Wheel Directory: Kosei K4R 17x8.0 +36
 

http://www.darrendriven.com/ft86/title.png

Had 215/45-17 Kumho XS installed on 17x8, +36mm offset Kosei K4R's this past Tuesday. I originally planned to go with Hankook RS-3's (as I've run them before) but decided to try the Kumho's as they are noted as being just about as good but weigh less and cost less. Before I installed the wheels I weighed them with my bathroom scale and they showed 15.6 lbs difference between just me and me+wheel. Wheel and tire combo should be under 37lbs. This will primarily be my track setup (which I'm going tomorrow, 21st), will use the stock wheels normally (until I can find a deal on some Enkei RP03's...)

I will say I like the fit of the Kosei/Kumho combo and man what a difference in feel when driving the FR-S... with traction control all off I cannot break traction with them daily driving and the car is much more neutral. Steering is as quick as ever and the car just points and goes without any noise. Should be really great on track!

On to the Pictures!

http://vracer111.smugmug.com/photos/...-bw6QxSw-L.jpg

http://vracer111.smugmug.com/photos/...-M3DNdhd-L.jpg

http://vracer111.smugmug.com/photos/...-FTvkGpk-L.jpg http://vracer111.smugmug.com/photos/...-pGTdhKx-L.jpg

http://vracer111.smugmug.com/photos/...B38dghD-XL.jpg

Yes, I wanted to try the stock size stretched to its maximum recommended wheel width application and because this is about as light a wheel/tire combo as you can get. May go up in tire size when time for new tires, but it will be at degradation of responsiveness in comparison to this setup and a 3-4lb weight inrease per tire. Tire compound and weight is more important than width...

See the thread I made about it: http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=9579

None whatsoever with the 215/45-17 Kumho XS tires....

No, they are 17x8 wheels with +36mm offset... as schtebie said 215/45-17 are designed for 7-8" wheel fitment. 215/45-17 Kumho XS's are wider than the stock Michelins; the tread is 7.9" wide - which is just about perfect for a 8" wheel.

Yes, I purchased them from Tire Rack.

I was wanting to get the "limited budget" lowest weight setup and wanted as light a weight tire as possible so 215/45-17 it was. As for the exhaust, yes it's stock with the rediculous US tips taken off...it will be like this until I get a catback system for it, which will be the SRT catback setup once it's released.

I would like to get the RCE suspension kit (20mm drop), but honestly the stock suspension is soo good I can hold off on that for a while. I'm ok with the stock height look for now. Catback exhaust is probably the most important upgrade for me and will be the first priority....

Looks better without the caps to me, the Kosei caps are too Blingy.... Tires are hardly stretched that much being the tread is nearly 8" in width.

That was the goal...to make it easier on the suspension and improve handling for track duty. It's one of the few lightweight wheels that has a decent offset (45-48mm is just not enough for a 8" wide wheel) and I wanted a sticky and wider 215/45-17 tire that had around an 8" tread width. Instead of changing tire size I'll just up the compound to DOT-R tires if I need to go faster (will also be lighter as well....)

I just ordered my set :thumbup: Though it would have been smart to wait until I had the car :bonk:

Quite interesting how similar your goals are to my own. I've been eyeing the same wheels, just ordered that exhaust, and waiting for the same springs (via the kit) to be orderable. :party0030:

This is interesting. TireRack only had the 17X7 +50mm before and that only weighs 14 lbs. Now they added the 17X8 +36mm that weighs 15.8 lbs. Which one to get?

For the OP, wouldn't the 17X7 be a better choice if you are sticking with the 215s? Also, do you think there will be rubbing with wider tires on the 17X8 with the more aggressive offset? What about TPMS? Did you mount them on the new wheels?

I'm thinking getting the 17X7 with 215s for the street and 17X8 with wider tires for the track.

I was actually looking at wheels before I got my FR-S...but Tire Rack didn't have their wheel viewer working then and there wasn't much selection. I just wish the K4R's came in silver...would look a lot better on a darker car. On a lighter color those the K4R's would definitely look sweeter!

Yeah, with the suspension as good as it is stock, priority one is getting a proper exhaust on the car... because that's the worst thing about the FR-S...I'll be prototyping a custom intake myself.

Depends on tire...I like Kumho and Hankook tires, which have 'softer' sidewalls. If you put them on the max width tire they are designed for the ride quality really comes out in them along with the handling. 225 or 235 width tires should fit fine with this offset...personally I don't think I'd ever go beyond 225 width for the FR-S. Did not mount TPMS to the Kosei's - no reason for track wheels to have TPMS valves...

I'm actually looking at lighter weight 16x7.5" wheels with 205/55-16 tires for possible dailies - even lighter than the track setup; imagine a 34lb wheel/tire combo...

Thanks OP. Just picked up my Whiteout FR-S today so its almost that time to buy wheels :thumbup:

Yeah, I won't put TPMS on my aftermarket wheels even if they are for the street but did you encounter any issues without them besides the dash light coming on? I've heard people say that on some cars without TPMS, the ECU will prevent traction/stability control to be turned off.

So you think 17X8 +36mm should be ok with 225/45-17? The only problem is that it is 0.4" larger in diameter. 235/40-17 is only 0.2" smaller in diameter but not sure how well they will fit with that offset.

No issues with TPMS light being on at all... It was run on track like that and handled brilliantly (as long as all aids were turned off - forgot to turn off the traction/stability systems before starting my last track run session and man was it annoying (ABS pulsing for no good reason and power cutting out a few times....) Make sure everything is off when running on track!

I'm sure 235/40-17 would work without any issue - Racecomp Engineering is running 245/35-18 tires on 18x8 wheels with +38 offset with no issues, plus they are lowered 20mm. I just don't want to add the extra weight of the wider tires...

No, the light was on (comes on after about 21 miles in a single trip), but there was no issues with it being on - everything functioned as normal. I guess I didn't say it clearly in the original post and you mistook that for the light didn't come on...

Cheddar...here's the wheels on Tirerack:

K4R

+1! I'll have exactly these on a Silver GT86, should look good IMHO

One question: does the added track width affect the steering feel? Less pure but more feedback?

Steering feel is much the same to me, though it's definitely a little sharper/quicker than stock because you have 215/45-17 tires stretched on 8" width wheels.

Hi

I'm new to the forum. Just got my K4R 17x8 +36mm with 225/45/17 Michelin Super Sport installed. Was going to get 17x8 RPF1s but I liked the look of this better and same weight.

Here is some picutures on stock heights. Getting carbon center caps soon.

kosei k4r in 17x8 with +36 offset
245 tires on them

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-j...o/IMAG0257.jpg

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/--...o/IMAG0258.jpg

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-y...o/IMAG0263.jpg

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-y...o/IMAG0266.jpg

Merged @UMB FR-S's post: same wheel w/ same spec

Hey @UMB FR-S what kind of tires are those?

I went with bfg rivals. After getting the new rim and tire set up I came fourth in my first autocross with them and won the last 3 events of the season with them very grippy!

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Hey all,

My 2015 BRZ should be coming in a few days and I was looking getting these wheels. I know a couple people in this thread have mentioned doing a 20mm drop but I haven't heard of anyone reporting on the results.

I was thinking of doing something similar to the following:

Kosei K4R 17x8 +36
Michelin Pilot SuperSport 225/45ZR17 (haven't decided on these yet)
Eiback Pro Kit Lowering Springs (~1inch drop)


I checked the numbers out on the fitment calculator and I'm thinking it should be fine with regards to clearances/rubbing, but I just wanted to check if anyone had any experience with a setup like this, particularly with the small drop.

Thanks!

--
EDIT:

Nevermind, looks like someone already did nearly this exact same thing with the OZ Ultraleggara's here:

http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=65113

Did you do it? Got any pics? I'm thinking of doing the same.

Just installed these wheels (Kosei K4R 17x8 +36) wrapped in Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3 91Y 225/45/17 on my stock suspension FR-S. I really like the "flush" look that these wheels provide. I didn't want to get too wide of a tire to avoid poke, especially in the front as I want to keep stock suspension/camber for the moment.

Initial observations:

1. Ordered everything from TireRack and I really like how, in addition to mounting/balancing for you at no additional charge, they also include proper lug nuts as well as install hub/centering rings into the wheels for your car.
2. Printed on the wheels is "5x114.3". When I saw this I was scared thinking that TireRack messed up and sent me the wrong wheels. I quickly took off one of my stock wheels and put on one of these and found that it fit perfectly with the centering ring. :thumbup:
3. The offset is pretty insane. There is a crazy amount of clearance for BBKs (see pics below)
4. I don't know if this is in my head or not but I feel like there is a slight increase in body roll. This could be related to changed scrub radius or slightly taller tire sidewalls or both.
5. I was expecting a slight drop in weight compared to stock but when I weighed the wheels with tires I found an *increase* of 1 lb. Stock wheels and (bald) tires weighed in at 38 lbs and these wheels with brand new tires were 39 lbs. I guess its not that bad of a tradeoff considering these wheels and tires are wider than stock, in addition to being new with full tread.

Some pics (sorry for low quality, did this after work and it was getting dark):

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/ek...=w1080-h608-no

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/K3...w1012-h1799-no

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/Fh...w1012-h1799-no

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/hT...=w1080-h608-no

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/HP...w1012-h1799-no

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/uB...=w1080-h608-no

Thanks,
--yamsta

TireRack has been pretty good to to me as well... I've bought quite a few sets of wheels over the years from them.


Regarding the offset and caliper space, this is a picture I took with the Essex AP Racing Sprint Brake Kit template in place...Lot's O ROOM!:

https://vracer111.smugmug.com/photos...-N5BmXmK-L.png

Since the car has a wider track with the wheels it's quite possible you are sensing more body roll since with the tires it will grip more and make the suspension work more with the wheels pushed out further. While I did enjoy the directness and planted feeling of the car with these wheels/offset on track, it was just too much for street. The Enkei Fujin's 17x7.5 with a 40mm offset kind of bridge the gap between filling out to the fender yet keeping the car more lively and responsive with the shorter track width. I still think the Kosei K4R is a great track wheel, but since I don't track much and really enjoyed the way Fujin's just sharpened up the handling with less than a 1lbm unsprung weight difference I sold the K4R's a while back. If I were to ever get new track wheels it would probably be the Kosei K8R's though...because I like the shorter track width which would be very close to what I'm running with the Enkei Fujin's and the mesh style.

215/45-17 tires would drop the mass noticeably...

^ This. Yeah, after driving around on the street the last few days I'm quickly realizing that even though overall grip (especially at the limit) has increased, the car lost a little bit of its charm and quirkiness that made it such an amazing car in stock form. I'm wondering though if thicker sway bars would help with the wider track. Then again I never wanted to go down this rabbit hole of suspension mods!

Love this thread, guys. Thanks for sharing all of your thoughts. It sounds like this is a great option, along with the 6UL and Apex wheel.

Yes, glad to see good lightweight options for this car. I'll say this though I really love the classic "JDM" look these wheels offer!

Yes...generally weight is my #1 concern for wheels followed by design and strength for the lowest cost point... with Kosei and Enkei being my preferred go-to brands. I did love the 949 Racing 6UL's I had on my Integra though.

Some last pictures of the K4R's on my car before I sold them (...for historical record):

https://vracer111.smugmug.com/photos...crZ8d54-XL.jpg

https://vracer111.smugmug.com/photos...8xV7dFs-XL.jpg

With the 17lb Enkei Fujin's I can live with the slight increase in weight over the Kosei K4R because I can fit 205/45-17 tires and get the weight down near equal with a precision of handling that is incredible and simply unmatched by any bigger tires. Plus the Fujin's make the K4R's look UGLY in comparison - they just have perfect design for the lines of the 86! But if I still tracked the car the K4R's would have been kept - they are a really great low cost and low weight wheel for the track.

Enkei Fujin wheels on FR-S

Enkei Fujin wheels on FR-S too

Not mine but they look amazing in this shot.I love this look, crisp and clean


Attachment 120051

Most def! The look of the Kosei just gives this classic Japanese car look. I love the fact that the wheel lugs are so deep making the spokes look like they are coming out of no where. Not to mention they koseis are actually made in Japan as well :party0030:

That's exactly what I think about this photo, I see modern day 2000GT

I've tracked and autocrossed with these rims and there is no loss of precissness. You could fit a 215 tire on them. If you want a narrow tire although 245s give maximum grip. Won my regional autocross series with these last year with BFG rivals on them and had no problem hugging cones.

https://youtu.be/rkukvyq1eZg

Great rims enjoy them allot

@UMB FR-S nice! What's your total setup? Tires, suspension, etc?

Umm back then suspension was stock and had 245/40/17 BFG rival tires on it. Couple exhaust mods and other minor stuff done at the time also.

Powder coated black.

http://i.imgur.com/5g58NSu.jpg

I just installed some of these last night. I wasn't going to buy wheels and tires for a while since my 2.0 has low mileage but couldn't resist $169 per wheel.

TRD Springs, K4R 17x8 +36 225/45/17 MPSS Almost perfect. Front could use some camber adjustment to match the back perfectly but could do without it.

Do you have any more pictures? I am looking into getting this for my RS 1.

here you go

Thank you. Seeing it on your car makes me want to get the wheels and tires. Since you've had it for some time now, any suggestions or thoughts?

no prob. do you mean my car in general or the new wheels and tires?

Here are some more...

What a great looking setup! Absolutely beautiful.

Thank you. I meant the wheels, but then realized you just got them. How do you like it so far?

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I like them a lot. I can feel a big difference with the tires and the added width. Feel more locked in.