Staggered Setup Question

[Chewie4299]

Hey folks. Just curious about something. It seems as though most folks are going with widths like 9/9.5 in the rear and 8/8.5 in the front when shooting for a staggered setup.

I can do this with the two wheels I am considering.

Weds SA-15R

Work Emotion CR Ultimate

However, I can also go with a 7.5 width in the front and a 9.5 width in the rear. I may have missed it but I can't recall seeing many doing this. What are the potential drawbacks and/or benefits to doing this? I know that I cannot rotate my tires but I'm okay with that. I'll replace them as needed in pairs.

The car is N/A now but will very likely be supercharged soon.

I do also intend to track the car but may go with a smaller RPF1 for track days or something similar. So this setups may see some track use but will be primarily for the street.

I am not lowered currently and may eventually utilize some coilovers if I feel it necessary for track performance.

So, with that in mind, I also need to think about offsets that work...

The wheel directory can help me with that. I'm mainly interested in the pros and cons of different staggered setups.


Edit: So at this point I'm looking at the Work Emotion CR Ultimate in white. This is if I can get these specs as they aren't standard.

18x7.5 +38 up front with a 225/40 tire.

18x9.5 +38 in back with a 255/35 tire.

Based on my research utilizing the wheel directory this obviously won't be perfectly flush. The fronts will be sucked in about 7mm according to the charts there. The rears will be poking out by 12mm. I looked at a ton of pics posted by guys running this spec in the rear and they don't look bad.

I'm basically wondering what our wheel/tire pros think of this setup. I have a hard time figuring out the offsets and the effects of a ride height drop and so on.

[Huehuecoyotl]

If youre tracking it skip staggered
buy lightweight 17x7 or 7.5 and run a r-comp in stock size

and get coilovers

[Chewie4299]

Originally Posted by Huehuecoyotl

If youre tracking it skip staggered
buy lightweight 17x7 or 7.5 and run a r-comp in stock size

and get coilovers

That's the primary reason I'd probably grab some RPF1s for the track. 17" and lightweight.

My question here is for the street where I'll be going with 18" wheels. I'm just trying to decide whether or not to go staggered and if so, in what way.

I want the concave look in the back.

[Huehuecoyotl]

Just so you know that 'look', may be heavier, slower, and worse handling...
I always prefer a faster car than one that looks fast but thats me

[Chewie4299]

Originally Posted by Huehuecoyotl

Just so you know that 'look', may be heavier, slower, and worse handling...
I always prefer a faster car than one that looks fast but thats me

I'm very aware of this. Again, I'd most likely be getting a separate set of wheels for the track.

It'd be nice to be able to put on some dress shoes for a night out on the town and then switch over to my running sneakers for marathons....

So at this point I'm looking at the Work Emotion CR Ultimate in white. This is if I can get these specs as they aren't standard.

18x7.5 +38 up front with a 225/40 tire.

18x9.5 +38 in back with a 255/35 tire.

Based on my research utilizing the wheel directory this obviously won't be perfectly flush. The fronts will be sucked in about 7mm according to the charts there. The rears will be poking out by 12mm. I looked at a ton of pics posted by guys running this spec in the rear and they don't look bad.

I'm basically wondering what our wheel/tire pros think of this setup. I have a hard time figuring out the offsets and the effects of a ride height drop and so on.

[swift996]

Square set ups don't always equivalate to faster cornering/faster lap times.

If you have adjustable coilovers/struts and/or sways/camber adjustment you can dial in a lot. I'm going to be running staggered. I do with my 911 and M3 and they both handle amazing. The benefit to a wider rear tire is more grip on corner exit as you can get on the gas a little sooner. It probably won't make a huge difference if you're NA in a higher speed turn, but with FI it definitely will keep you going with more traction.

Obviously a wider tire will cause more drag and in the rear will introduce some understeer. Just stiffen up the rear a little bit and it will neutralize.

[Huehuecoyotl]

As a m3 and 911 owner two, the chassis and weight transfer and suspension design is not the same on all three cars. I too run staggered on my 911s(oversteer) and m3s(understeer) but on on BRZs(neutral)

on 86 I think square IS faster, talk to RCE, robispec, stano,dave-ror and see what their opinions are on staggered for track

OP already said they want staggered for looks and 18s
I would suggest 17 or smaller for track on this car

[swift996]

The thing is square is obviously better for natural balance but if you have adjustability it's just not as important. In addition, the more power you make, the more grip you will want out back. Pretty much every sports car comes with a staggered set up.

I haven't seen much evidence suggesting a non-square setup is slower on this car. I get that most of the track guys prefer the square set up. I just think too many people hype this on here based on peoples opinions and driving preferences.

[swift996]

BTW - I'm going to be a little heavier than I want but I'll be going:

18x8 - 235/40/18
18x9 - 255/35/18

I might pick up a set of RFP1s in 17" size if I end up tracking this car more than a couple times a year. I'll be doing a HPDE at Mid-Ohio in June and should have some good feedback.