WTF Friday: Fitment By The Numbers

25

I’ve been trying to avoid posting about the topic of wheel fitment as strictly a numbers game for some time now as it is a discussion that may touch on a few nerves and one that could leave be sounding a tad hypocritical.

However it is an issue I feel needs addressing now more than ever before things degrade into a pissing contest of epic proportions.

My first brush with the ‘Fitment By The Numbers’ mentality came a few months ago when I noticed people responding to members rides threads by asking wheel and tire fitment questions first, and offering compliments or criticisms second.

"THE BARRELS HAVE SPOKEN" - STREETSWEEPER.NORTHWEST

A little investigation revealed that, more often than not, these were the same people who seemed adamant that to have a ‘stanced’ vehicle you needed wheels of a certain width, stretch of a certain amount, and camber to a certain degree.

Which is wrong.

If that were true then how would traditional hot rods, mini trucks, imports, euros, classics, and low riders lacking one, if not all, of those ‘prerequisites’ earn features on some of the most popular and respected stance oriented websites today?

"He Did That?" - STREETSWEEPER.NORTHWEST

There is no book of stance, no guidelines that must be followed to be deemed worthy, the only common thread amongst cars with great stance is a ride height significantly different than factory.

Aggressive fitment just happens to be something works better the lower you are so the two are often linked and, as you I’m sure you are all well aware, aggressive fitment has become quite popular over the last several years.

With this popularity came a larger following and more people looking to push the boundaries, and as that happened the question of how much is too much began to come into play.

18x11.5

Aesthetically flow is perhaps the most important part of a car and the reason that so many people dislike body kits, roof racks, loud graphics/paint, and spoilers. Depending on execution those items can often disrupt the entire flow of an otherwise great looking car.

The same rule applies with fitment, execution is paramount.

When you run a wheel so wide that it takes away from your other modifications then does it really matter that you can claim the widest and lowest for your platform or that you can play a game of Jenga on your exposed barrel?

"GOT BARREL?" - STREETSWEEPER.NORTHWEST

If aesthetics and function start to leap frog each other out the door then what are we modifying our cars for, shock value? Notoriety?

Food for thought.

Modify your car as you see fit because aesthetics are a subjective thing with opinions differing from person to person, but if your end goal is only your end goal to outdo the person before you remember that there is always someone behind you who is ready to do the exact same thing.

Flashback Friday

For this weeks WTF Friday I will forgo the usual site updates and end with a photo one of my all time favorite Subarus.

Julian in my opinion always knew when enough was enough.

Photo Credit: Streetsweeper.Northwest and their facebook.

25 COMMENTS

  1. I modify my car (1997 miata) for myself,
    For the smile I had last night doing donuts in 15 cm of snow,
    For the smile I get at auto-cross, and the one I’ll get in snow-cross tomorrow.
    For the smile I have every morning, as I walk to my car and look at it.
    For the smile other people have, or the stare they give me.

    It’s a combination of all those things that make me want to keep going. Want to keep sinking cash and effort into that little car. And it gives me hope of what It one day could look like!

  2. Preach on, brother!! Seriously. When’s it going to be ENOUGH? I’ve recently lamented to my husband that the beautiful days of OEM+ are gone…. Now it’s, “Hey check out my wheels!!!!” 🙁

    Gonna have to say that 2.5 RS makes me queasy. 11.5? Are you for serious? My STi doesn’t even need freakin’ 11.5 wide wheels….

    @Remy G — I just sold my own ’97 Miata two weeks ago, she was my first autocross car. It’s nice to hear about another. Those little cars deserve to be raced…. I know mine loved it. (And went to another autocrosser, thankfully.)

  3. The worst part is to read the owner “saying” out loud that his car ‘was published on all of the major stance Facebook pages’. I guess he didn’t realize some of them didn’t post it because they liked what he done.

  4. I think all of those cars are unsafe and WAY to stretched! I like a little stretch and camber but damn these cars are useless now!

  5. *Applauds Dave*

    OEM+ is like every other trend. It’s cyclical. And it moves around the globe. The grassroots of the Commodore scene in Oz has a strong OEM+ flavour – we’re always raiding later/better model Commodores for bits to improve what’s already there. 10 years ago it was all about DIY custom work. The kind where people automatically fitted race seats and flat pieces of sheetmetal to mount their gauges. Now it’s common to see the dash cluster (or entire dash and interior) from a 2010 model in a 1980 model.

    As for “fitment by numbers”, I don’t agree with the one-up-man-ship that’s going on at the moment. Natural, inevitable, but some people do go for numbers before what works. Putting 22 inches and liquorice straps on a car meant for 13s is a trend I can’t wait to see the end of. In some ways I’m glad I live in one of the most draconian state for road laws on the planet. 18×11.5s on a Subaru just isn’t legal, nor is the amount of stretch they have on the tyres. So you never see cars with this kind of “stance” – they’d make it a block or two before they get defected straight off the road.

  6. how does that work? i kind of wanna see it rolling to make a final opinion. its definitly a wtf how does that work kindof interesting haha

    • Man this is why I love my audience base I can post something like this and not worry about getting called a hater and people take the time to type out great responses. Thank you all.

      @Donn That is the first time I have ever seen anyone speak positivly about the situation in your state most people find it an inconvience. 22s and licorice strap tires are not really all that far off from this if you think about it… extreme in a different way.

      @hahaha Here is a roller http://www.flickr.com/photos/jblack_photos/6933401325/in/pool-1368380@N25

  7. Great. Thanks a lot for an open mind regarding car styling and customizing. Rules are meant to be broken anyway. Keep up this really cool site.

  8. So yeah sick I guess I’m the only one that thinks its ridiculous fitment is gnarly haha plus I love suby coupes haha

  9. There’s a lot of things “wrong” with the car scene (and any other scene, really) these days. The saddest part is that we have evolved into a me-too society in most cases. As you stated, there’s always someone waiting in the shadows, watching what you do only to be able to one-up you when you’re done. As always, there’s a fine line between just enough and too much. Who knows, maybe in a couple months this example above will have regressed from too much to not enough once other people have surpassed it, whether people like it or not. I’m not a fan of the example above, but I give props for trying something that pushes the envelope.

  10. @Dave – its a great blog. I read it to see what people get up to around the world. It’s not easy/cheap this living on the correct side of the planet thing 😉

    Our rules are harsh and inconvenient, no doubt. Not just with wheels, everything we do with cars/4wds. Some of the rules are utterly insane. Example: An air filter through the bonnet isn’t legal, because a pedestrian may get hurt by it if you hit them. But in NSW, ‘Roo bars are legal, and you see 5 posters everywhere (you may want to look up the scary).

    There are those who bitch about the rules, or just plain ignore them. Then they think the worlds out to get them when everytime they go for a cruise they spend the evening discussing legalities with a copper.

    But there is an upside to our draconian set of rules. Build a car that’s compliant, and you’re guaranteed to end up with a car thats safe and driveable – anywhere, anytime. It’s way too easy to go extreme on mods, trying to outdo someone elses set of numbers, and end up with something that’s a complete b*tch to live with. Sticking inside the rules also means the liklihood of your car failing (and killing you, your friends and the poor defenceless gum tree) is far less.

    I mean, I may want to put 10 or 12 inch wide tyres on all four corners of my VH Commodore. A great look, reminiscent of the Group C Big Bangers at Bathurst. But damn near impossible to get passed in NSW. Why? Because the first decent Aussie shower, tyres that wide on a car weighing 1200 odd kilos means I’d be aquaplaning straight off into the shrubbery.

    Besides – the rules up the creativity more than the dollar value or the one up man ship. If you can’t poke engine bits out of the bonnet, but you want to run a twin turbocharged V8 (which you can, legally, depending on the car) then you gotta think more carefully about how to package it under the bonnet. If you want the stanced look, you gotta think more about your offsets, your tyre choice, your ride heights and the panel work to acheive it. Everythings still possible. Just takes a little bit of thought.

    Then again, we also have the “never going to be registered” cars of places like the Summernats. Then you get into a whole new ball game of who’s biggest 😛

    • @Donn – http://www.bullbarsaustralia.com.au/Images/Products/15/Holden%20VE%20McCann.jpg HOLY unnecessary haha.
      Moving on from that I totally get what you are saying, if you manage to build a car within the rules chances are it is one you can drive all the time. However I’m not sure I could take it, my car is mostly legal just a few little things, my car is a daily so I din’t go too crazy.

      The Summernats seems like a pissing contest I like haha

      @Phil Honestly with that car the stretch is the only thing that kills me.

      @Nate I have seen that but it is Japan, they have a whole different bar for crazy 😛

  11. Yo Dave! Long time no hear! Hope all is great man. Thanks for posting my wagon up again! Dude i miss her when i see people post her up saying how clean and well done it was. But anyways, yeah that main rs is pushing it to the limit, even riskin his life rolling like that. I know people want to clam this and that but honestly, is it worth putting your life at risk. No. So i really hope he got new tires on those wheels. Anyways, stop by my flickr and check out the new ride, Im sure you would like it! hahah. Take care.

  12. That RS is just plain stupid. What’s the pint of an inch of barrel showing? Ooops, bought the wrong tires is what it tells me.
    I guess there’s always extremes…..

  13. Very well said! As subjective as Fitment and stance are, there are always going to be critics who want the numbers to be their end result. When that happens, those of us who own a car that has aggresive Fitment, yet flows and has some class, can just smile and wave. There is no right or wrong in the stance game, if we wanted “right” we’d be the engineers at the manufacturer, and would’ve left it how it came from the factory. To each their own.

    • I’m the guy that runs this blog, my name is Dave nice to meet you.

      You are correct I neglected to add credit which I normally do, I have updated the post.

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.