Tyre choice quandry

["John Fielding" <johnf@domain.elided>]

Seasons Greetings to all on the Digest.

I am modifying an Alfetta for use in hillclimbs and need to buy some wide tyres.  I have
been speaking to one of the techs at Tirerack.com who can supply the tyres I need but the
shipping cost is horrendous.  The 4 tyres would cost me $340 which is fair, but to ship
to South Africa by UPS the cost is $600, i.e nearly twice what the tyres cost!!!!  Does
anyone know of a cheaper shipping method?  I don't mind waiting a couple of months for
them to arrive but I can't afford $600 for shipping plus the 20% import duties.  One
other possibility is to change the wheel rims to 15" or even 16" so I can get a better
selection of tyre sizes.  The one's Tirterack.com offered are 245/50/14 for the front and
265/50/14 for the rear which should fit nicely on the 7J rims I have.  I can only get up
to  215/50 here in 15" size and 195/60 in 14" size as we have a very, limited selection
in this country.  

Anyone have any experience with 15" or even 16" wheel rims on the Alfa with 5 x 98 studs?
 
I plan to lower the front and rear suspension, anyone have a formula for cutting the rear
coil springs?  

On a slightly different note:  I would like to upgrade the front brakes on the Alfetta. 
Possible hub replacements have been mentioned for BMW ?? types with ventilated discs. 
Does anyone have definite model and part numbers for suitable transplants?  How about 4
pot calipers which would fit?  Are these 4 stud or 5 stud Alfa compatible?  I could pay
for a local machine shop to make up the necessary bits but would rather find something
"bolt-on" from a breakers yard.

Sorry for all the dumb questions but you American guys have a better choice than we do
here in darkest Africa.

Best regards - reply off the list if you like

johnf@domain.elided

John Fielding  - near Durban on the Indian Ocean 

1985 Alfetta - hillclimb car
1998 Uno Turbo  0-100km/h in 7,7s
1989 Honda Ballade 1500/16V - wifes shopping trolley!

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