I currently have the standard 18" chromes on my 8. I am considering to get the car lowered with some new shocks / springs and some 19"s.

How is this going to change the handling of the car?

It really depends. The RX-8 was designed to take wheels of the same size and width. So for example, if you get 19x8.5 in the front, you should have 19x8.5 in the rear. Although there's lots of members on this forum who's not following that thinking that wider tires in the rear and smaller tires in the front will increase performance, it actually upsets the balance of the car. (I'm going to get flamed, I know I am)

Now, there are a lot of members running wider wheels in the rear because of the looks. It just looks a lot more aggressive.

Now you also want to drop it and want to know how it affects performance? It really depends on what you're dropping it with and how you're dropping it.

what type of driving are you talking about for "handling of the car"... or just wondering how the car will act with just normal day driving and a bit of fun??


=/

When you go 19", you get thinner tires. So stock 225/45/18 are about the same diameter as 245/35/19.

You aren't going to notice much change unless the 19" rim are heavier that what you currently have (stocks are either 22 lbs or 24 lbs, depending on when your car was made).

It really depends. The RX-8 was designed to take wheels of the same size and width. So for example, if you get 19x8.5 in the front, you should have 19x8.5 in the rear. Although there's lots of members on this forum who's not following that thinking that wider tires in the rear and smaller tires in the front will increase performance, it actually upsets the balance of the car. (I'm going to get flamed, I know I am)

Now, there are a lot of members running wider wheels in the rear because of the looks. It just looks a lot more aggressive.

Now you also want to drop it and want to know how it affects performance? It really depends on what you're dropping it with and how you're dropping it.

Wider tires in "performance wise" handles better because of more ground contact...so yea of course its agressive looking but it is for handling . but now when you say smaller tires in the front and wider tires in back for handling thats just retarded [unless it has to do with all-out tuning reasons and preferences] , you obviously gna get oversteer because the front and back traction ratio is completely off..... and also depending what type of tires you are using too..soft , hard, mild. :puke:

^ +1 well said~

Wider tires in "performance wise" handles better because of more ground contact...so yea of course its agressive looking but it is for handling . but now when you say smaller tires in the front and wider tires in back for handling thats just retarded [unless it has to do with all-out tuning reasons and preferences] , you obviously gna get oversteer because the front and back traction ratio is completely off..... and also depending what type of tires you are using too..soft , hard, mild. :puke:

Now you're saying that's retarded? You're the one who's not thinking, sir. First off, the RX-8 was designed for one width tires. If you're going to out fit the 8 with different size tires in the front and back, it will change the handling characteristics of it. It will upset the balance of the 8, the whole 50/50 ratio. That's what I am merely trying to state, please don't go in and assume "it's retarded" for some odd reason. Considering your post count, you don't read too much, do you? Do you know how to run a search and research this matter before you actually post? So the only thing that's "retarded" is... Do I dare say such words? No, RX8club.com do not approve bashing on another member so I dare not say.

the 19's will most likely make the acceleration a bit more sluggish but the handling will probably feel crisper due to the thinner sidewall of the tire. You're going to notice alot more of a difference though by doing shocks/springs so don't worry about it.

Staggered fitments are not retarded, people have the right to do whatever they want to their 8's. Almost all of us who run a staggered setup know that it affects the handling but we do it anyway because of the aesthetic appeal of running staggered wheels. Its merely a trade off and BTW you get buttloads of understeer with a staggered setup, not oversteer.

I would want it for normal everyday driving, country lanes etc and the occasional blast.
I dont understand what you guys are saying. If I get 19"s shall i keep them exactly the same width as what I have now with just the larger diamater wheel? or get wider wheels but just keep them all the same and it will be fine?

I wouldnt mind If I had to get spacers and get the arches rolled. What do you reccomend to look good, but have lower than standard & handle either the same or better as standard.

Thanks, James.

Hey what's up. I Don't really have an exact answer but I can tell you what Ive got. Right now I'm running 19" Tenzo R's. 8" in the front and 10" in the back, and I just have the car lowered with tein S tech springs for now. I've also got alot of audio equipment in the back so I don't even car about the 50/50 weight distribution anymore. I already screwed that up. But with the 19's I've been told the car should handle a little better due to the slight negative camber. It feels like it handles a little better with the new springs and rims. However the one thing that sucks with wider tires in the back is you can't rotate all tires. I will be autocrossing my car next weekend, even though it's mostly a show car, and I will let you now how it handled in that kind of situation. Peace out and I hope this help with you decision.

yes with a staggered setup it should understeer due to losing traction in the front, i really doubt anyone is going to push it that hard on the street to notice a huge difference..

im running staggered now, but i plan on going 275s all around one day.

the 19's will most likely make the acceleration a bit more sluggish but the handling will probably feel crisper due to the thinner sidewall of the tire. You're going to notice alot more of a difference though by doing shocks/springs so don't worry about it.

I found the opposite - at least a heavy 26 lbs 19" rim vs 17 lbs 18" rim ... handling, such as changing lanes was more sluggish because of the centrifugal force as the wheel rotated. Lighter rims turned far easier and quicker.

If the rims were similar in weight, then this might be a moot point.

the thinner sidewall only makes you feel more of the road and less tire flex.

I would want it for normal everyday driving, country lanes etc and the occasional blast.
I dont understand what you guys are saying. If I get 19"s shall i keep them exactly the same width as what I have now with just the larger diamater wheel? or get wider wheels but just keep them all the same and it will be fine?

I wouldnt mind If I had to get spacers and get the arches rolled. What do you reccomend to look good, but have lower than standard & handle either the same or better as standard.

Thanks, James.

They are talking about staggered fitment, for example 8.5" wide front and 9.5" wide in back vs. same width all around. Doesn't have to be the same as stock, there are many members who run 9.5" wide on all four corners (stock is 8" if you didn't know).

Serious track heads will tell you not to get 19's but stay 18's or even got down to 17's, but for the kind of driving that you are talking about sticking with some light weight 19's and keeping them the same width all around shouldn't effect handling.

There are many threads on the forum on aftermarket wheels and most mention the weights. Rays Engineering (Volk Racing, G-Games, etc.) tends to keep their wheels light, but be prepared to spend a bit more for the higher quality. I plan on getting 19's sometime too, G-Games 99B's are what I'm planning on.

renesis se3p, calmmmm downnnnnnnnnnnnnn~

geeez man, u obviously jumped the gun and claimed too soon of me calling you retarded... miscommunication dude* are you insecure about yourself?? bc that was a very very "thoughtful" comment to me...

and to Acemastuh too...lol CALM DOWN!! u obviously read it wrong too.... i said 'for HANDLING' its retarded....[think about autoX] damn.......

I had the stock rims in chrome, and went to 19" staggerred setup. To be honest if I had to do it all over again, I would have stuck with the 18". The 19" does transmit more harshness to the ride (i.e. stiffer) and the handling is not as good as when I had the lighter 18" with uniform wheels/tires. If I were you I would just wait until your tires wear out & buy a nice set of 18" Falken 245/40/18 RT-615's for much better traction, and get a set of lowering springs.

eibach 1.2 drop
tokico d-spec adjustable shocks
ssr d5r 19x9.5 et 40 with 255/35 19 bfg kdw tires

handles awesome

well i am enjoying mine
my tires are awesome
staggered setup ftw! :)
hrmm handling wise +
otherwise... "acceleration sluggish"

you can consider my offset and tire size

good luck with lowering it ^

ooh.. if you havent done so yet.. go shave your fenders if u wanna go 19s with aggressive offset and tires. cuz i have S-Tech drop and i'd rub so badily if i didnt shave so yeah but once you shave it.. its good to go

agressive offset check (et40)
lowered check ( ive seen "2 inch" drops that werent as low as my 1.2)
shaved nope
rubbing nope (it rubbed 2x the first 5 miles, then never again, even with myself, 2 friends, and luggage for a weekend at the track, and we arent little people)

I'm running 19's 10" wide in the back with tein S Tech springs and I haven't rubbed so far. Not saying it won't happen, but when we were considering rolling the fender, me and another guy bounce on the back and the fenders never rubbed. I've also got about 150lbs of audio equipment in the back. When I drag raced my car, I was launching at about 5000rpm and I never had any rubbing. Still something you should look into, but if you don't have to shave your fenders, why do it.

well i had to do it.. so i dont know man i was rubbing likesick with Stechs

beause with your setup the edge of your tire is 16mm further out than my setup. also, my rears have a pretty agressive camber.

just to give you an idea, i cannot even fit my pinky finger between the fender and the tire

http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n33/lurch519/my%208/myrx8002.jpg
http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n33/lurch519/my%208/myrx8001.jpg

question: i know this has probably been asked about 9 million times but will 9.5" on 275/30/19's fit in front with say a +40 offset? +35?

you'll rub unless you roll.

I have s-techs and 19x10 in the rear and have no rubbing issues, but my offsets are different.
Check my sig for wheel and tire and offset information.
I also have a couple degrees of negative camber in the rear. I don't think I need it for anything, I just like the way it looks.
I am going to zero the camber out of the rear though in a couple of days, so I will let you know if I begin to rub afterwards.
I just got tired of buying rear tires every year. In fact, I just got some new Falkens yesterday. After two sets of Nitto NT555 Extreme ZR's I decided to try something new.
That reminds me I need to change my sig.

jimmy_jammy

I have got some 19" wheels. So please allow me to explain my own findings.

First: why? There are only two reasons to get 19 inchers. One is looks. The other is to accommodate larger brakes. That's it. You're not going to get better handling, grip or anything else. There aren't many reasons to need such huge brakes on an RX-8, so I'm guessing that like me you're getting them for looks.

Second: handling. The RX-8's principle strength is in it's handling. It will corner amazingly quickly. A great many cars with more power cannot keep up with an RX-8 in the twisties. Mazda spent thousands of hours getting the handling to where it is and the balance is perfect. So, if you're going to put 19" wheels on for the looks, you want to minimise the effect it's going to have on the balance of the car. To that end I chose to stay with the same wheel and tyre size all round. Also I kept very close to the offset of the stock wheels to a) minimize any effects on handling and b) so as to not introduce any undue stresses on the suspension components. Furthermore, keeping the tyre size more or less the same will keep the grip progressive and forgiving on the limit. If you were to go for a much wider tyre, you will get more grip, but the car will be more prone to "snap" on the limit and at that point the car will be carrying much more energy, meaning that any resulting accident will be bigger.

Third: Performance. Some have suggested that the car will be more sluggish with 19 inchers. There's no avoiding the truth of basic physics. However, provided you don't choose an outrageously heavy style of wheel, I doubt you're going to notice on the road. In a measured lap round a track, a performance difference should show up if you're a consistent enough driver. But I'm guessing that if you're interested in 19 inch wheels anyway, you're not someone who's going to be competing in timed events.

As a result of all this reasoning I chose to go with Advan AVS Model 5 rims 19x8jj ET+45 wearing Bridgestone RE-050A 225/40 R19 tyres. (I did want 245/35 R19 tyres, but there were no RE-050As around in that size). My '8 still corners beautifully on it's stock suspension and is still nice and quick. I can confirm that the shorter tyrewall height does result in a noticably crisper turn in.

Hope it works out for you.

Enjoy.

P.S. This is mine (I've gotta get that plate moved):

http://www.imellis.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/images/NewWheels/WebNewWheels021.jpg

I have got some 19" wheels. So please allow me to explain my own findings.

A very reasoned and sensible choice you've made. I think you're 100% correct on every point and they certainly look beautiful, don't they? Keeping the wheel & tire width down definitely minimizes any performance hit. How much does the wheel weigh?

I've gone the opposite to 17"x9" wheels and found they seem to boost performance on track and make the ride more civilized on the street at the same time.

Good job! :)

How much does the wheel weigh?

You know, I knew someone would ask me that sooner or later. When I got them, I did weigh one. But can I remember what that weight was? No. I remember thinking that it didn't suck though, and was in fact quite good for a 19 incher.

Bunique & Punishr...

Im interested to see pics of your rear rims setup...care to post some?

See Sig for 19" - Aggressive Offset Staggered.

Bunique & Punishr...

Im interested to see pics of your rear rims setup...care to post some?


http://i207.photobucket.com/albums/bb6/Bunique888/resize.jpg


http://i207.photobucket.com/albums/bb6/Bunique888/DSC01019.jpg

http://i207.photobucket.com/albums/bb6/Bunique888/DSC01018.jpg

http://i207.photobucket.com/albums/bb6/Bunique888/DSC00894.jpg


I'll get some better pics up later, but for now this is what I've got.

Tenzo Racing Sports GF7 19x10 - 19x8
Toyo T1R 275/30/19 235/35/19
Tein S-Tech springs

You know, I knew someone would ask me that sooner or later. When I got them, I did weigh one. But can I remember what that weight was? No. I remember thinking that it didn't suck though, and was in fact quite good for a 19 incher.

i weighed my 19x8.5s (model t5s) and they came in at 19.5 ish lbs pre TPMS or anything.

mine are 19's, and other than some insane understeer I've had no issues, I would like to go bigger tires though as that may even help the front a bit, mine are in my sig as well, hyper agressive offset (+36, +29), tiny tires painted on etc. :D

I have 19" staggered lightweight wheels with aftermarket sways, coilovers and some extra bracing.

My goals were:
1. Eliminate the excessive stock body roll.
2. Eliminate the wheel hop on hard launches.
3. Eliminate the excessive movement in the rear suspension.
4. Add grip for driving in the kettles (very hilly, tight turns, speeds in the 30-110mph range).
5. Looks.
6. Keep the suspension/wheel upgrades under $10k not including brake upgrades.

Good:
1. Everything fits fine, I only have to watch out for some driveways.
2. Handling is not worse, it's better. I have absolutely no issues keeping up with a stock 8 on turns. If anything they get in the way because they are slower through the turns. I have an easier time accelerating in turns than a stock 8 due to the extra rubber in the rear.
3. Balance is not at all upset, if anything it's better. The car is still very neutral and it's easy to put it into a 4 wheel slide on a turn or give it a little gas to induce oversteer.
4. I no longer have wheel hop in the rear.
5. The rear no longer lifts when braking at the top of a hill on turn entries.
6. The body roll is under control.

Negatives:
1. I have to apply slightly more pressure on the brake pedal. I think this is just a feel difference not a performance difference but I have not had a chance to verify that.
2. Limited tire rotation options but the tires have such a limited tread life it doesn't really matter much.
3. Harsh ride. Several hours in the car on normal roads can be fatiguing. I'm ok for about 5 hours, after that I need a break. I avoid really bad roads if I can.
4. Cost. Good, light, multi-piece forged wheels in 19" are quite expensive. Mine were over $5k.
5. Good 19" tires are expensive.
6. I don't put adults in the back seats anymore. I'm not sure there is enough suspension travel left to handle the weight.

Things I would have done different:
1. I would have bought a higher grade of coilovers that allowed for both compression and rebound adjustment. This would have meant I would have been in the 2K range for them. The current setting I use is great as long as I don't hit one of those spots where you have a seam in the road that has raised up due to expansion. The car tends to crash over those and I can't adjust easily for that without changing characteristics that I like.

Would I buy 19" staggered wheels on a car with lowering springs/shocks? Probably not, but I would with a setup that has a reasonable amount of adjustability. If I was only looking for performance I probably would have gone with lighter wider 18's.

Dinhx8, do you have more pics of your car? Those wheels look very nice, and I'd be curious to see the stance of the car with the MS suspension setup.

Dinhx8, do you have more pics of your car? Those wheels look very nice, and I'd be curious to see the stance of the car with the MS suspension setup.

here ya go

http://www.rx8club.com/showthread.php?t=118462

http://www.rx8club.com/showthread.php?t=125994


also there are i think 2 or 3 other forum guys rollin on the Model 5s/T5s.
Celronx has the original Model 5s on Tein s techs I believe...