I'm looking into a new set of wheels (and of course, will go through Rishie for the hookup), but I was wondering about how aggressive I can be with regards to size of wheels and tires...

I have the M2 Advance Design coilovers (2.5" ID springs) and so have extra clearance that way. I am thinking of running a very conservative 245 wide front and 275 wide rear tires on 17x8.5 and 17x9.5 rear TE37s respectively.

However, now that I think about it, what are the largest sizes I can possibly go (both wheel and tire), given that my coilovers possibly give me extra clearance? I do not want to roll the fenders at all, but would not be adverse to getting the M2 trailing arms for extra clearance. I realise it all depends on what backspacing I run, etc... but has anyone with a similar setup run the numbers before to come up with an educated guesstimate?

TIA.

PS Sway bars are stock, although I might go with a Tri-point front setup sometime down the road.

 

285/30-18s on 10 x 18s all the way around...

 

285/30-18 on 18x10" CCWs for the track:
http://www.maxcooper.com/rx7/parts_i...w18/index.html

For the street, I am very happy with the Volks in 17x8.5 and 17x9.5 with 245/40 and 265/40 tires. I got the wheels from Rishie and wouldn't hesitate to buy from him again -- it was a good experience. More info:
http://www.maxcooper.com/rx7/parts_i...37k/index.html

-Max

 

i agree with the above. with M2s trailing arms and toe links, you could run 285/30-18s on all corners with no problem, given the fact that your wheel offsets are somewhat close to ideal.

 

Man, you guys make it real tempting to want an FD. Once I get the widebody back up here I'm gonna do the front and backspacing measurements to see if I can get a 10" up front, 9" currently. I so love the look of the 285/30, that tire is so gorgeous. Then the 335/30 in the rear with the existing 13"ers. hehe.

Oh man, I can't wait to pull those beat up Kinesis and give them a new life.

I bought the car with the setup. IMO. Poorly taken care of, but I'll be it's doctor. By the time I'm done I'll be a certified cosmetic surgeon for vehicles.

See ya, Rishie

I just got offset info for the SSR DEcolte Evolutions. It's very possible that we might be able to acquire that high offset in those wheels. They are not light, but you'd get those offsets in a JDM wheel that is known to turn heads on the FD. Plus they make different centers to fit different brake applications. Low pad, high pad, mid pad. Neat ****.

They'll do custom colored centers also at a minimal charge.

 

Hell ya. 21 different offsets for 18X10 alone? I'm thinking 18X10 +54 (med disk) front and 18X10 +49 (normal disk) rear - stock fenders. So the Decolte deal is going down then? Let me know asap!

 

Btw, Rishie - how heavy are the 18X10 SSR Decolte Evos? My old original Decolte's in 18X9.5 +43 weighed 20lbs flat. Not bad for a 3-piece. Did they put on weight or sumthin?

 

Wow, did not know that. I'm gonna have to ask Bob. I heard from an owner that they weren't that light. Find out Monday.

Good nite Mr. Decolte. hehe.

Rishie

 

I would definitely consider upgrading both fr/rr sway bars for good body roll control. This will minimize tire rubbing through the corners...

 

With the CCW 18" wheels (and others with proper sizing, I'm sure), you can run the same offset front and rear (good for rotating) and you don't need the M2 trailing links. They fit great. You will run into problems with the trailing links sooner with 17" wheels because the trailing links slant in toward the center of the car at the front, which means the smaller diameter wheel has the rim in a position that is closer to the trailing link for the same offset. But I still think that 17" wheels are preferable for the street.

-Max

 

Wow, thanks for the numerous replies. Lots of good info!

Seems that I may also be looking at a set of track-only rims aside from a set of street rims, since I do not want to be running that aggressively (18x10 all around) for the street.

Based on all the feedback I got, I'd like your opinions on these (as street wheels):

Volk TE-37s... but instead of the usual 17x8.5 front I was wondering about 17x9 on the front. I think they are available with a +40mm offset. This may not be enough offset I think. Does anybody else concur? Also instead of 17x9.5 rear, maybe 17x10 rear, with a +50mm offset? Is this even workable?

The reason I am exploring this option is because I am worried about the tire "rolling over", especially in the fronts, trying to fit a 255-wide onto a 8.5" rim. Does anybody think I will have problems doing this?

Or should I just forget about the TE-37s and just go with the Fikse FM/10s in the sizes and offsets Manny suggested, i.e. 255 on 17x9, 265 on 17x10?

 

The Volk 9 x 17, 40-mm offsets will be tight up front. You won't be able to mount 255/40-17s safely up front...probably 245/40-17 will work up front...in which case you might as well go with 8.5 x 17, 40-mm offsets. You have more flexibility with the rears. 9.5 x 17 with 40 to 45 mm offsets will work. 10-inch wide will run into rear trailing arm clearance issues with 50+-mm offsets in back. It's best to go with 10 x 18s if you want 50+-mm offsets in back.

Some 255s do fit on 8.5-inch wide rims (based on some tire specs I've seen), but I don't recommend this for maximum cornering performance. It's best to go with 9-inch wide rims for a 255.

I've had very good results with my road setup--SSR Integral A2s in 9 x 17, 45-mm offset with Yokohama AVS Intermediates in 255/40-17. My car has H&R Sport Springs, stock R1 shocks, and Eibach sway bars fr/rr. Absolutely no rubbing at all. The neutral handling is preserved, and I have maximum flexibility in tire rotations (the AVS I's are non-directional, but asymmetric).

My track setup is 8.5 x 17, 42-mm offset SSR Comps with 245/45-17 Hoosier R3S03 fronts; 9.5 x 17, 42-mm offset SSR Comps with 275/40-17 Hoosier R3S03 rears. This setup dials in a slight amount of understeer, to keep things safe at speed on track. The SSR Comp wheels are very light and comparable in weight to Volk SE37K or TE37K in the same sizes and offsets. Pricing is a bit less with the SSRs, but Rishie should be able to hook you up with less-than-retail pricing for the Volks...

 

Sonny, run 17x8.5 in the front right now with235/45/17 tire sizes. Before I rolled my fenders tore them outward (just ask Ivan he saw it) I got the recommended tire sizes from Volk which was 17x8.5 in the front and 17x9 i the rear. In the rear I run 255/40/17 however, so people run 275's

 

Your problem has less to do with wheel width, offset or tire width - its your overall tire diameter.

Let me guess - this happened when you were turning into a driveway going pretty fast (or any other situation where your wheel was turned and your suspension compressed) , right?

 

Yup you got me there =) My car was pretty low also, but still, I know of other people who had 275/40/17 in the front and still pulled out the fender (when unrolled)

I

 

Like dclin said, wheel diameter is very important. 275/40/17 are almost an inch taller than stock.

 

you mean overall tire diameter, not wheel diameter