Deciding on the Perfect Wheel

[CowPimp]

I have been doing copious amounts of reading on this website and dsm.org. I don't even have my DSM yet, but I worked on a house for several months and I will get a big paycheck for it when it sells in about 3 weeks. I will be purchasing a DSM at that time. Enough history, here is my question:

When it comes to wheels, I don't care about how fast my car is or how good it looks. I am purely concerned with handling. I want to be able to really stress the car on twisties and during cornering. It seems to me there are three things that are important when choosing a wheel: the diameter, the weights, and width. I originially wanted 18" wheel because they would handle better. However, if I go 18", then I won't be able to be wheels that are as lightweight or as wide. dsm.org made it sound like the weight of the wheels is even more important than the diameter for autocross. Furthermore, I know that a wider rim is better. My budget is going to be about $250 per rim (1K).

So, for this price, should I get a higher quality wider 16" rim, high quality wide 17" rim, or good quality fairly wide 18" rim? I would like to able to use 245 width tires without any rubbing or clearance problems, even if I decide to lower the car a little bit. It seems to me like I should get 8" wide rims no matter what, as that is the most important criteria for good handling and compatibility with large tires.

Finally, to make things even more complicated, I live in the DC metropolitan area (Sniperville). The roads SUCK around here. I want a setup that won't require me to buy new rims in a week due to bending. I know, this is a long post, but I have many questions and more knowledge seemingly makes more questions! Thanks for any replies.

 

[GaRn]

bigger wheels dont make handling.. your tires do.. look at any race series.. do you see huge 20's on their race cars? you see a fairly small wheel with a higher profile tire.. all the autoxers usually use 15 or 16" wheels(any serious ones that ive seen).. go for the lightest wheels you can find, 15 or 16"... of course width matters to..

 

[CowPimp]

I thought bigger wheels allowed for more low profile tires (Smaller stiffer sidewalls), which improves handling further? That is why I kind of have my eye on 17x8 (possibly 7.5) wheels. It should be a good balance between wheel weight and tire size.

 

[CowPimp]

By the way, I am looking for specific recommendations on wheels. I have looked at weights on various wheels, and it looks like Volk TE37s or Racing Hart CP035s are about as light as one can get. However, I am willing to bet they are super expensive. The Rota Subzeros look real nice for their price, but if I can afford better I will (Plus there aren't 8" Subs).

 

[CowPimp]

After doing further research, it seems to me like 18" is not the way to go, even for optimal handling. Some autocrossers seem to like 17", but others prefer 16". I think I am going to go with 17" for the proper balance. I would like to use 245/40/17s (Looking at the Sumtiomo HRZ or HRT II, whichever it is).

So, will 17x7.5" wheels be sufficient? If so, the Rota Subzeros look really good for the price, and a lot of people say they're pretty sturdy. I wish they made them in 8". Anyway, if it will save me trouble, then I will go with 17x8". What are some other possible brands? I would like as light as I can get without sacrificing too much sturdiness and staying around $1000. Less is better, but I will pay that or slightly more.

 

[Johnny Bravo]

Originally posted by CowPimp
Finally, to make things even more complicated, I live in the DC metropolitan area (Sniperville). The roads SUCK around here. I want a setup that won't require me to buy new rims in a week due to bending. I know, this is a long post, but I have many questions and more knowledge seemingly makes more questions! Thanks for any replies.

LoL, you can say that again! I live in Chevy Chase right now & you almost need a freekin' dune buggy to get around. Even worse now that winter is here (not to mention all the road work from busted water mains). Glad to see more DC/Metro members on here lately Personally, 17's might be the best overall compromise between the choices you're looking at since they'll not only perform decently, won't weigh too much as to really hurt performance, tires aren't overly expensive, & will look nice to boot. If you just want something purely for performance though then I'd say go with a 16" rim...tires are much cheaper, wheels are cheaper, & overall will be lighter. Another good choice to look at might be the Kosei K1's...they come in 15"-17" sizes & look decent.

 

[CowPimp]

Glad to see some more suggestions. I am pretty sure I am going to get 17x7.5" Rota Subzeros and 225/45/17 Sumitomo HRT Z IIs. If anyone really disagress with this choice, then let me know.

 

[jim97gst]

I have similar criteria for the wheels I would like for my car. I've been checking out these:

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They weigh 16.8 pounds and come in 17"X8". www.whalentire.com has them for $205 each. That's a decent bit more that the rotas, but you get the 8" width. The website claims that they're forged so they should be pretty strong. I checked the enkei website but couldn't find anywhere there if they really are forged. I've heard good things about the strength of the rotas though to.

Let us know what you end up getting and what you think.

 

[CowPimp]

Wow, those do look really nice. What size tires could I stuff onto 17x8" wheels? It seems like 245 might be a bit much, and the sidewalls would slosh a little on turns. Could I get 235s on there without sidewall slosh? Will there be any rubbing with wheels that big? Those look like excellent wheels, and I may consider those instead. The price isn't too bad either...

 

[jim97gst]

whalentire says that these tire sizes will fit:

225/45R17 0.09 Inches taller than stock tire

215/45R17 0.26 Inches shorter than stock tire

235/45R17 0.45 Inches taller than stock tire

215/50R17 0.59 Inches taller than stock tire


www.discounttiredirect.com says that these will fit:

205/50-17
215/45-17
215/50-17
225/45-17
235/45-17

I might go with the 225/45R17 just because it won't throw off your speedometer as much. Although even with the 235's it won't throw it very far off. 245's may fit fine too. A stock 2G FWD has 205s on a 6.5" wide rim. I don't know about the sidewall slosh.

As far as rubbing, these guys (http://www.wincom.net/trog/autocross/2G_ESP.html) claim to run much wider with no rubbing. You probably want to do some more research though.

 

[cait sith]

I run 235/40/17 on a 7.5" rim with no problems/buldge at all. I have yet to run into any problems with rubbing with hard turns, but they're off for the winter.

Your mileage may vary.

I love my Ray's Engineering stuff.

 

[CowPimp]

Well, the more I think about it the more I think I should just go with the Subzero Rotas as I originally said. I just haven't heard enough about those other wheels. I like to have some user feedback before I purchase a product, just to be safe. Plus, I don't exactly have the money for that other setup. I could spend it, but that would eat into money for other important things.

 

[GaRn]

rota wheels are GREAT wheels, espeicially for the price.. although i think you should go with a 16" rota wheel, like the slipstream, or the new attack..

 

[CowPimp]

I want the increased handling of a larger wheel size though. Otherwise, I would go with 16s. Plus, the Subzeros in 17 aren't that much more expensive than with 18s. I also want a slightly lower profile tire to help improve handling as well.