Downsizing Wheels and Tires -- I Want Less Grip and More Sidewall!

[diss7]

Find second hand wheels before going to rota crap. There's heaps of Facebook groups and things for genuine wheels. Some posts are from guys in Japan and they'll give quotes for landed in aus or Nz or us. Brand new rota's are about $1200 in Nz. I've bought 3 sets of volks and a set of ssr's, all for under a grand each. The good thing is 5x100 isn't popular so you get good deals second hand. As the seller might've be sitting on them for ages.

Here's a couple of pics I took last night as I was hooning around a new industrial estate. No action shots it was only me. But I have 16" ssr's on the back and 17" volks on the front.

[stevo_12v]

Haha what's wrong with ROTA Crap? :P If it's for a cheap track setup.. I think it would be fine, depends on how SMOOTH the track is though lol!

That being said, they have a nice(imho) 'throwback' design coming out shortly.
Kinda old-school-meets-futuristic-concavity-newschool-but-somewhat-functional? I say functional as although it has the outer vents for hot air dissipation for the brakes, they aren't nearly as square as the OG 'turbo fan' setups which it is trying to mimic.
I think this would be the 16x8(which is the widest one in that range)



"New for 2014, Rota Wheels UK is hugely excited to launch the D154, a retro-style design available in an aggressive 16x8in ET20 and ET30 fitment. Taking inspiration from the classic ‘turbofan’ wheels of the 80s, Rota has applied a modern twist to the D154 mixing a concave centre along with a vented lip for a truly unique look!"


Anyway, I think these(BELOW) would be a good choice(if you can get them at a reasonable cost) - they are German made wheels so freight might be a bit pricey. I've priced up a set already, and its about $1800ish landed, not sure if I will get stung with GST and all the other govt fee BS that comes along with it though. Oh, they come in 18x8, but if your going 18's that kinda defeats the purpose of going for a turbofan style wheel since you'd have BBK..

Ronal R50 Aero 16


If you are downsizing also, it is better to check whether the wheel you want will fit the BBK(you may want.. later down the track). But if you do a combination of better pads, brake fluid, s/s lines(if you really have to), rotors, brake ducting($300-350) and active brake cooling(turbo fan type wheels) and lots of weight reduction I believe(imho of course) you really don't need a BBK unless your doing 8-9+ laps at a time.

[Yoniyama]

In my olden (MBA) days, a GM guy came to talk to us about Hummer marketing. The end-user profile of Hummers mainly consisted of three types:

1 The real macho's (or red-necks), think Arnold Schwarzenegger type, they account for about 30%;

2 Smaller women, they account for slightly under 20%; and

3 Smaller men who want a big piece of metal to boost their self-esteem, they were the biggest user-group accounting for more than 30%!

The GM marketing guy also mentioned a similar user-profile of monster wheels/tires. Yes, it is partly fashion trend. But also a subtle phallic symbol to shore up the self-esteem of smaller men.

I am too old to worry about fashion or the sexual implication of my wheels. I am putting in super-light 16-inch wheel with 205/55-16 tires, reducing the unsprung weight by about 8lb per corner. I am also putting in 2-piece front brake rotors, shedding another 4lb per corner. Reducing the unsprung weight by 12lb per corner in the front, and 8lb per corner in the back, will improve the ride and handling significantly. Although the ultimate road holding will be slightly reduced. But I don't race my FT-86, so I don't care.

I am even thinking about getting the smaller anti-roll bars (16mm solid front/14mm hollow rear) from Cusco to further reduce the unsprung weight and lessen the interference (to the suspension geometry) from the anti-roll bars.

The only un-decided issue is whether I should install softer struts/shocks. Because if the unsprung weight is reduced significantly, the struts/shocks should also be softened to match. Should I get a set of yellow Konis and set them all the way to soft? Or I could get the OEM BRZ rear shocks? The BRZ have softer OEM rear springs, so the OEM BRZ rear shocks should also be slightly softer.

By the way, I have a set of Enkei RPF-1 (16x7), and a set of Kosei TS (14x6). My wife bent one Enkei (very slightly) when she went over a pot-hole, but no issue with the Kosei yet. My suggestion: one should get a set of 5 (one for spare), if these super-light wheels are used.

[mad_sb]

Originally Posted by Rosso_Corsa

...
If we look toward Formula 1 as the pinnacle of 4 wheel technology where form follows function....

I think you mean where form follows a set of rule designed to force technological innovation

[BRZZZZZZZZZZ]

I run 16x7 OEM Subaru wheels off a 2.5RS with 205/55/16s for winter, and a set of Volk TE37s 16X7 with 225/50/16 Hankook RS-3s for summer.

[GTHachiRoku]

Originally Posted by BRZZZZZZZZZZ

I run 16x7 OEM Subaru wheels off a 2.5RS with 205/55/16s for winter, and a set of Volk TE37s 16X7 with 225/50/16 Hankook RS-3s for summer.

Any pics of said volk rs-3s combo?
I'm still undecided on wheels and am looking at function over form for the track.

[troek]

Plus 1 on that

[BRZZZZZZZZZZ]

Originally Posted by GTHachiRoku

Any pics of said volk rs-3s combo?
I'm still undecided on wheels and am looking at function over form for the track.

Not yet, I got the set second hand from someone a few weeks ago and havent had time to test fit them yet, as well as I am still waiting on my springs and sway bars to come in.