Will they look stupidly narrow?

[reallyoldgit]

After 20 years of sitting in the garage I've put the Starion back on the road (Colt badged, 1984, narrow body) and thinking about using 205/60/15's instead of 225 or 215's because they're half the cost and the Starion isn't going to be flung around corners anymore - the old lady's 35 and I had my time of passengers gibbering with terror years ago - but will they look stupidly narrow? It was always a cow in the wet and the narrower section will help.

[designforlife]

205 is still fairly wide, should look fine... you can always throw some spacers on if you want to bring them flush with the arches to make the track of the car appear a bit wider.

How wide are the wheels themselves?

I run 195/60s on an 8J wheel and the balloony aesthetic looks very period without stupid stretch or narrow tread.

[HustleRussell]

I went from 225s to 205s on my BMW (7J wheels and same rolling radius...) and changed back to 225s at the earliest possible opportunity because of the steering feel and appearance of the narrower tyres.

[reallyoldgit]

Wheels are 6.5J. Probably the ugliest wheels ever fitted.
Keeping them though, partly because they were the dog's in 1984, partly because the et is only 20mm. Most are 35 and I don't have the clearance.

[texaxile]

Good to hear about another Starion being put back on the road, well done mate! I know of only one other that I've seen locally which is also a narrow body on an X reg in blue.

I used to have one, it was a B reg with the scoop in the bonnet, an EX with leather seats just before they changed them in 86 for non scoop version and the red top, intercooled engine.

I've got 2 Lancer turbo's now, among my bits is a spare Starion Airbox (oval shape) going free if you need one for a spare, i'm in Ipswich if you want to collect it plus a turbo or possibly 2 in various states of repair.

also, I've got a fairly comprehensive list of interchangeable parts between Starions and Lancers / Galants / Sapporos if ever you get stuck.

As a suggestion, maybe drop into the MLR and put up a post in the "Ex2000 turbo section" - we're a friendly and welcoming bunch.

205's will be fine, I ran them on mine and while it was at best, unpredictable in the wet, it really wasn't too bad with a decent set of Bridgestones on it. They didn't look too skinny and if my memory serves me, the standard size for the UK market were the 205 profile.

[reallyoldgit]

Thanks for that, I found a slightly later one in a breakers yard years ago (when you could go in with a bag of spanners) and got an air filter with the flowmeter and the two engine management units, and a plenum chamber with the injectors. I think I got the lot for 20 quid. Bought mine in 1988, it was white then, changed it to red after a couple of years, then parked it up for too long and decided to do something about it. The engines a good, but the gearboxes are crap, I've rebuilt this one at least once, maybe twice - it's been a long time!

[Varelco]

Those wheels are hideous and you are worrying about tyre aesthetics lol.


I think it will look fine, ultimately the wheel width remains the same and the tyre will cover it, it just means you will have a bit more pull on the sidewall. You will have more fun with it on the narrower tyres anyway, and they'll be cheaper.

[Varelco]

Varelco said:

Those wheels are hideous and you are worrying about tyre aesthetics lol.


I think it will look better than the wider tyres, ultimately the wheel width remains the same and the tyre will cover it, it just means you will have a bit more pull on the sidewall, won't look so balloonish. You will have more fun with it on the narrower tyres anyway, and they'll be cheaper.

[reallyoldgit]

If you think the wheels are bad - hated them since the day I bought it but never got around to changing them - you should see the interior! Sandy coloured carpet, light tan upholstery, dark and light tan trims. Mmmmmm. It's really 80's.

[texaxile]

They did another style of wheel for the Starion, again a 15 inch as in this pic,




or alternatively you could always go for some Pozars

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Pozar-Alloy-Wheels-15-t...

Same fitment as Lancers.

[reallyoldgit]

Looks nice in silver! I'll hang on to the ugly wheels until I'm further down the line, need a windscreen (cracked in the corner) and a paint job first. Windscreens are still available from Pilkingtons - at a price - but I'll try the local suppliers first.
Some window trims would be good, they're showing signs of rust under the plastic, but I'll live with them for the moment.

[texaxile]

Pilkington are great, they keep the moulds for several classic cars and I've had a screen off them already, came well packed and delivered in good time, plus I spoke to the "gaffer" of the Classic section years ago, he said that if they don't get any orders for something the mould eventually gets binned!.

I paid £145 for my Lancer screen, plus £20 delivery (Iirc) plus VAT.

Trims are going to be hard to find, Have a word with Kevin at Brighton Mitsubishi, he's the guru for all things Lancer and goes direct to Mitsubishi Japan for Lancer / Starion stuff, he can usually find a lot of parts regular UK Mitsubishi garages can't.

Also, Big Redd brakes (ebay) do rebuild kits including pistons for Starion calipers. They share the same front discs / calipers with Lancers, discs are also available in case you need them. I rebuilt mine all round, it's not a big job, and after 37 years they certainly needed refrshing.

Love to see some pics of your car. I always liked my Starion, smooth and fairly good road manners, although the brakes were not the best.

[reallyoldgit]

My disks weren't bad, and I rebuilt the calipers and put braided hoses on, and I rebuilt the steering box years ago - it was the reason why it came off the road originally, then I went off to Greece for a couple of years before I could fix it, and it was decidedly ripe when I came back.
Had an odd fault when I was prepping for the MOT, I couldn't get rid of air in the steering. It turned out to be an air leak into the pump suction hose from the header tank. No joy at Mitsubishi, but I managed to make one up from a couple of hose bends from Car Builder Solutions, they do a huge range of stuff. I have a full copy of the Saporro workshop manual which is OK for the power train (had a Super Touring for a couple of years), but your parts substitute info may come in handy!