18x8.5 ET43 vs 18x9 ET42

[H_Rice]

Hello everybody, a situation came up for a good opportunity to buy some new wheels, and wasn't exactly sure what wheel size to run with. I was mainly looking at the Apex SM-10's which come in 8.5 and 9 widths for the 18-inch option. On the stock wheels I was running a 10mm spacer in the front and a 15 in the rear and was very happy with the fitment after installing my coilovers, but if I'm going to be buying a new set of wheels I don't want to run spacers. After plenty of research, I couldn't find an exact solution to my problem and was hoping for some clarification on which size would be better for my situation. I'm mainly looking for a fitment similar to what it was with the spacers on the stock wheels.

 

[MonkeyMD]

9

 

[H_Rice]

9

Do you think it would cause any rubbing? When I was on the spacers I rubbed on medium dips in the road without any anti-rubbing mods.

 

[ChristopherNeil]

9 front, 8.5 rear. Do the fender screw mod.

 

[MonkeyMD]

Do you think it would cause any rubbing? When I was on the spacers I rubbed on medium dips in the road without any anti-rubbing mods.

More about the tire size than wheel width.

If you want to be safe, go with 8.5 but may not be the look you're after without spacers.