[Gary in NJ]

I've been giving a lot of thought to tires and wheels. My priority is performance over aesthetics. Also, my car will not see track or autocross duty. My sole "give-in" to aesthetics is going with a wheel that pushes the wheel closer to a flush fit. In this regard my wheel search has included wheels in the +35 off-set range.

In my search I've been weight obsessed. I haven't given any consideration to a tire/wheel that can't save a minimum 10% over stock; 15% is my goal. Also, since this is a street-only car, for tire selection I've put more of a priority on ride quality and predictability versus ultimate grip. Looking at summer tire comparisons on Car & Driver and Tire Rack has served as my method of research.

As a quick reference, the stock wheel is a 17x7 +48 that weighs 21.4 pounds. Stock tire is 215/40-17 weighing 20 pounds for a total installed weight of 41.4 pounds.

If you want to search for 17x8 +35 5x100 wheels on Tirerack, choose a 2004 Dodge Neon SRT-4 as your search vehicle. If you search on any of the -86's you return mostly +48 wheels. In my search for wheels several have caught my attention due to their low weight. All of these wheels are 17x8:

Kosei K1-TS +35 @ 15.1 lbs
Kosei K4R +35 @ 15.8 lbs
Enkei RPF1 +35 @ 16.1 lbs
TSW Interlagos +35 @ 17.1
Enkei PF01 +38 @ 17.3 lbs
TSW Nurburgring +35 @ 17.95 lbs

So I have a significant weight reduction of the stock wheels, in a wider size. Weight savings range from 6.3 to 3.45 lbs (29% to 16% weight savings). But here is where most everyone makes the critical error; tire selection.

Some of the most popular tires completely give back any weight savings that the wheels provide...some gain weight. For example, in a 225/45-17:

Potenza RE760 @ 27lbs
Dunlop SP Sport 01 @ 27 lbs

There are some light weight tires in 225/40 that weigh the same or close to the stock 215/45's, these include:

Continental ExtremeContact DW @ 20lbs
Pirelli Cinturato P7 @ 20lbs
Dunlop Sport Maxx RT @ 21 lbs
Michelin Pilot Sport PS2 @ 22 pounds

Combining the Kosei K1-TS and a ExtremeContact yields an installed weight of 35.1 pounds; a savings of 6.3 pounds (15.2%). The similar looking (and widely popular) Enkei RPF1 yields an installed weight of 36.1 pounds; a savings of 5.3 pounds (12.8%). The only knock I have on the K1-TS & RPF1 is that the design has a visual effect of looking smaller then its size would suggest. The barrel has a raised area that the spoke attach...making the spokes appear short. Alas, the K1-TS seems to be the Unicorn wheel in the US. Kosei's website lists it with a +35 offset, but the sole US distributor (Tirerack) doesn't.

My favorite of the wheels is the TSW Nurburgring, but at an installed weight of 37.95 lbs they only offer an 8% weight savings. That's a lot of money spent for little return.

I also noticed that there is a weight penalty for choosing an et35 over an et48...about 0.2 to 0.5 pound per wheel. This is because most manufacturers (in the budget range) simply have a thicker mounting surface (rear side) rather then actually move the barrel towards the outside. Hey, ya get what ya pay for. Most of these wheels are in the $200 to $250 range. I can't see paying $350+ to save 0.2 pounds.

At this point I'm leaning towards the Kosei K4R/ExtremeContact combination which is close to my overall goal (5.6 lbs per wheel or 13.5%). As a bonus the wheels are available in Light Gray, which I think will provide a nice contrast on my WRB BRZ. More bonus...the center caps are only $15 each versus $26 each for the Enkei's.

That's my $0.02