16x6.5" vs 17x9" (light weight vs grip)
 

How's it going guys, I am currently on the fence for my summer / track day set up.

There's a set of BBS forged rims I am considering that are 16x6.5" supposedly 13.5 lbs. On the opposite end of the spectrum I am also considering 17x9" 720Form GTF1.

Assuming both of which will have the same rubber mounted

16" - 205/55-16
17" - 245/40-17

Which will handle better? Lightweight set up or more rubber?

Heres a little article if you haven't read it yet... http://www.roadandtrack.com/car-cult...ransformation/

A 55 series tire is going to have a softer sidewall and won't have as good of feel or turn in. You'll probably need more camber (especially up front) as well.

IMO, go 17x8 with 225/45's.

A 17x9 RPF1 is 15.9lbs. I really doubt you're going to be faster by saving 2.4lbs on each corner. You're sacrificing a lot of mechanical grip going from 245 to 205.

It depends on how you define handle better. Better lap times? More rubber will generally give you better lap times.

If you go to 16x7 instead of 16x6.5 you can use 225/50 instead of 205/55.

Depends if you want to over-tyre the car which will make you faster or keep the fun character of the car which will help you improve your driving.

http://i.ytimg.com/vi/vqgSO8_cRio/hqdefault.jpg

How about some 16x8?

Aside from some ugly looking XXR wheels I'm having a hard time finding a set of wheels that are 16x8 with the proper offset for stock suspension. Any suggestions?

Doesn't really matter if your driving skill can't take advantage of either setup.

Basically, there aren't any, at least not in the 'affordable' category. I've been trying to find what you're looking for for close to a year now. ESM has a 16x8 in +35, but it weighs a ton and is ugly. The next closest thing would be the Enkei Compe in 16x8 +25, which is just a little too aggressivein offset for my taste, and aren't really worth the trouble at ~18 pounds. The RPF1 is available in 16x8 5x100 +35, but is like hen's teeth, and you'll be paying $250+ per wheel. I stumbled across some like-new Motegi Traklites (16x7 +40) with 225/50 Ecsta XS on them for $1200, which is a comparative bargain considering they're close to $300/wheel new, and they're 12.5 pounds each. They aren't really quite the look I was going for, but price and functionality outweighs (or in this case, weighs less than...lol) form.

Thanks for your feedback. How was the driving feel compared to your stock setup? Any suspension modification?

Dunno yet - I just bought them recently and won't have them on the car for another couple of weeks, as I'm still on winters (16x6.5 +50 steels and 205/55 Conti WinterExtremes). Everything else on the car is stock (camber bolts and an alignment are planned for next week), so I'm expecting the taller sidewall to give a better ride over the lousy roads here, plus it will work better with the relatively long travel OEM suspension than say a 245/40-17 would, in terms of keeping the tire oriented optimally to the ground.

I've seen a set of 16x8 5x100 TE37 on yahoo auction japan.

I have the Wedssport SA15R in the 16x7 with a Continental Extreme Contact DW 225/50/16 on my automatic FR-S. The rim weighs 14.8 lbs or so, the tire is approximately 21lbs. The car ws smoother on the road and handled much better. According to tire rack the 225/50 is the size they recommend for a 16x7. I like the way this rim looked and the price was quite affordable.