RATIONAL Wheel & Tire Selection?
 

Still considering getting an FR-S, the first (and probably only) thing I'd likely change would be the wheels. Am a big fan of RPF-1s (made a huge difference on my Miata) or any wheel that's lighter than the stock setup.

Since this car is going to be my daily driver (with an occasional autocross session), I'm wondering just how much wheel I really need. I don't plan to lower the car, I don't want to go any larger than 17s, and from what I've been reading the car doesn't really need rubber that's wider than 8 inches.

So... questions: How much rubber do I really need? Would a 17 X 7 setup with reasonably sticky tires (Falken Azenis, Nitto NT-05) give me sufficient cornering traction without the penalty of the added rolling resistance of 17 X 8s? I see that you can't even get RPF-1s in anything narrower than a 17 X 8. What other wheels are available in a 17 X 7 or 17 X 7.5 that would be lighter than the stock wheels? Wheel weight is my primary concern.

Thanks!

You can put 225/45-17s on a 7" wheel. You could honestly stick with 215/45-17s and just upgrade the tire. You don't even need NT05s or Azenis, most people will suggest Michelin Pilot Super Sport 3s or Continental DWs. Either would be a huge upgrade, even in the stock size.

So... is there a list somewhere of 17 X 7s that are lighter than the stock wheels? I see all kinds of photos of nice looking wheels on this forum, but nobody ever seems to list the wheel's weight. And I almost don't care what a wheel looks like-- my preference is for getting rid of as much unsprung weight at possible, within reasonable limits of price and durability.

I haven't seen one. The wheel fitment sticky is worried more about offset than weight. I would think that any of the Enkei racing series or the normal light wheel manufacturers (Advan, Rays, SSR, Wedsport, etc...) would be lighter than stock, but that's just a guess.

The RPf1's do come in 17x7's as well as 17x7.5's:

http://www.tirerack.com/wheels/Wheel...All&sort=Brand

And they're less than 15lbs each. Pretty impressive.

My wheels are 17X8.5 and 4lb lighter than stock each.

Even going up to 245 Pilot AS3, I'm still at 2-3lb less per corner than stock.

So I'm sure if you stuck with 7's or 8's you can go quite a lot lighter.

(FYI - I'm on Forgestar F14)

Then you want these:

http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=32071

TWS T66-F 10.6lb wheels



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Or these. 5kg wheel, 10.5kg tire. About 34 lbs per corner instead of 42 or whatever OEM weighs.

http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=62734

16x7 TWS T66-F wheels = 4.82kg for ultimate weight savings.

17x7, 17x7.5, and 17x8 yield little differences in rolling resistance. You can even put a 215 on a 8" and be perfectly fine. The benefit is gaining additional sidewall stiffness from the proper "stretch".

Im running a 17x8 RPF1 with a 245/45 Dunlop ZII. It's WAY more stick than the original tire but that combo is also the same weight as the original wheel/tire combo. That said if you went with a 17x7 and skinnier tire you could come in under the OEM combo weight for sure.

Any wheel 20 lbs or less is lighter than the stock wheels...the stock wheels @ ~20.8lbs are not really a "light" wheel for this car. I'd stick to ~17lbs or less wheels, which you can search for by weight on Tire Rack...

Really though, you should decide on what tire size you want to run first, then determine needed wheel size based off that. Stock 215/45-17 size tires in a better compound works very well for the car, and on proper lightweight 17x8 wheels you'll shed ~ 5 lbs a corner... To me though, the 215/45-17 Kumho Ecsta XS I have are too much tire for daily driving and I either need to drop down a grade in compound (like to Max performance with some LE Sports) or decrease the tire tread width...or do both at the same time.

Oh wow...Kumho now has $100 rebate offer on the LE Sports....think I'll try them out in 205/45-17 on my 17x7.5 set of wheels so I can compare them to 215/45-17 XS on 17x8 wheels...I've had the LE Sport before on a slightly heavier vehicle and it was an excellent rain tire and should have better dry stick than the stock tires (the 205/45-17 Ecsta LE tread is wider than the stock 215/45-17 Michelin Primacy HP tread...and should have a sticker rubber compound)

As mentioned, the RPF-1 comes in 17x7 and is very light (I have them). For a DD tire there's nothing wrong with sticking with the 215/45 - they will be a little lighter and have less rolling resistance, and even though the 225 doesn't increase the OD all that much I swear I could notice the slower accel on the buttdyno.

This is the kind of information I'm looking for, and the direction I'll probably go.
What do you mean by "too much tire"? I went from 14 pound cheap aftermarket 14 X 6 wheels and horrible Hankook all season tires to 15 X 7 RPF-1s (9.4 pounds!) and Falken Azenis on my Miata. A miraculous difference in acceleration, braking, and, most importantly, cornering. It's like a fricking cat on velcro-- you have to be deep into "stupidly fast for public roads" territory before you begin to reach the limits of traction, and when the tires do let go they do so in a wonderfully controllable manner (can't say the same for the Yokohama S-Drives I tired). The only downside to this setup is ride quality (harsh) which isn't helped by running Tein lowering springs (which introduced me to the concept of bump stops).

So I'm interested in moving to a car that's a little quieter and a tad more comfortable than the Miata, while still being fun to drive. Am thinking an FR-S, with some minor modifications, might fit the bill nicely.

16x7 Volk TE37s are also very light (11lbs roughly a piece) and cheap if you can find a set used.