How to screw up your cars handling and ride - step by step!

[Racecomp Engineering]

Originally Posted by DoomsdayJesus

I have my yellows waiting for a weekend free of injury and obligations to install them. And some lightweight 17x7/7.5s to follow.

Any opinion on 7" vs. 7.5" wide wheels? Should I stick with stock or is the extra versatility worth it?

For the record I'm talking RPF-1s. I know the Koseis are lighter/cheaper but I just don't care for them and assume the quality is a tad lacking compared to Enkei's casting

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk

7.5s are really nice for this car, assuming you're using a quality tire that fits. Go for it.

- Andrew

[Racecomp Engineering]

Originally Posted by JGalp

Hey andy just a quick question, im kind of a newbie but i have hankook v12 235 or 245 tires (ill have to check when i get home) 17x9 +35 RPF1 with tein flex z on the 3 setting (pretty stiff). alignment and install of everything done at West end im pretty sure all the alignment specs are within what you said. and the car is lowered an inch or less. given all this info, would you say the tire pairing with coilover settings is good to go? i dont know if this is not enough info for you to judge if there is anything else you need to know please let me know. i appreciate it! (car is bone stock besides all this just cosmetic upgrades)

John

Yeah that sounds like a good pairing. Good call on only lowering an inch or less.

- Andrew

[Racecomp Engineering]

Originally Posted by Mr.Impreza

I have a question. So I measured and saw that the front stock wheels are 5mm further out than the rear wheels. If I add a 5mm spacer on rear to match the fronts, does this make me staggered?

The actual stock track width is 59.8″ front, 60.6″ rear. I suppose you're measuring from the fender or something? I'm okay with a 5mm spacer.

- Andrew

[Mr.Impreza]

Originally Posted by Racecomp Engineering

The actual stock track width is 59.8″ front, 60.6″ rear. I suppose you're measuring from the fender or something? I'm okay with a 5mm spacer.

- Andrew

Yeah, I was measuring from the fender. Thank you very much for the quick response!

[fumanchu1]

Out of curiosity, what's your opinion on 18x9.5 lightweight wheels? (rays 57xtreme to be exact. Also keep in mind that I'm not stock, Kw c38; all bushing and mounts are solid; kw v3 coils; BBK, hence the bigger wheels). Ok it was also bought not built lol

[JozhGoober]

Originally Posted by fumanchu1

Out of curiosity, what's your opinion on 18x9.5 lightweight wheels? (rays 57xtreme to be exact. Also keep in mind that I'm not stock, Kw c38; all bushing and mounts are solid; kw v3 coils; BBK, hence the bigger wheels). Ok it was also bought not built lol

The thing a lot of people seem to forget about is that bigger wheels means bigger, heavier tires. So for example, I'm running Hankook R-S3's. All specs from Tire rack:
215/45R17 tire weight: 22 lbs
245/40R17 tire weight: 25 lbs
265/35R18 tire weight: 28 lbs

So your wheels have to be 6 lbs lighter than the stock size before you break even on the weight increase, and even "lightweight" wheels weigh more as they get bigger. Those wheels are ~22 lbs according to the wheel directory, so you're probably looking at ~50 lbs per wheel+tire compared to a light 17x9 wheel (~16 lbs) and 245 tire at ~41 lbs.

You've got some more power, so the balance is up to you, but you'll probably get the best net performance going with a light 17x8 or 17x9 wheel and 235-245 width tires

[Racecomp Engineering]

Yeah you will be OKAY...but remember compound is generally more important than tire width if grip is your goal. So you will be even better with a slightly narrower wheel and a better tire.

My main point is that when I see 9.5s with 285 all-seasons...I see that as a waste (functionally).

- Andrew

[fumanchu1]

Originally Posted by Racecomp Engineering

Yeah you will be OKAY...but remember compound is generally more important than tire width if grip is your goal. So you will be even better with a slightly narrower wheel and a better tire.

My main point is that when I see 9.5s with 285 all-seasons...I see that as a waste (functionally).

- Andrew

Well now that's just silly rofl
Thanks for the answer, also thanks for your input @JozhGoober

[fumanchu1]

I'm aware that ideal size would be to reduce wheel width (and possibly go back to 17s but wheel gap eww lol) but I won't be doing so (limited budget) unless I either get a good trade deal for something comparable in smaller size or if I ever explode my wheels with a curb or two

[Racecomp Engineering]

We were happy with 18x8.5 wheels with 245s. Could have had some slight improvement with a 17 inch wheel. But they were BBS baller status wheels, so....even we make compromises sometimes.

- andrew

[Bykov]

I plan on running Enkei TS9's 18x8.5 +45 front and 18x8.5 +40 rear (staggered look yo) with 235/40 Michelin PSS all around coupled with Tein Mono Sport coils with about a 1 inch drop or just under it. (I plan on going with a complete whiteline bushing set and suspension geometry correction kit later down the road)


Is this a good pairing or am I hurting my handling characteristics? I scoured the internet for the most precise weight values and the best I could find put me at 2.3 lbs heavier per corner. I won't be running TPMS but I can't imagine that saves any weight worth mentioning. I hope to make up for that weight with a BBK later but whether or not it will clear is a completely different question.


I understand 17's would be better but the looks of 18's are my compromise and little gift to myself. Not on stock power (JRSC C38 soon as I put it on). As I go up in power I plan on running the same wheels but changing tire compound and width which is why I am leaning towards 8.5 width and not 8. Hopefully I didn't leave anything out and there is enough information to go on. Thank you in advance for any advice as I don't know anything about suspension tuning.

[boredom.is.me]

Originally Posted by Bykov

I plan on running Enkei TS9's 18x8.5 +45 front and 18x8.5 +40 rear (staggered look yo) with 235/40 Michelin PSS all around coupled with Tein Mono Sport coils with about a 1 inch drop or just under it. (I plan on going with a complete whiteline bushing set and suspension geometry correction kit later down the road)


Is this a good pairing or am I hurting my handling characteristics? I scoured the internet for the most precise weight values and the best I could find put me at 2.3 lbs heavier per corner. I won't be running TPMS but I can't imagine that saves any weight worth mentioning. I hope to make up for that weight with a BBK later but whether or not it will clear is a completely different question.


I understand 17's would be better but the looks of 18's are my compromise and little gift to myself. Not on stock power (JRSC C38 soon as I put it on). As I go up in power I plan on running the same wheels but changing tire compound and width which is why I am leaning towards 8.5 width and not 8. Hopefully I didn't leave anything out and there is enough information to go on. Thank you in advance for any advice as I don't know anything about suspension tuning.

Why not keep the same offset front and rear? A staggered setup up is having a wider rear than the front. If you go with the same offset in 8.5", then you can rotate. If you actually want a staggered setup, go 8/9 or 8.5/9.5.

You can also run 245/35 on an 18x8.5.

[Bykov]

Originally Posted by boredom.is.me

Why not keep the same offset front and rear? A staggered setup up is having a wider rear than the front. If you go with the same offset in 8.5", then you can rotate. If you actually want a staggered setup, go 8/9 or 8.5/9.5.

You can also run 245/35 on an 18x8.5.

I understand it is not truly staggered, the reason is that currently I am running 20mm spacers front and 25mm spacers rear and the look is absolutely perfect! They are hubcentric spacers and I only run them on the street with moderate driving, just for fun and I can afford bearings when it comes time to replace prematurely worn ones.


With those offsets, the wheels put me at 22mm front and 27mm rear. Dropping them 1 inch sucks them in another 2mm front and rear, the wheels will be sitting exactly as I want them. I am also hoping the slightly wider track in the rear helps reduce oversteer if only a little. With those offsets I will lose 18mm front and 13mm rear inner clearance and I read that there are no known fitment issues with that. Then again TS9's are not in the wheel directory? I am still confident though. I am fine not rotating. Depending on how much I get to make it to the track with my insane deployment schedule I will be replacing tires more often due to their age rather than their wear.


I am just hoping I can accomplish these form goals in mind without compromised function. I don't want to run spacers as I will already need hub adapters for these wheels so staggered offsets seems to be the next best thing. I am willing to go through with this if performance is equal to or greater than OEM but not if it will be any worse. I know no one can know for sure without testing but I am hoping to get a good assessment from someone more knowledgeable than myself.

[boredom.is.me]

Hub adapters? Your wheel face isn't going to look any different. And that 10mm extra width isn't going to make nearly as much of a difference as an actual staggered setup.

I suggest you to just drop the car first. You can also run 5mm spacers with the 45mm offset to achieve 40mm. There is just no point getting two different wheels in the same width.