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Datsun 1200 uses a common wheel bolt-pattern: 4 bolt holes on 4-1/2 inch circle (aka 4-on-4.5). Nissan engineers specified this in inches. In metric this is equivalent to a 4 x 114.3 PCD (Pitch Circle Diameter). Stock Datsun 1200 wheels are 12 inch diameter, 4J (4 inches wide). All models, even GX models and 1994 Sunny Truck models, used 12" wheels. Only the Datsun 1200 SSS used a special wheel. Wheels up to 18x7 will fit under the stock bodywork.

Stock Wheels

Stock Datsun 1200 wheels are 12Jx4. This includes GX models.

12" diameter
4-inch wide
bolt-pattern: 4 on 4-1/2 inch circle (4 x 114.3 PCD)

Comparison of B110, B210, B310 wheels

wheels	B110	1977 US B210 A14	1980 NA B310
size	4 J-12	4-1/2 J-13	4-1/2 J-13 5 J-13 (aluminum) Canada w/A12A: 4J-12
offset	30 mm	30mm offset	30mm 25 mm (aluminum)
tire size	6.00-12 155SR-12	155SR-13	6.00-12 155SR13 175/70SR13
balance	10gr or less (0.35 oz)	11gr or less	10gr or less
lugnut torque	8-9kg-m (58-65 ft-lb)	8-9kg-m	8-10

NOTE: 1976-1978 B210 large-brake wheels are 13" but have 4mm extra diameter inside, possibly for clearance of the large brakes. These wheels are same as Datsun 610 and can be identified by six thin slots on the face.

Datsun Option Wheels

Datsun Sunny B310 factory OPTION B & OPTION C wheels: 13" x 5"

40300-N5825 WHEEL SET-ROAD ALUMINIUM, B TYPE (5JX13)
40300-W6625 WHEEL SET-ROAD ALUMINIUM, C TYPE (5JX13)
Also used on 200SX (S10 silvia) 1977-1979

B310 Wheels

Datsun Sunny B310 styled steel wheel: 13" x 4.5"

40300-W8300 WHEEL ASSY-ROAD(4 1/2-JX13) (STYLED) 0879-

NOTE: These do not fit the B110 front hubs due to the shape of the wheel.

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Compatible Wheels

Any wheel that is 4-bolt on 4.5 inch circle fits will bolt onto the Datsun 1200, depending on the offset. Fitment also includes the tire sizes, as taller tires may hit the bodywork.

NOTE: The offset on most front-wheel drive wheels is too much.

Wheels that fit can be sourced from these vehicles:

Rear-wheel drive Toyota
1960s Ford Falcon and Mustang 4-lug (6-cylinder models)
Chevrolet Corvair (5 x 13)
- pefect for the rear
- may need a 1/4 inch spacer on fronts to clear the brake caliper
Rear-wheel drive Datsun & Nissan models.
Datsun B310 wheels fit the rear, but do not fit the front of Datsun 1200
Datsun 240Z wheels -- 14"
Uni-lug alloy wheels
Hyundai Excel
Ford Laser (KA to KH)
Rear-wheel-drive Mitsubishi
Skyline R31 spare steel wheels (14")
Early SAAB (5.5 inch wide)

Nearly any rwd 4-lug on 4.5 inch bolt centers fit. These are equivalent to "114.3 PCD" in metric conversion terms.

What WONT work:

Honda
Isuzu/Holden Gemini
Ford Escort/Cortina
early Mazda
Subaru
Newer SAAB (900 Turbo)
Ford Escort/Pinto/Mustang II/Mustang Fox

Skyline R31 spare steel wheels

Also same as Nissan Pintara. These are 14" wheels. aka "Pursuit" or "chaser" style rims as they are similar to police car (plain) steel wheels.

Don't pay more than $15 per steel wheel

The 5.5 wide R31 steelies should fit.

The stock 6" and 7" wide Sillouettes won't fit the B110 or early B210 disc-brake strut. If you run Stanza or 240K struts, then no worries.

TRX Wheels

Alloy wheels from Datsun 910 "Bluebird Series II" Australia TRX package work nicely on a Datsun 1200.

Discussion: will trx 15"rims fit straight onto 1200 ute without flaring?

"If I see another 1200 with TRX rims I'm 
going to smack you across the face!"

On standard Datsun 1200 struts they will require fairly low profile tyres, and quite large spacers for the front and it will need to stay at standard height. Even then you might find they are a tight fit and might grab the guard a bit if you hit any speed humps too quick or take corners quick.

If it is lowered at all you will need to roll the guards for sure!

With Stanza and other similar struts they fit no problem with 195/50R15 tyres and will only need to cut the front bottom corner out of the front guards for clearance when turning.

With Sunny (B310) struts on front and 195/50R15 tyres, it requires to roll all the guard lips, and run spacers on rear as they were scrubbing the inner guard and on all wheel arches the sharp lip all around the guard was tearing into the tyre slightly so rolled it right up.

Lug Nuts

M12x1.25 thread

B110: Nuts are 19mm hex head (~3/4 inch)
B210: 13/16" lug nuts

See main article Wheel Studs

Torque

From the 1978 B120 factory service manual (English RHD/LHD):

8.0-9.0 kg/m (58-65 ft-lb)

Wheel Balance

From the 1978 B120 factory service manual (English RHD/LHD):

Maximum allowable unbalance at rim flange: 10 gr (0.35 oz)
Tire balancing weight: 10-70 gr (0.35-2.47 oz), spacing 10 gr (0.35 oz)

Wheel Offset

The stock wheel is 30 mm positive offset (mounting face is 30mm outboard of the wheel's center line). This offset perfectly centers the tire inside the fender. Because it is 4" wide, it can fit the stock 155-width tire or a wider 165-width tire. 175-width requires a 5" wide wheel.

STOCK = 30 mm offset

+30 offset is optimum for Datsun 1200, as the wheel hub face is exactly -30mm offset in the middle of the wheelwell. So a 30 offset wheel will center the tire in the well, allowing the maximum width within stock bodywork.

The offset doesn't mean much without knowing the tire width. All offset will tell you is if the tires will be offset towards the vehicle centerline (+ offset) or away from the vehicle centerline (- offset). But it doesn't say how far the edge of the tire will be -- for that you need to know the tire width along with the offset.

Stock Offset

model	Wheel type	Offset	wheel width	Tire width
B110	steel	30 mm (1.18 in)	4" wide wheel	155 mm
B210/B310	steel	30 mm (1.18 in)	4.5"	155 mm
B210/B310	aluminum	25 mm (0.98 in)	5" wide wheel	175 mm

From this table we might conclude:

Using B210 wheels on B110 results in a 10mm (~1/2 inch) wider overall width (measured from outside-sidewall to outside-sidewall). NOTE: These still fit under unmodifed B110 fenders.

B210/B310 Factory Steel vs. Aluminum wheels may have different widths, but have close to the the same overall width as installed. The wheels are 1/2" wider (13mm), but offset on each side is 5mm less. So the outside edges as-installed are less than 2mm further apart from each other than the narrower steel wheels.

Choosing Wheel Offset

When choosing aftermarket wheels, a small amount of positive offset is desirable. This preserves the original suspension design factors and loads on the bearings.

Stock +30 offset works with up to 175-width tires (requiring 5" to 6.5" wide wheels).

The offset and wheel width work together to locate the wheel inside the bodywork.

Negative Offset
"Deep dish" old-school wheels have lots of negative offset

Positive Offset
FWD wheels typically have lots of positive offset
Datsun 1200 stock wheels have a mild amount of postive offset

wheel offset and backspace diagram

Normal Width Tires

For tires from 155-wide to 175-wide (front) up to 195-wide (rear) use a +30 offset.

The rear wheel mounting face (face of the drum brake) is offset -30mm from the center of the wheelwell. So using a +30mm offset wheel perfectly centers the tire in the wheelwell. Just like the stock wheels (+30 offset). Those clever Datsun engineers!

Narrow Tires

For skinny tires, you may wish to move the tire outward close to the fender, giving it a more full look. A +10 offset for 155-width tires or +15 offset for 165-width tires will do this.

Extra-Wide Tires

For tires wider than 175-wide (front) or 195-wide (rear), they will only fit by moving the into the fender opening. This will be OK for 185/205 by rolling the guards.

For even wider tires, use a very low profile tire so it won't go up and hit the fender lip, or better yet add fenders flares.

Here are some reports by club members indicating what offsets they have made work. Many of these place the wheel face outside of the fenders.

Zero offset works well up to 6"-wide wheels.
6.5 and 7" wheels need to be tucked inside a a little more and so require +10 to +15 offset.
8" wheels need to be tucked outside to fit, so require -5 or more negative offset and will stick out past the bodywork.

FWD Wheels

NOTE that front-wheel-drive cars use wheels with highly positive offsets. This is to say that the mounting surface is far outboard of the wheel's center line, with the wheel tucking inside. Often they will fit the 1200 if wheel spacers are used to bring the mounting surface back toward the wheel's centerline.

wheel spacers

Measuring Offset

Wheel Offset is the difference between the flange and the wheel centerline. You don't need to know the width to measure Offset.

Lay wheel flat on the ground (outside face down). You can also do this with tire mounted if it is aired up.
Lay straitedge or straight sawn lumber piece across it, measure to the ground.
Measure down to the flange back face
Subtract the two measurements

offset = (distance to flange) - (1/2 width)

Centerline = 1/2 width

Zero Offset: The wheel is centered exactly over the hub face
+ Offset: The wheel is offset towards the inside of the car
- Offset: The wheel is offset towards the outside of the car

Offset Charts

1200 Sedan Wheel hub is offset -30 mm from centerline. So +30 offset wheels will perfectly centered inside the fender.

A zero-offset wheel will be positioned to the outside of the Sedan:

A +30 wheel would bring the tire to the center

Optimum offset: +30 for tires up to 175-wide front, 195-wide rear

No Body Mods

REAR SEDAN
Tire size Min. Max. Offset
155/80R12   6   58
165/70R12   7   56
165/55R12  12   52
175/70R13  16   48
185/60R13  21   43
195/60R13  26   38

With Rolled Guards

See Rolling the Guard

REAR SEDAN
Tire size Min. Max. Offset
205/45R16  23   29
205/60R13  24   27

With 1" Flares

REAR SEDAN
Tire size Min. Max. Offset
205/55R14   2   25
215/50R14   5   22
225/50R15   8   18
235/45R17  10   17

Scrub Radius

Too much scrub makes the car a bit unstable under braking and therefore won't generate quite as much cornering grip. This applies mostly to the front suspension (due to the kingpin inclination angle) and not so much to the rear (where camber is nominally zero due to the live-axle design).

This means spacing your wheels outward (away from the strut) is generally bad, increasing your scrub radius. Using negative offset wheels, wheel spacers, or longer LCA or longer ball joints will exacerbate this problem.

McPherson struts have a scrub radius problem in general. However, since Porsche 911 and most BMWs use McPherson strut, it is not necessarily a serious handling problem which cannot be overcome. Newer modifed-strut designs (such as 2011 GM HiPer Strut and 2011 Ford RevoKnuckle designs) reduce the scrub radius. For your old car, keep the scrub radius to the minimum.

scrub radius. its the distance from the centre of the tyre contact patch to where SAI intersects the ground.
'+' scrub radius where the centre of tyre contact patch is outside SAI, '-' where its inside the SAI.
SAI = Steering Axis Inclination. On a strut front end, its simply an imaginary line drawn throught the centre of the strut. Or, it you have bent struts, it's a line drawn through the lower pivot (balljoint) and the top 'pivot' (where the shock insert bolts to the strut top)
Strut front ends apparently don't like lots of + scrub.
Obviously with a given wheel offset, the only way to alter scrub is to alter the SAI. Movint the top of the strut inwards will do that, but also move the centre of tyre contact patch outwards to a lesser extent, so you can't really alter it all that much.
anyway, all i really know is my +3 offset (103mm backspace) 7" Hotwires work much better than the -10 (90mm backspace) offset 7" superlites I had. Would other less offset wheels work better? I dunno...
reference: LB18_110 on 1200 coupe race car

Largest Sizes to Fit 1200

17-inch diameter wheels easily fit the 1200. The key is: width of the tyre and overall height of the tyre. Even 18" wheels are being used on 1200s with stock bodywork, if a low-profile tire is used.

The wheel mainly positions the tire within the wheelwell. The tire is the part that will rub on the fender or rub on the spring.

To make maximum use of the wheelwell width, +30 offset works best with Datsun 1200.

You can fit even wider tires by shifting them out of the fender opening. A zero offset wheel will do this with anything larger than 165-wide tires. The tires will rub on the bodywork unless they are very low profile (small diameter, such as 205/50R13). But usually Rolling the Guard and/or overfender flares are utilized.

16"

4": B110 12" stockers are 4" wide with +30 offset

4.5": B310 13" +30 stockers won't fit the front of the 1200. They hit the brake calipers, which may be related to the shape of the wheel.

5.5": Most with appropriate offset will fit a Datsun 1200. 15mm offset wheels fit nicely under the front guards, but look anemic on the rear.

6-inch wide wheels: most will not fit, but a zero offset will.

6.5": the biggest 15s you can put on are +24 15x6.5 even then they stick out a couple of mm past the fenders

6.5" 16s with a 40mm offset (silvia wheels or R32 skyline stock rims fit this). These wheels are the limit, I have 195/45 R16 on it and they sit within the guard and don't rub anything....but the front of the guard has been altered.

7" Reportedly 13x7 +0 fits perfectly

7" wide wheels with offset of +10 require front guards modification (they will rub on the fenders). At full lock -- depending on the tires -- the fronts will probably scrub inside the guards

7" 14s with 0 offset sit flush with the rear and poke a little on the front. More positive offset bring them inside, but then you risk hitting the struts

7": 15s +10 offset on fronts and +2 offset on rears. Tires rub a little at full lock. With pumped guards with possibly 15x7 -2 offset would work better.

7": I have 14x7 on my 1200. With zero offset. It is a tight fit with stretched tires. Mine have 175/60R14 tires, so obviously they are stretched over the 7 inch wide rim.

See: Tire Sizes for a discussion of the largest tires that will fit and which wheels are needed for those tires.

IMPORTANT
Height has little to do with your wheel, but 
more to do with the tire. See Tires
a 195-width tire will fit if 
small enough diameter (e.g. 195-50R15)
You may need to roll the fender.

Negative Offset shifts the wheel outwards

Rear

Rear wheel mounting flanges in Datsun 1200 reportedly can vary by 10mm side to side (see offset diff housing alignment problem?).

7": 13x7 with 0 offset and they fill the gaurds perfectly. The tire will be under the guard lip, and will rub if the 1200 is lowered unless the tires are very small diameter.

8.5": 13" -15 with 175/60R13

9": 13 x 9 zero offset, tire 215/50r13

Ute Rear

There is more room under the rear of the Datsun 1200 pickup model, compared to the sedans, wagons and coupes.

Wheel Adapters

Wheel adapters can be used. These bolt to the hub, then you can fit other wheels. For example, fitting 5-bolt wheels to the stock 4-bolt hubs.

Wheel Spacers

If the offset of your wheels is too positive, you can use spacers to space them out to the proper place. You may need to fit longer wheel studs.

If the offset is too negative, they will fit the fenders (guards) and there is nothing you can do except cut out the bodywork, perhaps fitting large flares.

Modifying Axles to fit other wheel patterns

Modifying Axles to fit other wheel patterns can be done as well. For example, you might have the axles drilled to fit five bolts, enabling you to use 5-bolt wheels.

re-drilled axle flange

Suppliers

Wreckers are your best bargain here ... lots of 13, 14, 15, 16 and 17" wheels and tires.

Manufacturers

SSR Speed Star Wheels sells new and classic designs
http://www.panasport.com
Konig makes a retro-style wheel with the proper offset for RWD application. Konig Rewind
Minilite Wheels - The real deal! alloy racing wheels 12x5 only $159 each in Silver, Black, White. Gold and Anthracite also available.

Mail order

tirerack.com
http://classicdatsun.com has Panasports

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Wheels

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