Quote:
Originally Posted by brzultra
Others have noted differences from the stock ~21lb rims to ~15 or 16lb rims, and even measured higher whp on the dyno, and better mpg.
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Tons of guys will be in the forum here trying to justify their purchases and all that so I'll just thrown in my two cents from the more extreme end of wheel fitment-- I run 18x9.5 Rays wheels on my BRZ with 255/35s all around now and the steering characteristics have hardly changed whatsoever. MPG is the same. WHP is the same... (despite many said I'd be ruining the car's performance by running such a wide wheel) I've also done adjustable coilovers and camber plates set at track specs and the car handles like a dream, even though my wheels are mainly for looks.
I would be fairly surprised if you could feel a concrete difference between two sets of same-sized wheels that are slightly different weights, especially since tires are what will have a much more noticeable performance impact. If you were a track ace pushing your car to the very limit with some RE-71rs on and then switched to an identical size forged wheel with the same exact tires for some hot laps directly afterward, then it's possible you may feel a small difference in responsiveness. In daily use though? I'm gonna go with 95% placebo.
If you're not going to track or AutoX, you won't really need ultra light wheels to be shaving lap times. Just don't get something super heavy is all. IMO I would spring for Rays, Works, Advan, WedsSport, etc... because the cheaper wheels on the market aren't really an improvement in quality over the OEMs anyways. Tons of people run RPF1s because they're high quality but are essentially one of the only solid wheels in that ~$250/ wheel price point. My personal recommendation for a 17" wheel would be the Weds TC105x in 17x9. Looks good & performs well, and track ready even if you add power later.
tl:dr - if you want performance on a budget, keep the stock wheels and get summer tires like the MPSS, Firestone Indy, or Falken Azenis FK510. If you eventually plan on tracking the car or adding power, spring for some 17x9 quality wheels & the aforementioned tires (or RE-71rs, Toyo R888R, etc. if you're really serious about track tires). If you care about looking good, 18x9.5 all the wayyyy (but you'll need to get your car lowered as well).
Sorry for the wall of text -- just didn't want to see ya buy a set of wheels now and then feel like you need to upgrade again later down the road.