Enkei RPF1 17x8 or 17x9 ¿?

[phastafrican]

17x9 will give your more contact patch and low speed grip over 17x8. Actual tire widths to use will vary.

[ItzYaBoyBugZ]

I love my 17x8 enkei rpf1 in black with mutkei black lug on raven 15 frs
would be too small without lowering 1 inch
thank you eibach pro kit, "moderate drop" don't need anything but alignment after
fits perfectly with my dunlop 225/45/17 tires
they look beautiful IMO
one person said doesn't like wheel, reminded him I'm going for track/everyday driver not stance look
another person jokingly said looks like the spare donut wheel etc
there will be "haters" in the world
there is no perfect wheel/tire combo
but if there was one close to "perfect" this would be it IMO
*get money and buy another set of wheels,wheels are like shoes
you have boots for snow, sandals for beach and so on

[philooo]

I am very curious about this quote

" I can almost guarantee you that a 17x9" wheels and 235/40/17 NT01s would result in better lap times"

what's the consensus on rim width for track time attack ? I rememeber robispecs car had 17x8 RPF1 +45, and I know he is the kind of guy who doesn't leave anything on the table

[redlined600]

Take this with a gain of salt since it's also on a Miata and not a twin but in my experience at Road America (LOOONG striaghts) was 15x6(205) vs 15x9(225), both EHP tires. The 15x9/225s were slower at the end of each major straight but enough time was made up in the corners that overall lap times were lower.

[rx3]

I did try both 17x8 (235/40) and 17x9 (245/40) at a slalom event (sort of like an autocross but up to 4th gear - mostly 2nd though).
Same layout but different day and I was faster on the wider rim/tires (less than 1 second over a run time of 150 seconds).

[rx3]

FWIW:
The car feels/appears much faster on 17x9 compared to 17x8 than what the clock says.

[Toyota GT 86]

Thanks, I finally got 17x9+35 with Hoosier A7 245/40 all around

[normally_aspirated]

Originally Posted by Toyota GT 86

Thanks, I finally got 17x9+35 with Hoosier A7 245/40 all around

Let us know how it goes

[rx3]

I've meanwhile mounted 4 Michelin 24/61-17 S5B on those 17x9 (tire section is 248 mm and patch width is 235 mm): http://www.michelinmotorsport.com/Ty...illclimb/Slick
(I was on Toyo R888 245/40 before).

(I was also considering the Hoosier A7 but the Michelin give a slight gearing advantage, are lighter and in the 2-liter-slick-class most slalom races were won on those tires last year (as opposed to Yokohama and Avon - nobody's running on Hoosier here)).

I won't be able to test them before May though.

[ultra]

I've asked this very same questions before on this forum and was told that it'd probably depend on circuit layout. In some cases more speed from a lighter & narrower rim & tire combo might outweigh the extra grip of a wider combo. Or maybe not.

Consensus was around 8 or 9 inch rims and up to a 245 width R comp max, or less rubber width if you aren't heating up a 245 properly.

I barely roast 225 R comps on my track - vague curling around the trad blocks but no crazy wear or melting.

Autocrossing may be different again.

[GeorgeJFrick]

I went the other way and got 17x8. I figured I could sell them if I need to upgrade, and as a newer track day guy; I'd like to work my way through some different tires/etc. Hopefully I'll run into someone at a track day with 17x9 and we can swap for a session.

[redlined600]

Originally Posted by GeorgeJFrick

I went the other way and got 17x8. I figured I could sell them if I need to upgrade, and as a newer track day guy; I'd like to work my way through some different tires/etc. Hopefully I'll run into someone at a track day with 17x9 and we can swap for a session.

There will be a few twins at Road America in June.

[Toyota GT 86]

I will run at the end of the month. I will send photos and videos

[rx3]

I tried the Michelin Slick mentioned above on a very tight course. (1 min 30 seconds long; 30% was in 1st gear)
There's a substantial difference compared to the Toyo R888. The rear wouldn't break out at all as it usually does (for instance, accelerating out of a tight u-turn). This was the first time that I had to say that differential does not suffice, as it would let the inside wheel spin on a regular basis.
Even shifting from 1st to 2nd at full throttle in a turn barely got the rear to move.

The grip is very impressive it feels almost as cheating.
Because of it it's also less fun to drive because it's easier to control the car.

In short, it was a very easy win in the class I ran (sort of like STX on slicks with the difference that my car is mostly stock).

Also, since the diameter of the tires is relatively small (only 605 mm), all 4 wheels can easily be placed onto the rear seat area (so the trunk can be used for other things.)

Attached is a picture of the tire on a RPF1 17x9 rim (offset is 45mm in the rear and 35 mm in front):