Aug 12th 2024
The best wheels for your 3000GT/Stealth/GTO
Is it the Supra killer? Today we are giving some attention to the most slept on 90’s JDM cars of all time, the 1990-2000 Mitsubishi 3000GT.
Depending on where you’re located, it could be called a 3000GT, Dodge Stealth, or GTO. If you’re in North America, like us, you’ll see a bit of all three. We got the Stealth and 3000GT, plus GTO’s have been eligible for import for a few years.
As a car built to compete with the likes of FD RX-7’s, Supra’s, and GT-R’s, the 3000GT came with a host of go-fast 90’s tech including active aero, adaptive dampening, and 4-wheel steering. But you know what it didn’t come with from the factory? A decent set of wheels.
A set of aftermarket wheels will give better performance and fitment. This fitment guide will give you everything you need to know. The cool thing is that with renewed interest in this platform, the car community recently figured out how to make these look good - it's like we cracked the enigma code to distinguish these cars from Satruns. A large part of this is the choice of wheels. So without further adieu, let’s get into the details:
Quick links
Basic fitment info
- Lug pattern: 5x114.3
- Lug thread: M12x1.5
- Center bore: 67.1mm
- Lug torque: 96 ft lbs
As you’d expect from a JDM classic the lug pattern, thread, and center bore are all typical sizes, meaning you're free to run a plethora of old-school and new-school wheels on your 3S.
What aftermarket wheels work on a 3000GT?
Factory specs range from passable, but not great, to way way too small. The fact that a Dodge Stealth, weighing 3.5K lbs, got 15x6.5 wheels is a little absurd. These are big ol’ cars and can take some decently sized wheels. 17” is the only factory size we can recommend. 19” diameter wheels can look good on certain builds, but can also look like clown shoes. 18” is the happy medium - you really can’t go wrong with this size, regardless of what wheels you choose.
For width and offset, the front is the limiting factor as it’s pretty narrow on these cars. You could go for a staggered setup, however, most people like to keep it square and deal with the limitations. 8.5 to 9.5” width with an offset between +20 and +40 will work on this chassis. This doesn’t narrow the options down much, so we’ll go through some examples later.
Caliper clearance
In classic Mitsubishi style, these cars have wheel-to-caliper clearance troubles - but not in the usual way. Normally, problems would arise from your brakes being too big, but with the 3S they can actually be too small. The trouble area is the wheel mounting surface instead of the face or the barrel. This is especially true on the first generation, which has smaller brakes than the 2G.
For the 1G, options are extremely limited. As in: a few models of JDM classics such as Work, SSR, plus some models from TSW. A lot of the time wheel spacers are needed. 2G brakes still aren’t a miracle fix and might still require spacers.
The classic solution was to convert your 1G to 2G brakes, but those are becoming unobtainium and getting JDM-tax’d. So, we recommend a retrofit from another car.
An Evo X brake conversion involves using the Evo knuckle and other OEM parts. If you’re thrifty when sourcing parts, this can be a lot cheaper than an aftermarket BBK. Either way, upgrading the brakes will give you more clearance plus add some stopping power at the same time.
Staggered wheels on AWD cars
As long as the rolling diameter is within 2% front to rear, you’re in the clear. Rolling diameter refers to the overall diameter of the tires. You can play with offset, width, tire specs, whatever, as long as the final diameter of the tire comes within a +/- 2% difference. A popular combination is 245/40 front and 275/35 rear, this falls well within the tolerance.
Examples of 3000GT fitment
| Fitment Facts | ||
| | Front | Rear |
| Wheels | Vors TR4 18x9.5 +35 | Vors TR4 18x9.5 +35 |
| Tires | Yokohama Advan Sport 245/40R18 | Yokohama Advan Sport 245/40R18 |
| Notes | https://www.facebook.com/groups/3sg.org/permalink/7526873177370736 - 18x9.5 +35 fit 1g calipers Lowered on coilovers (type unknown). No rubbing whatsoever, fits 1G calipers | |
Starting with fitment that’s both easy and budget friendly, these Vors TR4’s come in at right on $200/wheel. As we can see, they look pretty good on a 3000GT, and they’re one of those unicorn wheels that clear the 1G calipers without spacers. This is a square setup with 18x9.5 +35 wheels and 245/40R18 tires all around. One complaint with this chassis is the front fenders are too narrow compared to the front, which is the motivation for running a staggered setup. This car shows that square can still look good too.
| Fitment Facts | ||
| | Front | Rear |
| Wheels | Gram Lights 57CR 18x9.5 +38 | Gram Lights 57CR 18x9.5 +38 |
| Tires | Kumho KMH 275/35R18 | Kumho KMH 275/35R18 |
| Notes | https://www.facebook.com/groups/3sg.org/permalink/6115831115141623/ 18x9.5 +38. Wheels clear 2G brakes without a spacer. Zero rubbing issues. Tein Flex coilovers | |
If you can justify spending a bit more (might as well considering these cars will only go up in value), this is for you. White 5 spoke wheels on a white car always look good, and this 98’ VR4 is no exception. The wheels of choice were Gram Lights 57CR. Not the cheapest wheels, but also not as much as other classic JDM stuff. These wheels also clear 2G brakes without the need for a spacer.
The wheel specs are more or less the same as the first example, but this car is rocking some very beefy 275/35R18 tires. At this ride height, the fenders don’t contact the tires.
| Fitment Facts | ||
| | Front | Rear |
| Wheels | ESR RF2 19x8.5 +30 | ESR RF2 19x9.5 +35 |
| Tires | Kuhmo Ecsta 245/40R19 | Kuhmo Ecsta 275/35R19 |
| Notes | https://www.3si.org/posts/1056389367/ - 19x8.5 //19x9.5 | |
For comparison, this is what a set of 19’s looks like. We’re looking at fitment so we have to ignore the fact that this Stealth is LS1 swapped with a blower. Your car might not have a crazy engine conversion, but you can still copy the fitment. In fact, you could get the exact same wheels too. ESR wheels are great for those on a budget. You can find these exact ones in our shop by following the links above.
This car is using a staggered setup with thicker tires in the rear to help it put all that power down. Yup, it's RWD converted. For us mere mortals, we could still run this on an AWD car as the rolling diameter is identical front and rear.
| Fitment Facts | ||
| | Front | Rear |
| Wheels | Kansei Astro 18x9.5 +22 | Kansei Astro 18x9.5 +22 |
| Tires | BFGoodrich G-Force Sport 245/40R18 | BFGoodrich G-Force Sport 245/40R18 |
| Notes | https://www.instagram.com/p/CXedOuzPRVJ/?img_index=1 - kansai wheels Rolled fenders, no rubbing. D2 coilovers | |
This 91 GTO VR4 shows what slightly more aggressive fitment looks like. This is almost identical to the first car, but with +22 instead of +35 offset, bringing the wheels out another ½”. More aggressive specs mean you’ll have to consider rolling the fenders, but nothing crazy.
Because these cars are so heavy, it's worth it to invest in a nice set of coils that aren’t going to be busted after 5K miles. This car is running D2 coils with great success. If you want the same ones (for FWD or AWD), check them out in our shop.
| Fitment Facts | ||
| | Front | Rear |
| Wheels | Advan TC-3 18x9 +25 | Advan TC-3 18x9 +25 |
| Tires | Continental ExtremeContact Sport 02 245/40R18 | Continental ExtremeContact Sport 02 245/40R18 |
| Notes | https://www.facebook.com/groups/3sg.org/permalink/1492759494115498/ - 18x9 +25 Tein Street Flex coilovers, no rubbing. -2 degrees of rear camber // -.5 front | |
If you want some super JDM wheels for your super JDM whip, Advan Tc’s look pretty good. This car is seen on discontinued TC-3’s, but you can find TC-4’s in the exact same spec.
Once again we see a square setup with the all-popular tire size of 245/40R18. In this case, the front pokes about ½”. More camber or stretched tires could make the wheels perfectly flush with the fenders. Still, this car doesn’t have any rubbing issues.
If you can’t tell by now, most 3Si owners lower their car one way or another. Coilovers are pretty standard at this point - this one is on Tein Flex.
Wrap up
People debate over why this platform doesn’t get the same attention as Skylines, RX-7
s, or Supras. Maybe because it has a FWD based, transversely mounted engine? A V6? It wasn’t featured enough in pop culture? We don’t know. What we do know is that too many of these cars are plagued by chrome Pep Boys wheels that were cool 20 years ago. We showed you what not only fits but looks good too. If you’re ready to bring your 3000GT into the 21st century, check out thousands of options in our shop.
If you got a 3000GT (or any Stealth/GTO-related car) on some aftermarket wheels, be sure to upload it to our Vehicle Gallery ASAP. Help others, or get inspired for your own build.
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