers but if all else fails, I'll buy what is known to work and luckily I do like the RPF1s

underscore":24m4fhq2 said:

I don't know how much width than the stock calipers the 205 ones are but I'm guessing they're skinnier than the 996 calipers I'm running. So anything close to whatever measurements those have will give you loads of room.

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Actually, they look close but the Porsche calipers are smaller (I've read). Regardless of which one is wider, I measured how far the caliper protrudes past the hub surface with a dial-caliper which was approximately 45mm. . .

I heard from Enkei, they said: "Enkei Japan confirmed that the 527-780-8038DS will clear factory GT-Four brakes, but they did not want to speculate whether they would clear when combined with the IS300 discs."

I'm gonna order one when they're available to test how they fit. If this fails I'll try the suggested RPF1, thanks for the suggestion guys! I'll update this if the new wheel fits when it arrives.

The new Enkei PF05 finally arrived and they do fit, I'm very excited to have these and to not have to change my brake set-up!