2002+ OEM Wheels on a 1992 NSX

I have been reading tons of posts and I am pretty sure this will not be an issue, but I wanted to throw this out there to insure that I am not missing anything.

I have a 1992 NSX, and currently have 1994 OEM Gunmetal wheels. My plan is to change to 2002+ OEM Silver wheels, and I know from the Wheel Tech that I will need at least 5MM spacers on the front.
http://www.nsxprime.com/FAQ/TireWheel/wheeltech.htm

I currently have 15MM spacers on the front and 25 MM on the rear.

My real question is, will I have a TCS light issue going to the 2002+ wheels.

I plan to keep the standard tire sizes:
I currently have on the 1994 wheels:
Front: 215/45 R16 = 23.6181 Diameter
Rear: 245/40 R17 = 24.7165 Diameter

and I would go to:
Front: 215/40 R17 = 23.7716 Diameter
Rear: 255/40 R17 = 25.0315 Diameter

Just for total disclosure, I am also going to install Tein S.Tech springs.

I have read this post:
http://www.nsxprime.com/forums/showthread.php?t=35070
about a dozen times and I think this will not be a problem, but I was hoping to get some confirmation for the local experts.

I have 02+ wheels on my 91 and I do not have any TCS issues. I am using 5mm spacers on the fronts. You'll be fine.

Thanks Honcho!

I was 99% sure it was fine, but wanted to hear from someone else.
Now, I just need to find someone who is selling 2002+ wheels.

How did you get so lucky?

I hope all is well in CO, we are going to miss you and your wife out here in New England.

I have 04 wheels and were gonna put them on my 1992 but didnt know if it would raise my car up anymore.

was gonna use them till my 04 build was done. LOL

It would raise it ever so slightly. Just make sure you have at least a 5MM spacer on the front or the wheel will not clear the caliper.

The wheels should not raise the car by any amount that is noticeable.

If the 15mm spacers are the built in stud type, they will not work on the front 02-up wheels.

RJD1022 said:

Now, I just need to find someone who is selling 2002+ wheels.

How did you get so lucky?

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Have you look into these refurbished sellers:
http://shop.acuraparts4less.com/whe...rt_type=oem_alloy_wheel_rims&diameter=&depth=

http://www.hubcaphaven.com/nsx_wheels.htm

slamstrom said:

Have you look into these refurbished sellers:
http://shop.acuraparts4less.com/whe...rt_type=oem_alloy_wheel_rims&diameter=&depth=

http://www.hubcaphaven.com/nsx_wheels.htm

Click to expand...

have anyone bought from them before? remember reading a thread on these vendors.

Finding those at a place like that will be like finding a pot of gold, not very likely at all... Call them and check it out, they will be out of stock. Your realistic best bet is the classifieds here unless you want to pay double for a brand new set, in my experience.

Nero Tenebre said:

Finding those at a place like that will be like finding a pot of gold, not very likely at all... Call them and check it out, they will be out of stock. Your realistic best bet is the classifieds here unless you want to pay double for a brand new set, in my experience.

Click to expand...

I second that, these guys all list the stuff but never have it -

I have tried in vain so many times.

I got an clean set of 02+ wheels with OEM tires plus 3mm spacers. Put them on my car and just wasn't too happy with them. The car looks taller with the stock suspension (the 4x4 jokes started coming in) and I do not want to lower the car. I noticed the ride was harsher as well. I only put 200 miles on them and quickly removed them and sold them going back to the '97-'01 wheels. The car drove much better and the overall appearance of the car looked better to me.





Glad to have these back.

angus said:

The wheels should not raise the car by any amount that is noticeable.

If the 15mm spacers are the built in stud type, they will not work on the front 02-up wheels.

Click to expand...

I have H&R spacers like these:


Will these not work?

slamstrom said:

Have you look into these refurbished sellers:
http://shop.acuraparts4less.com/whe...rt_type=oem_alloy_wheel_rims&diameter=&depth=

http://www.hubcaphaven.com/nsx_wheels.htm

Click to expand...

I did contact a few of these places and I agree with everyone else here.
They never have them.

They list every wheel possible, but don't really have them.
I tried to call two of them to confirm inventory and could never get past a recording stating that they were experiencing high call volume and to email them for faster service. I emailed and got back a very unprofessional response just saying "Not available".
Many of the sites have a lot of Google ads all over their pages. I think they make more from Google ads then from selling wheels.

Some of them also don't make it clear that they are remanufactured wheels.

Vytas said:

I got an clean set of 02+ wheels with OEM tires plus 3mm spacers. Put them on my car and just wasn't too happy with them. The car looks taller with the stock suspension (the 4x4 jokes started coming in) and I do not want to lower the car. I noticed the ride was harsher as well. I only put 200 miles on them and quickly removed them and sold them going back to the '97-'01 wheels. The car drove much better and the overall appearance of the car looked better to me.

Click to expand...

Thanks for all the information!
Is it possible that the different tires accounted for the difference in ride?

RJD1022 said:

Is it possible that the different tires accounted for the difference in ride?

Click to expand...

Sure, different tires may have different ride characteristics. Other possible factors include differences in air pressure, differences in tread depth, etc.

Incidentally, here are the outer diameters of the stock tire sizes, with a percentage comparison to the '91-93:

Front:
'91-93 205/50-15 23.07"
'94-01 215/45-16 23.62" (+2.4 percent)
'02-05 215/40-17 23.77" (+3.0 percent)

Rear:
'91-93 225/50-16 24.86"
'94-01 245/40-17 24.72" (-0.6 percent)
'02-05 255/40-17 25.03" (+0.7 percent)

You can use these numbers to see the effects on the TCS and ride height.

Ride height changes based on the radius of the tire, which is half the diameter. So putting the '94-01 on a '91-93 increases the front ride height from stock by .27" and decreases the rear by .07", and putting the '02-05 on a '91-93 increases the front ride height from stock by .35" and increases the rear by .09". That's not much; to put those differences in perspective, the difference in radius and ride height between a brand new tire and one that's worn down to the treadwear indicator bars and needs replacing is about .25", and you never hear people talking about differences in ride height when they replace worn tires with new ones.

TCS operates based on the ratio of the rear outer diameter to the front outer diameter, and how that compares with stock. If the ratio differs more than 5 percent from stock, that causes the TCS to activate. However, that 5 percent number is not precise, for all kinds of reasons - differences in tire sizing, differences in tread depth, etc. The rear to front ratio of nominal (i.e. labeled) tire sizes changes by 3.0 percent with the '94-01 sizes and 2.3 percent with the '02-05 sizes. Basically, using the '02-05 sizes on a '91-93 will probably never activate the TCS, and using the '94-01 sizes may do so only when the rear tires are very worn and the fronts are close to brand new. I've used '94-01 sizes on my '91 and I've never seen the TCS come on as a result.

HTH

RJD1022 said:

I have H&R spacers like these:

Will these not work?

Click to expand...

No, those will NOT work. It is because the 02 wheels do not have the recesses in their hub mating surface to accommodate the length of the wheel stud that sticks out past the 15mm spacer. You can either get shorter studs (not recommended) or use a 25mm spacer to cover the stud if you don't mind the wheel to be moved outward another 10mm. I'm sure someone can post that setup for you to preview or at least knows if it will work (Angus I'm lookin at you). Also, this has all been discussed before if you search for "spacers" in this tire and wheel forum... I was running 25mm spacers F/R with the 16/17 wheels before I settled on some new wheels, there was a lot of research posted in that thread IIRC (as well as others).

RJD1022 said:

I have H&R spacers like these:

Will these not work?

Click to expand...

Edit. . Just noticed Nero beat me to the punch! :tongue:


The reason these will NOT work is because the factory studs will protrude and the 2002+ wheels don't have a space for them to go.

Note the S2000 wheel on the left (the Sharpie represents the area where the factory studs will go) and the 2002+ wheel on the right (no space). Took these from S4play:


Also note the 25mm spacer here fully covers the factory studs. With a 15mm spacer you'll have almost 8-10mm of stud sticking out.

A 25mm spacer will work just fine in front, if you can find it, a 20mm will work too, since the 02-up wheel has a small space.

I found a HUGE difference in ride from adjusting tire pressure BTW.

angus said:

A 25mm spacer will work just fine in front, if you can find it, a 20mm will work too, since the 02-up wheel has a small space.

I found a HUGE difference in ride from adjusting tire pressure BTW.

Click to expand...

Is this confirmed? Not that I want to question you but have you actually tried it? I always wanted to do 15mm or 20mm but I was told that it won't work.

Thanks!

Angus has tried EVERYTHING! Hapa, is there an echo in here? lol... :biggrin: JK, yours comes with pictures as an added bonus!

CO is awesome, but I will sure miss you NE members this summer and the NE fall colors! I don't miss NYC though.

I did get "lucky" with my 2002+ wheels. Member CarCrazed4Life (who has since moved on I think) had a set that he tried to paint the same gunmetal color as the JDM Type-S. Didn't work out so good and he ended up with tan wheels lol. This was before we determined that NH-537M was the correct color here on Prime. Well, I bought those wheels from him complete with almost new Yokohamas for about $1500, as I always intended to re-finish them in Solaris Silver. Hopefully that will happen this summer. But, I can live with the tan wheels for now.

I think there are some nice gunmetal rims for sale in the parts section right now. You should PM the seller and try to get a deal- they would look stunning on your Formula Red.

RJD1022 said:

Thanks Honcho!

I was 99% sure it was fine, but wanted to hear from someone else.
Now, I just need to find someone who is selling 2002+ wheels.

How did you get so lucky?

I hope all is well in CO, we are going to miss you and your wife out here in New England.

Click to expand...

Vytas said:

I got an clean set of 02+ wheels with OEM tires plus 3mm spacers. Put them on my car and just wasn't too happy with them. The car looks taller with the stock suspension (the 4x4 jokes started coming in) and I do not want to lower the car. I noticed the ride was harsher as well. I only put 200 miles on them and quickly removed them and sold them going back to the '97-'01 wheels. The car drove much better and the overall appearance of the car looked better to me.

Glad to have these back.

Click to expand...

THANKS,THIS IS HELPFUL.I LOOKED INTO 2002+ WHEELS FOR MY 95 WHEN I SAW HOW LIMITED THE 16" CHOICES WERE.I DIDN'T DO ENOUGH RESEARCH TO SEE THAT AS NSXSTACY HAS POINTED OUT,IF YOU GO DOWN FROM 215'S TO 205'S IN THE FRONT,THERE ARE A LOT OF GOOD 16" CHOICES.ENDED UP W/DUNLOP DIREZZA DZ-101'S IN OEM SIZE.DON'T THINK THEY'RE AS BAD AS SOME ON HERE DO,BUT HAVE NOTICED A DROP IN PERFORMANCE.I'M GOING TO REPLACE THEM WITH BRIDGESTONE POTENZA RE-11'S WHEN I CAN,IN THE 205 FRONTS.
HONDA MADE A CONSCIOUS DECISION TO GO WITH SMALLER WHEELS WITH THESE CARS,AS PART OF THE LIGHTER EXOTIC CAR THEME,AND USED ALL THAT EXPENSIVE,TRICKY ALUMINUM.THIS ALSO GAVE MORE ROOM INSIDE,A PROBLEM IN A LOT OF SPORTS CARS.SEE THE WHEEL TECH WIKI ON THIS
http://www.nsxprime.com/FAQ/TireWheel/wheeltech.htm
ALSO THE OEM 16/17 WHEELS ARE REAL NICE FORGED ALUMINUM,WHICH IS TOP OF THE LINE FOR WHEELS.SO I'LL STICK WITH THEM AS LONG AS I CAN GET DECENT TIRES.

Brylek said:

Is this confirmed? Not that I want to question you but have you actually tried it? I always wanted to do 15mm or 20mm but I was told that it won't work.

Thanks!

Click to expand...

I have tried the 20mm spacer, it JUST touches the front wheel between the lug holes.

I want to put a little silly putty inside the recess and test fit again.

angus said:

I have tried the 20mm spacer, it JUST touches the front wheel between the lug holes.

I want to put a little silly putty inside the recess and test fit again.

Click to expand...

Great, please keep me informed about how that went.

I love this place!

OP, if you want 15mm front you need the H&R concentric slip on spacers and then you fit the slightly longer wheel studs to your hubs for safety. Not that difficult to do. I can't remember the part number but a search on here will dig it up.....

This is what I did with my 02+ wheels on a 96. 15mm fronts and the H&R 25mm rears with integrated studs.

This s the normal route for the NSX 15/25 combo....