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- - 17x8.5 or 18x9 (https://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=134982)

Im almost ready to buy my volk rims, and the question that keeps coming up is whether I should stick with 17 inch rims or up size to 18's. My main focus on the car is performance and I was under the impression that 17 was the sweet spot for wheel size, but others have told me that the 18's are the way to go. What do you guys think?

I believe 17x9 is the sweet spot for weight and grip. Having said that, I run 18x9.5 for looks (also planning FI in the future)

If you care about looks, run 18x9.5. You need 9.5s to get that deep concave face. There's no reason to run 18x9, you'll lose the look but won't gain performance.

If 100% function/performance is your game-- 17x9.

its all preference at that point. if i were you i would look at different tire manufacturer availability and pricing.

Do you like the small wheel big tire look or vice versa? Also going with 18's it widens up the wheel selection as well. 17's currently are quite limited in selection.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ric342 (Post 3223029)

I've never heard of going up in wheel size and lower in tire profile as offering any performance advantage. Also, they don't offer 17x9 wheels?

Quote:

Originally Posted by D-rek07 (Post 3223149)

I've never heard of going up in wheel size and lower in tire profile as offering any performance advantage. Also, they don't offer 17x9 wheels?

Konig has a few.. those are the choice autox rims, might not look the very best but ify ou want cheap, reliable and wide? second to none

I have wedssport tc105n 17x9 +35 on my FRS. This was even before I got coilovers. So you can run these no problem on stock suspension. Here's a picture with stock suspension

https://www.instagram.com/s/aGlnaGxp...812_1081088320

Quote:

Originally Posted by Clutch Dog (Post 3223154)

Konig has a few.. those are the choice autox rims, might not look the very best but if you want cheap, reliable and wide? second to none

I guess I'm a little confused. You said you were ready to buy Volk wheels but only have the option of 17x8.5 and 18x9?

Also RAYS makes this https://www.rayswheels.co.jp/product...=en&wheel=57CR

17x9 id run a 17 due to lowered cost. 18s can get pricey fast.

OP clearly doesnt know what he wants lol

Quote:

Originally Posted by D-rek07 (Post 3223149)

I've never heard of going up in wheel size and lower in tire profile as offering any performance advantage. Also, they don't offer 17x9 wheels?

It is less of an issue this decade, pushing for larger diameter wheels offered a lot of performance advantages in the past, it wasn't so long ago that 14" was a 'sporty' wheel (the Miata came on 14" wheels up to the launch of the NB when they were replaced with 15's, the AP1 S2000 had 16's) but we're in a sweet spot right now with most cars offering/accepting 17"-19" wheel options that work great.

Shorter stiffer sidewalls respond faster and more consistently, I believe back in the day before radials were common the lower profiles offered better stability at high speeds. Larger wheels also mean more space for larger brakes which in the early days of discs meant more thermal capacity, stop better = faster laptime.

There's a balance to strike, the car was designed around a 17" wheel with a ~24.7" diameter tire, messing with that formula may make the car feel 'off' as now the bushings, suspension, and chassis are working harder to compensate for the reduced tire flex. It could be worth it if you're going down the well of making your car faster but it sounds like you're just getting started so stick with the 17's imho, spend the money on seat time.

IMHO 17x9.5 is the PERFECT spec. You stick to the 17inch diameter but also get the 9.5 width that is appealing to most without going to 18s. The only problem is that it is very hard to come by. I’m running 17x9.5 +40 TE37SLs on mine.

Stick with the 17s ! Better for performance if that’s what you’re looking for and I’m pretty sure the wheels will look good in either size!

Quote:

Originally Posted by ayoshioka1 (Post 3223081)

I was thinking of sticking with the current size I have, 245/45/17 and buying another set of the bridgestone RE-71's. The reason I am thinking about going 18 is because it will fill out the car more, but all the mods I'v done on the car had functionality in mind not looks.

strat61caster hit the nail on the head when he mentioned it is all driven by brakes. Find the brakes you need for whatever you are doing and then find the smallest best tires and wheels that will fit over them. Lighter is always better, and if you are doing any type of track driving, the least expensive consumables are also a good idea.

Quote:

Originally Posted by strat61caster (Post 3223224)

Drive car hard, replace tires often, 17" tires cheaper than 18" tires, 17x9 is a standard wheel sizing for 245/40/17 (driven by SCCA and TT rulesets, trickle down effect from people copying fast guys in those realms), that tire works on an 8.5" wheel just fine. Go down to a 17x8 for a cheaper 225/45/17 tire, but I think that'd be too stretched on an 8.5" wheel, it'll work, just preferences. 17" wheels are usually cheaper than 18's too. 235's aren't common to split the difference, especially in fast tire compounds, uncommon tire = expensive tire.

It is less of an issue this decade, pushing for larger diameter wheels offered a lot of performance advantages in the past, it wasn't so long ago that 14" was a 'sporty' wheel (the Miata came on 14" wheels up to the launch of the NB when they were replaced with 15's, the AP1 S2000 had 16's) but we're in a sweet spot right now with most cars offering/accepting 17"-19" wheel options that work great.

Shorter stiffer sidewalls respond faster and more consistently, I believe back in the day before radials were common the lower profiles offered better stability at high speeds. Larger wheels also mean more space for larger brakes which in the early days of discs meant more thermal capacity, stop better = faster laptime.

There's a balance to strike, the car was designed around a 17" wheel with a ~24.7" diameter tire, messing with that formula may make the car feel 'off' as now the bushings, suspension, and chassis are working harder to compensate for the reduced tire flex. It could be worth it if you're going down the well of making your car faster but it sounds like you're just getting started so stick with the 17's imho, spend the money on seat time.

The car was designed around 16x7 wheels with 205/55 sized tires. Only the USA gets 17" wheels I believe.

Quote:

Originally Posted by why? (Post 3223300)

Looks like the 16"x6.5" wheels are base model wheels, you don't get an LSD with those so idk if the car is "designed around them" but Fair point that they are standard and on many frz86s, really 18 is for looks at this point for this platform. Seems like a cost and comfort option along with "you're going to buy your own wheels anyway" which was the point of the RA

http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showp...1&postcount=24

Quote:

Originally Posted by why? (Post 3223300)

The car was designed around 16x7 wheels with 205/55 sized tires. Only the USA gets 17" wheels I believe.

All the 86's I drove in Japan had 17's. They offer 16's on the base model, and the JDM BRZ has offered 18's for a while on the tS and STI sport.

*Update, placed an order for the volk te37 SL in a custom size of 5x100 17x9 square setup.

I have 17x8 RPF1s on my car with Michelin PSSs and have never had any traction problems with a stock engine.