I havent decided on 17's or 18's yet, but can I fit 9.5's all around on stock R1 suspension without rolling the fenders or rubbing?

I'm thinking about the Rays Gram Lites in a 9.5 width with +38 offset and 275/35?

Basically I want the widest wheel/tire possible but I want to be able to rotate them to get the most out of them.


Rishie: Can you price these for me? I'm looking at the cast version (57c) in gunmetal or silver.

Thanks

 

Nope. That will rub in the front. You could run 235 tires and avoid rubbing that way but 9.5" wheels are too wide for 235 tires. To run 275 up front you'll probably need narrow springs and something around 63mm offset. It can be done however. Manny will post his expert opinion in 3...2...1...

 

Rishie?

 

No - It will not work. 18X9.5" +38 offset has the same front spacing as a 18X10 +44 offset (meaning how much it sticks out past the fender), and this is how it looks with 285/30/18s:

 

I'll have to look to see what my offset is. I "thought" it was 38, but I guess it's 45 or something....I dunno...Bought the rims from Rishie. I do run 18x.95's all the way around with 265's. PLENTY OF ROOM in the back, VERY little in the front. I tweaked one fender a bit. Asked the body shop to roll all four fenders and they only did the rears. PITA. I'll post a pic that shows how much room is left in back here...Ok found one...it shows front and rear simultaneously. You can see that there's room in back and none in front. YOU WILL have to run a coil over, 2.5" OD coil-over to run this width. Otherwise, an 8.5" up front. If I remember correctly, the 17" tire choices didn't work as well as the 18" choices.
Michel

 

You have to stay within stock tire diameters for clearance issues up front. If you want same sized 18s all the way around, you'll need to go with a 10 x 18s with 285/30-18s all the way around. 275/35-18s are too tall, to be used up front, while the 285/30-18s are slightly shorter than stock (which is a good thing for clearance up front).

I haven't tried it but I'm sure it will work--9.5 x 17, 51-mm offsets with 255/40-17s all the way around. The wider rim maximizes the support for the 255/40-17 tire size, and increases the contact patch as well by another 0.25 inch. Currently I run 255/40-17s on 9 x 17s (45-mm offset) all the way around, and I still get more tire sidewall rolling over than I'd like with a 9-inch wide rim (at the track of course not on the street). The upshot is I have no rubbing issues with stock-style H&R sport springs, R1 Showa shocks, and Eibach sway bars fr/rr.

I'm currently trying to sell my race-only SSR Comps (8.5 and 9.5 x 17s), so I can go with same size racing wheel/tires all the way around. I just really love the handling balance of that setup, and the flexibility of rotating expensive Hoosier R3S03s for maxiumum usable tire life!

I'd probably go with a CCW P4 mesh in street package, sized 9.5 x 17 all the way around, with 2 inches of offset, 7.25 inches of back space and 3.25 inches of front space. I could then run 275/40-17 Hoosier R3S03s at all four corners to maintain the handling balance and stick that I'm used to with that tire. A Hoosier 275/40-17 is much shorter in overall diameter than road tires due to the shallower tread depth of a DOT "cheater slick". The Hoosier 275/40-17 is 25.3 inches in OD, which is the same OD some street-tire, 255/40-17, 235/45-17, and 265/40-17!

 

Michel, your car is bad-***!

 

Michel,
What coil overs are you running? And what wheels are those? Your car is sweet.

Thanks everyone.

 

Tein HA's, which btw...are simply awesome. Originally I had reported that they were a bit harsh. Turns out that the shop put the stock upper mounts in wrong, causing the entire unit to slap against the top of the shock tower. They're in correctly now and the car has been transformed. No worse than the stock touring suspension. The wheels are SE37A's, Volk Racing.
Michel

 

With the stock-style coil springs, you can fit CCW P4 Mesh wheels in 9.5 x 17 with 50.4-mm offset, 3.27-inch front space, and 7.23-inch back space will work with 255/40-17 (Kumho V700 Victoracers) all the way around. John Purner verified my idea in this response from him today...


SleepR1--Can you do 9.5 x 17s in the mesh style in street trim
for a '93 Mazda Rx7 with H&R springs and Eibach comp
sway bars? I believe a 50.4-mm offset, 3.27 inch front space, and
7.23-inch back space will work all the way around
WITHOUT any clearance issues? Does this sound correct?

JP--fairly easy fittment

SleepR1--Are you using 17-inch wheel-centers for your 17s these
days? I recall that you used 16-inch wheel-centers
for the 17-inch P4 mesh wheels?

JP--P4's are the larger centers, P3's were the smaller (16" centers)

SleepR1--What is the ~weight of a 9.5 x 17, 50.4-mm offset mesh
wheel with hubcentric centercaps?

JP--should come in at 18.2-18.5

SleepR1--I'd be ordering a set of 5 wheels with 255/40-17 Kumho
V700 Victoracers on the wheels...shipping will be from Florida to Indianapolis IN 46217

JP--$130 for 5 with tires mounted

SleepR1--What are we talking in terms of cost?

JP--$450 per wheel + tires

John Purner: 888 577 0144

FWIW, JP gets the tires from Tire Rack and 255/40-17 Kumho V700s are $139 for full tread depth. Doing the arithmetic the total is $3075 for 5 CCW P4 Mesh in street trim with tires shipped from Florida to Indianapolis.

This will be my new spring/summer/autocross/road race setup, as I'm getting quite weary swapping to the Comp/Hoosier setup for track events. That and the handling with same size tires all the way around is just so sweet and neutral compared with the slight understeer with the asymmetric SSR Comp setup with 8.5 (fr) and 9.5 (rr) x 17s...

BTW, I'll order five because I carry around a full-size spare in case I ever get a flat Kumho V700 while on the road driving to the track event!

The CCW/Kumho setup will weigh ~10 more lbs per wheel/tire than my current SSR Comp/Hoosiers...the upshot is that the CCW/Kumho will weigh about the same as my current road setup--9 x 17 SSR Integral A2 with 255/40-17 Yokohama AVS Intermediate. Interestingly the Kumho V700 255/40-17 is about as wide as a Hoosier R3S03 in 275/40-17, with the Kumho being slightly shorter in overall diameter 24.8 inches vs. Hoosier 275/40-17 25.3 inches OD.

The advantage with the CCW/Kumho is that I'll be able to drive around on the Kumhos, as they're much sturdier tires than the Hoosiers, which are completely unstreetable due to the Hoosiers' very fragile construction (that's how the Hoosiers are made so light!).

As for laptimes, I'm hoping to be at least as fast as my current Comp/Hoosier setup...with the advantage of just being able to drive to the track with the wheels/tires already on the car!!!

 

Was your 17x8.5 and 9.5 setup on a stock suspension? I have an R2 and am looking for wheels/tires (I think I'm gonna go with 17s up from and 18s in back for street, and another set of 17s all the way around for autoX/drag)

Did you sell the SSR Comps yet? if not how many miles, what tires, how much tread etc... i might be interested in the set or a pair

 

No I have the H&R springs and Eibach Comp sway bars...the R1 Showa shocks were stock...also have Tri Point front sway bar mount reinforcers.

My SSR Comps are strictly open-track driving wheels with Hoosier R3S03. Wheels have five track events and the Hoosiers have two heat cycles. Wheels are in excellent condition...

 

oh ok, i was looking for street and autoX/drag tires. i'll let you know if i'm ever interested

 

JimmyJet...

NO problem...I'll probably end up keeping them, as there are no other wheels that are that light in those sizes--8.5 x 17, 9.5 x 17.

I'll end up buying another 8.5 and 9. 5 x 17 each, with Kumho V700 tires, so when I go an open track event, I'll have an extra fr and rr, in case one of the Kumhos get a flat on the way to the track

FWIW, it's a NO NO to drive the Hoosier R3S03s on regular roads, so don't do it! This is why when the Hoosier burn up, I'll be switching to Kumho V700s. These are much sturdier tires, and can easily be driven on the public roads WITH CONFIDENCE.