Quote:
Originally Posted by Ginger Academy
Hey guys quick couple questions for you. So I will be swapping my stock wheels out for a 17x9 (still debating) preferably the RPF1s if money allows. I am a little confused when it comes to the tire selections on these small cars. I am really looking for function over looks but would enjoy the idea of a wider tire than stock. I am not much for the stretched look, so what would be my best options? Is the 225/45/17 going to be my best bet or could I get away with something wider. The reason I want to stick to 17s is due to the weight for autocross and retaining the sporty driving. Would going to an 18 be that big of a difference in the handling? I think 17s suite me personally better as the car is daily driven and not sure I wanna cough up money for low profile 18s every few months. Would I be better off with a 17x8 and just have a custom set made with that 35 offset (clear future BBK)? The car will be dropped in the near future on the TRD springs until I can afford a nice pair of coilovers. Any help would be greatly appreciated, I have scoured the threads only to be left more confused then when I started.
After looking some more at the calculator would 245/40/17 be a better choice?
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soo... to give you a full recommondation, you have to talk about all the mods.
I'm missing the offset of the 17x9 wheels, you noticed something +35 for a 17x8, so I guess you have the same on the 17x9. This will stick out in the front a bit, specially when not lowered. Nothing drastically, but so you know.
Now my answer is only covering your tire/wheel " question, not fitting, so if you give me your full fitting plans I can comment on that aswell.
Generally, on a 9" wide wheel I would suggest 245 tires. Either 245/40/17 if on 17" wheels, or 245/35/18 if on 18" wheels. This will be about "flush" with the wheel. 225 will be slighly stretched.
The difference between an 17" and 18" is pretty small. If you're not a professional driver, you will neither notice a difference, nor improve your time on a track depending on this choice.
While they are lighter in theory, practically if you compare the same wheel in 17 and 18" its very little, and nothing you notice while driving.
However, if you buy a super lightweight wheel in 17", and compare it to a shitty heavy weight 18" wheel, yes, it makes a difference, and I guess this is mostly where the "only 17" for track" voices come from.
Tirewise, it is only 5% less tireflank, so its neither that much more expensive, nor is it that "low profile". We are talking about an about 10cm high tireflank on an 17" tire, or 8.5cm on an 18" tire, so its not that big of a deal.
17" or 18" choice should be by what you like more from an optical point of view. Performance wise its sooooo little you will only notice it if you drive professional on a racetrack, and price wise its also not that big of a difference.
Hope this helps a bit, cheers