My new(to me) s13 is getting a new Duraflex nose, sideskirts, and rear, (v-speed kit) which I already have. It will help to solve a host of issues with the lower panels (rust). The front quarters and the rear quarters are fairly mangled with dents and the rear quarter metal is basically missing behind the mudflaps which I removed, so this would be an ideal time to completely replace the front quarters, and cover the rears with a widebody kit. It eliminates the rust issue and covers the rear quarter dents.
I have noticed that there are different size pulls for the widebody kit, and when you combine this with the complex task of figuring out the correct wheel sizing, it seems really easy to make an expensive mistake.
To those who have been through this process, did you choose the widebody kit first, and then match the wheels, which seems logical, and what brands did you look at, or which brands have a fairly decent rep? (I think I’m leaning toward the kit with the smaller pull to keep it from getting too crazy, lookswise) Keep in mind that this is not a Ferrari, and cost does have some bearing on which widebody panels are chosen. Not going after all the vents and shit, just clean sort of stock look. Getting new deep dish rims to match the pull on the kit.
answered your own question
so just get like a 20mm rear and some decent sized wheels and decent. otherwise you’ll be stuck where I am, 50mm rear overs and I put the car to shame cause I can’t afford wheels + tires to fill them out.
Also, if you have that much rust every where, you may have other problems, so maybe you should give it a full look through first and do all your maintenance.
It’s mechanically sound, I have already changed all the fluids, water pump, belts and done the brakes. I am in the process of evaluating the suspension and making any changes needed. It has some holes, but nothing that can’t be fixed. The front quarters will also have a pull to match the rear.
This is a non-hicas, manual car with lsd rear end and no air conditioning option. The engine bay is nice and clean without all that extra stuff. I expected a little rustwork for the right car, so this isn’t a surprise.
Ready to put some nice wide rims and rubber to match the kit dimensions.
Needs some welding, not gonna lie. Fortunately, my bro is a certified welder. There is some work needed to the front of the rails, both driver and passenger side, but that being said, I’ve seen a lot worse. Might add some panels on the sides of the rails to stiffen the unibody, so there is less flex between the front rails and the body itself. I even saw somebody had stitch welded around the shock towers, and the weld areas to create more rigidity. Unibodies aren’t the greatest for stiffness when they get old.
The wheel tire cost isn’t a problem, but I would like to keep it reasonable so I can use the cash saved for other stuff. Not really planning on going super baller w the rims, but if I need to, then I can swing it. Sort of leaning towards the black 5 spoke with polished lip, deep dish style to match the car.
I want to do this right, but trying not to make a major mistake if I can help it.
If you want to run 50mm rear quarters, then your contradicting everything you’ve said about tire/wheel combo, price etc.
If you want to stay reasonable $ wise, like you said orignally, then what you should do, is 30mm rears, and 20mm fronts. You can run the same rims most of us stock body guys run, with the exception that you can run proper camber settings and the full size tire on your rim, without any stretch.
