sk8world

iTrader: (5)

I am curious what most of you are using on 17/8.5 front and 17/9.5 rear wheels?? I am thinking 265/40 rear and 245/40 front? That seems the close's to stock height. I want the tire to protect the wheel so it must be wide enough. Also I would like the side wall to look smaller than the stock 225/50 size. Help me out guys!!

SleepR1

I have those sizes in SSR Comps. The Comps are strictly track wheels, and I have Hoosier R3S03s mounted on them in 245/45-17 and 275/40-17. Race tires have shallower tread depth and the overall diameters for the Hoosiers in the sizes above is 25.3 inches (very close to stock)

If I ever decided to convert the SSR Comps for road use, I'd choose Bridgestone Potenza S-03s in 235/45-17 and 255/40-17s for the 8.5 fr and 9.5 rr x 17, respectively. Overall diameters are also very close--25 to 25.3 inches.

sk8world

iTrader: (5)

Sleepr1, I tried geting in touch with you before. I saw you had the SSR Comps. Thats what I am getting. Do you have any pics of them on your car? I was thinking of 265/40 on rear, You think thats too big?

SleepR1

Yes I have pic, but the file's too big to attach and post here...

No I think the 265/40-17s will be fine for the rears. I'd suggest a 235/45-17 for the fronts to match the overall diameter of the rear tires. Note too that the 235/40-17s will have a much lower load index than the 235/45-17...which is 92...same as our 225/50-16 stock tires.

sk8world

iTrader: (5)

anybody else have have some advice??

sk8world

iTrader: (5)

Sleepr1, What about 245/40 up front? Too big? I really want your advice since your are using the same wheels. I just want to make sure the look is there, not too big but not to small.. I tried to make that pic smaller you sent but no luck so far. Mike

SleepR1

Yeah, 245/40-17 up front will work. That size up front will add some "negative" rake to your car's stance due to the 245/40-17s being a shorter overall diameter than the 235/45-17s--265/40-17s. Negative rake is where the rear end will sit higher than the front end. IMO, our car already has this dialed in, so the shorter tires up front will exaggerate the negative rake just a tad...

Note my Comps are strictly track use. My track tires are Hoosier R3S03, sized 245/45-17--275/40-17 fr/rr, and are exactly the same overall diameter of 25.3 inches. Tire widths are perfect for the rim widths.

The overall rim widths of the Comps in 8.5 and 9.5-inches wide respectively are 9.375 and 10.375 inches, respectively fr/rr.

Wheel weights are 15 and 15.5 lbs, respectively, 8.5 fr/9.5 rr x 17. Mounted with the Hoosiers, the wheel/tire combos are extremely lightweight especially considering the tire sizes.

IMO, I'd be hesitant to run the Comps on the road, and I believe the Comps would be a bit of waste if you're not taking advantage of the lightness on a road racing circuit.

sk8world

iTrader: (5)

Thank's for the info Sleepr1. I am starting to think I will go with the 235/45 instead. As far as using the comps for road us I think they will be ok since I only put about 1500 miles on my car in a year. Mike

SleepR1

8.5 x 17 fr with 245/45-17 and 9.5 x 17 rr with 275/40-17 Hoosier R3S03 tires.

Pic was taken by Ned Morrell of the Cincinnati Rx7 Club using a digital camera. The event was Mid Ohio Region Porsche Club of America Drivers Education event 9 to 10 May 2002 at Mid Ohio Sports Car Course. I was on the false grid ready to roll with the 911s

3rdGenLuvr

SleepR1: ur car looks very sharp guy!

I was gonna buy those wheels but I opted last minute for the Gram Lights in the same sizes as ur SSR's. Any opinions on these wheels?

Also I noticed your running 275 on the rears for the track....why step down to 255 for the street? Just curious. Im not in the roadracing seen but I like driving my car hard thru the backroads from time to time so handling is a major plus but at the sametime Im wanting the most aggressive stance for my FD as well. Im most likely getting the H&R's in the next month or so.....no rubbing with the 275's huh?

SleepR1

Thanks for the "comp"

Gram Lights will be LIGHT

I don't need 275s on the road--255 is plenty to get me through the southern Indiana twisties

No rubbing with the 275s in back.

I broke my RF sway bar bolt (which essentially disconnecting the front sway bar) and I nearly lost contol; the car went into violent oversteer through a fast left-hand turn (13) at Mid Ohio; I managed to gather it all up. Thankfully the big 275 Hoosier R3S03s in back helped with the situation, as 255s would have had me swap ends and backed the car HARD into the tire barrier!

I have H&R springs and stock Showa R1 shocks. The junk sway bars are Eibach fr/rr. I'm having the bolt TIG welded back on.

BTW, the Northern New Jersey Region PCA is holding their 3-day Mid Ohio Drivers Education event June 7/8/9 2002. They have room for novices and instructors, but the intermediate groups are sold out (waiting list).

Contact Bill Gilbert gilbert4@rcn.com of the NNJR-PCA for more information on the Mid Ohio DE http://vista.pca.org//nnj/

RXTRA7

245/40/17 in front 275/40/17 in rear is an excellent setup. The 275 in rear is just slightly taller than stock, but give you enough width for a 9.5" wide rim. The 245/40 in front allows you to lower the car as much as 2" with no rubbing.
My current car has 235/45 on front and they nearly rub at stick height.

sk8world

iTrader: (5)

Rxtra7.. I take it that the 235/45's are on 17 wheels?? I Have the Eibach pro kit and Koni yellows (set at the lowest seting for height). So I would say my car is about 2 inches lower than stock. So I need to be careful as I would rather go with a smaller tire than raise my car back up. What are running in back?
I really wanted a wide tire but I do not want that bulging side wall look nor do I want the tire too small were the rim sits ou. I am leaning more towards 265/40 rear and 235/45 front. I think the 245/40's will be too low and make my car look like a muscle car!!

SleepR1

I see the Gram Lights rear 9.5 x 17 offset is 38-mm. That will push the Gram Light wheels slightly more than what my SSR Comps do with 42-mm offsets with 9.5 x 17/275-40-17 Hoosiers...It shouldn't rub; Gram Light wheel will stick out 3/16-inch more from the fender more than the Comps in the same size...

maxcooper

I've got 245/40-17 and 265/40-17 on my Volk SE-37Ks. It does make the rear end high if you can't adjust your ride height. But you also get a little more front tire width than the 235s and the diameter is smaller. The rake comes from the rear tires being too large in diameter, not from the fronts being too small (relative to the stock size). Smaller diameter fronts should help avoid rubbing. Rubbing is unlikely to be an issue in back.

I have noticed that Toyo T1-S tires are more narrow than others of the same size, so 245 and 265s actually might give you some of the rim bulge look if you choose those. The S-03s on my car look like they are just the right width.

Pics:
http://www.maxcooper.com/rx7/parts_i...37k/index.html
http://www.maxcooper.com/rx7/parts_i...kes/index.html

-Max

sk8world

iTrader: (5)

Thanks Max for the info and pics, your car looks really good. I do have adjustable perches so maybe thats the way to go but I really wanted to keep the car as low as possible. Mike