Anybody got 16 inch wheels on their FR-S /BRZ?

[makesdrivingfunagain]

If I had a little bit more time and money to play around with I would consider lowering my car 1" or so and figuring a weigh out to fit 15" wheels on. I would consider a 225/50/15 for my street car that rarely sees autocross, maybe 8 times per year. I was just looking at the Pirreli P Zero Troffeo R and it has a UTQG of 60 AA A is rated the streetable track and Competition, weighs 20lbs and has a tire height of 23.9"or a 225/45/15 Toyo Proxes R888 with a height of 22.8" a UTQG of 100AA A and a weight of 21lbs. I would have to research the wheels but there has got to be something out there that can work if you go to a 4lug (right) or figure some way out. An Enkei in a 15X7 weight less than 10 pounds. I wonder how much a forged wheel in a 15x7 weighs. With the lighter tire and wheel combination and the lower tire height the car would accelerate faster (right). Anyways, I can daydream, but I would look into this if I had more money and time, plus the tires and rims are cheaper in this size. I currently am running a 16X7 with a 225/50/16 Neova

[venturaII]

Originally Posted by makesdrivingfunagain

If I had a little bit more time and money to play around with I would consider lowering my car 1" or so and figuring a weigh out to fit 15" wheels on. I would consider a 225/50/15 for my street car that rarely sees autocross, maybe 8 times per year. I was just looking at the Pirreli P Zero Troffeo R and it has a UTQG of 60 AA A is rated the streetable track and Competition, weighs 20lbs and has a tire height of 23.9"or a 225/45/15 Toyo Proxes R888 with a height of 22.8" a UTQG of 100AA A and a weight of 21lbs.

Those tire sizes are going to be very short compared to the OEM diameter and will affect everything from looks to overall gearing...is that your goal?


Regardless, I think I read that a 15" flat-out will not work with our front brakes, and only with some very careful selection can you find a 15" to fit over the rear brakes.

[nikitopo]

Today in Tokyo Auto Salon 2016. A 16 inch wheel and a stock height suspension. A nice decision given the limited suspension travel:

[why?]

love the look, and we'll see about the new winter tires.

[makesdrivingfunagain]

Yeah there is 15" forged wheels out there 15x7 (not sure if they will fit our bolt pattern, but someone could figure a weigh out im sure to mount them) that weigh like 8.5 lbs and a hoosier slick A7 that weighs 19lbs and height of 22.8". Total weight would be around 27.5 lbs, wheel and tire which a 255/40/18 Advan Neova weighs like 28#s plus a 18x9 wheel weighs around 20lbs for some cool non forged wheels, you could save nearly 80lbs in some cases in wheels if you figure a weigh out to mount them. Also, you would have to lower the car to make it look good as this is 2" shorter tire than stock. just day dreaming but I would look into it if I had the resources it would be fun to R&D on certain tracks

[Mr.Impreza]

Originally Posted by nikitopo

Today in Tokyo Auto Salon 2016. A 16 inch wheel and a stock height suspension. A nice decision given the limited suspension travel:

What rims re these? They look awesome!

[nikitopo]

Originally Posted by Mr.Impreza

What rims re these? They look awesome!

http://www.enkei.co.jp/wheels/racing/rs05/


They are the Gazoo spec. You have to import them from Japan.

[venturaII]

Originally Posted by nikitopo

http://www.enkei.co.jp/wheels/racing/rs05/


They are the Gazoo spec. You have to import them from Japan.

16 pounds...a little on the heavy side for a 16x7 and a big positive offset..

[nikitopo]

Originally Posted by venturaII

16 pounds...a little on the heavy side for a 16x7 and a big positive offset..

Yes they are not very light. They gave a focus on rigidity (less deformation) and on better cornering performance. The other alternative is to choose something lighter that gives better acceleration. They have a graph on their site and you can compare it with the graph of the RPF1's ...

[venturaII]

Originally Posted by nikitopo

Yes they are not very light. They gave a focus on rigidity (less deformation) and on better cornering performance. The other alternative is to choose something lighter that gives better acceleration. They have a graph on their site and you can compare it with the graph of the RPF1's ...

I have to wonder, with the popularity and success of the RPF1 in so many areas of motorsports, if the emphasis on increased rigidity and (supposed) better cornering performance isn't a bit misplaced?

[nikitopo]

Originally Posted by venturaII

I have to wonder, with the popularity and success of the RPF1 in so many areas of motorsports, if the emphasis on increased rigidity and (supposed) better cornering performance isn't a bit misplaced?

I haven't seen anyone in the Gazoo 86/BRZ races using the RPF1 wheels. At least not anyone from the top teams. There was an article by Enkei in a Japanese magazine explaining the rigidity issue, but I cannot find it now. I remember mentioning that even for them it isn't easy to sell heavier wheels, but they are trying to explain to customers.

Of course, the above applies to actual racing cars. In our cars in stock (sporty) form you will not notice any difference. They are too soft from the factory for a reason. The Gazoo 86/BRZ cars exploit the real potential of the chassis and use racing bushings. With such bushings you have much higher lateral forces(*) and wheels with higher rigidity work better.


___________
(*) I still remember the day I changed the suspension bushings and drove the car. My neck was hurting afterwards, even though I keep a good shape and have a thick neck. There is no way they could sell these cars to the public with such bushings.

[churchx]

Given relatively low power while NA nature of our cars imho low weight enhancing acceleration/braking may matter more then slight gains from rigidity increase. Haven't searched what wheels are actually get used, but my guess is that something like forged TWS T66-F 16" 4.82kg (also marked as Gazoo version) might be more popular. Higher price of forged ones probably isn't THAT high relative racing budget in general.

[nikitopo]

Originally Posted by churchx

Given relatively low power while NA nature of our cars imho low weight enhancing acceleration/braking may matter more then slight gains from rigidity increase. Haven't searched what wheels are actually get used, but my guess is that something like forged TWS T66-F 16" 4.82kg (also marked as Gazoo version) might be more popular. Higher price of forged ones probably isn't THAT high relative racing budget in general.

Yes these ones are also used, but they are more expensive. They are also very nice looking:

[nikitopo]

Originally Posted by venturaII

I have to wonder, with the popularity and success of the RPF1 in so many areas of motorsports, if the emphasis on increased rigidity and (supposed) better cornering performance isn't a bit misplaced?

Originally Posted by churchx

Given relatively low power while NA nature of our cars imho low weight enhancing acceleration/braking may matter more then slight gains from rigidity increase.

I was searching this a bit more lately. It looks that stronger rims help a lot in cornering. There is a reason that NASCAR cars are still using steel wheels. An example is the Bassett racing wheel company (http://www.bassettwheel.com/) that holds more NASCAR-sanctioned series championships than all other racing wheel companies combined. They're trying the wheels to be the lightest possible, but another target is to handle also the incredible forces generated through a corner.