Thanks for the inputs.

Since the car is my daily driver, I will not be tracking it, so I decided I'll go with the reps.

Very VERY true, and definitely a disclaimer I should have made in my previous post.

Thanks for adding that.

I, like the commentor above, am daily driving my car, with no current plans to take it to the track. So reps suit me just fine for the day-to-day "looks" factor.

However, if and when I do decide to take it to the track, it will be real wheels or nothing, for exactly the reasons you stated.

The point of my post wasn't to shit on reps. It's the fact that at $300 per wheel, you could get lightweight, track ready wheels that will keep stock steering feel, not destroy fuel mileage and you can rest easy knowing your hard earned money is going to a company who put the time into a design, instead of looking at a catalog and saying "I want you to make this wheel as cheaply as possible for us".

I came off way heavy handed on that post, and it wasn't my intention.

FYI, a list of cheap, lightweight wheels (without even really looking too hard):
949 6UL
RPF1
720Form GTF1 (I have these, and paid 1050 for my set in 17x9)
TSW Nurburgring
Any of the TireRack Motorsports wheels, though replicas, they're lightweight and dirt cheap.

yeah I looked at all those, and none of them look as good as the ES1s, to me personally. How I wish they were lighter. I'm actually a weight freak. I pulled out my trunk liner, the spare, and the tools, to save weight. And that's the only downside - they do weigh 24 lb at 18 x 8.5, which isn't ideal. I lose 0.1s with the 0-100 dash, go down by 1 mpg, and increase the braking distance by 3-4 feet. In the real world, I don't think I'll feel any of those changes. Plus the performance upgrades and the summer tires (MPSS) I will install will more than compensate for that, methinks. I spent hours and hours looking at wheels, and I really like the way the ES1s look. One shop actually quoted me $429 cad a piece, which is expensive. That leads me to think there is SOME quality to them. I've read many positive reviews. Some people even tracked them (not that I will). The whole replica issue almost made me switch to some Enkei Raijin, but the look is just not the same. So fake ass rims, here I come!

Don't bother getting performance tires with those wheels. It'll feel like you're trying to move the titanic when you're steering.

you mean the steering is going to get heavier? I actually like that. It should lighten at speed though, no?

Nope

Respect, bro.

Hahaha, you guys talk about steering being heavy and then I think of my old MR2 which had no power steering.

Anyone know where I can grab a set of Hankooks for a good price with a good amount of stock? Looking for a set of V12's but no where i called in my area carries them in 245/35/18.

Have you called the following:

Tires23 (http://www.tires23.com/)
Burning Rubber (http://burning-rubber.ca/)

Those are the two places I'd go to for all my tire and wheel needs.

Tires23 was the first place i called :(
Will call your other suggestion tomorrow!

hm, wrap the roof in gloss black....?

+1 on this.

Will be purchasing a can of black Autodip once the weather settles a bit.