Black O.Z. ultraleggera 18 x 8 are the rims im going to go with. They are beautiful, and light as hell. And im either going to go with Yokohama AVS ES100 or BFGoodrich g-Force T/A KDW 2 for tires. What do you think for tires. Do you know of any places for rims and tires that are cheaper than tirerack.com?

KDW2 in stock size is a good choice. Hard to go wrong, great value. ES100 is noisy.

I doubt you'll find a better deal on the package from a reputable place anywhere else.

You might consider having the wheels and tires shipped to one of their preferred installers local to you, so you can have your tire pressure sensors transferred over to the new wheels before the tires are installed.

ok thanks, thats what i planned on doing

Sick wheels be sure to post pics. I wanted a set of bronze ultraleggeras for my Brilliant Black

FWIW people that work at tire stores and Car delerships typically buy their own tires on Tire Rack. Tire Rack is essentially a retail site with wholesale prices. .

so tirerack is the cheapest, ok fine by me, i love these rims, cant wait to get them

and they are light as hell, 18#s

What offset would you go with? My guess is Tire Rack would only be willing to sell you the +48 vs a +35 or so that would look much better.

Tire rack will sell you anything.

i dont know much about offset, so i would want to keep it as close to stock as possible, and stock is 50, so i would go with 48.

Black O.Z. ultraleggera 18 x 8 are the rims im going to go with. They are beautiful, and light as hell. And im either going to go with Yokohama AVS ES100 or BFGoodrich g-Force T/A KDW 2 for tires. What do you think for tires. Do you know of any places for rims and tires that are cheaper than tirerack.com?

KDW2's are great tires, I loved the set that I had.

well i will get the rims and tires over the winter, a long with other mods, but i wont be putting them on until spring when the snow is all gone

Good call, are you planning on driving the car over the winter?

i have to drive it over winter, but im getting an underbody rustproof coating from zeibart, and i have winter tires that came with the car, so i will take real good care of my baby

http://www.tires-easy.com/
this where i found my tires, best price ever i got anywhere i looked.

take a look!

loved your trims.

how is the offset affects the driving?

thanks, i dont know yet, i dont have them, but i will let you know how they are

i dont know much about offset, so i would want to keep it as close to stock as possible, and stock is 50, so i would go with 48.big mistake

whys that? like i said, i dont know much about wheel offset

under carriage bullshit from ziebart? waste of money.

the whole underpan of the car is coated with a rubberized coating already.

yea, but it would be good for all the bolts and exposed stuff, but why is a 48 mm offset bad?

why is it bad?

Stock is +50 et. Get the +48 et. A +35 et will make your steering suck.

And if you don't have to drive them through winter, get these tires:

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Bridgestone&tireModel=Potenza+S-03+Pole+Position&partnum=245YR8S03PP&vehicleSearch=true&fromCompare1=yes&place=2&speed_rating=H&speed_rating=V&speed_rating=Z&speed_rating=W&speed_rating=Y&minSpeedRating=H

The only risk is because they are on closeout, something happens to one and you can't get a replacement. So keep them rotated and pay attention to inflation and your tire pressure sensor warnings. And get your car aligned properly, as close to zero toe as the factory range provides for.

Have the wheels and tires shipped to a Tire Rack preferred installer close to you, unmounted, so you can have your tire pressure sensors swapped over.

now, please tell me why a +35et will make the steering "suck"?

15mm change in scrub radius is significant. It will almost always change steering feel significantly. Mazda's product development engineers will want to give you a massive wedgie when they hear about you doing it.

Different platforms have different tolerance for change. I've driven an E46 that was ruined by an 8mm difference, other cars that were decent with 11mm change. If a wheel that's otherwise the same with 2mm change is available, why go with the 15mm change? If you want to fill out the fenders cosmetically, 9.5" +45 et all the way.

well my wheels only have a 48mm offset, so i will be good

15mm change in scrub radius is significant. It will almost always change steering feel significantly. Mazda's product development engineers will want to give you a massive wedgie when they hear about you doing it.

Although you provide an example your logic is based on one car and your own "feeling". Keep in mind there are Japanese laws regarding tire to fender width tolerances - read about it in Motor Trend a long time ago (lost my microfische sorry). Also, it would seem ridculous to say that moving outwards 15mm is going to change your steering any more than moving to a wheel that is 1.5" wider, sticks out more (24mm) and also encroaches (14mm) to the inside of the car. 24 and 14 is not exactly a balanced ratio either. It would be like just buying a 8" +40 wheel. 5mm? C'mon.

The KDW's are noisy - they are on the '02 337 my daughter drives.

annoying noisy, or just eh whatever noisy?

Thats all subjective.

ok, well im either gonna go with the KDW's or Bridgestone Potenza S-03 Pole Position tire, but 48mm offset rims isnt bad or going to effect my steering/handling correct?

thats damn near stock. shouldn't effect anything unless they are overly heavy.

I say the noise from the KDW's is subjective because a lot of people hate the road noise from the OEM Potenza's but I generally don't notice it. Same with the squeal from the OEM brake pads. I hardly notice and even when I do it doesn't bother me.

ok, well im either gonna go with the KDW's or Bridgestone Potenza S-03 Pole Position tire, but 48mm offset rims isnt bad or going to effect my steering/handling correct?

You know that the S-03's are discontinued right? Plus those are some HEAVY tires

ok, well im either gonna go with the KDW's or Bridgestone Potenza S-03 Pole Position tire, but 48mm offset rims isnt bad or going to effect my steering/handling correct?

I'm not trying to be a jerk but you need to go research offsets here and otherwise. There are TONS of threads on: is this offset ok, what's the max offset, will these wheels fit, etc, etc. Tire Rack has good FAQs on their site and helpful staff. Read all you can and call them if you are confused regarding your application. Also the old standby...
http://www.1010tires.com/WheelOffsetCalculator.asp
Stock wheels are 8" in +50.

You know that the S-03's are discontinued right? Plus those are some HEAVY tires

And I would doubt their Wisco winter performance anyway.

And I would doubt their Wisco winter performance anyway.

No kidding! You would be much better off just expecting to pile into something.

im not going to use them during the winter, i already have winter tires on there, but i guess i wont go with the S-03's cause i do want light tires, and i will look up offsets, thanks

Chet, did you get those black ultraleggeras? I am so tempted to get them for my summer rims. I just can't decide between Oz Ultralegger, Axis Reverb, or Tenzo DC-6, all black for my BB.

reverbs:
http://www.zerobio.com/rx8/axis_reverb.jpg

tenzos:
http://www.zerobio.com/rx8/tenzo_r_dc_6.jpg

I would also go with the 48 offset ... right now I have 40 with the SPYN rims and it feels fine but I'll also be happy going back closer to stock. That and the fact that the spyns are 25.5 lbs :(

no, too expensive for me. i am just going to go with a package with Enkei RPF1 and Toyo TR-1 tires for $2100

Yeah the oz are. Those rpf1's are light, 18 lbs. Would you go for staggered or just 35 (or 45) offset in front/back?

15mm change in scrub radius is significant. It will almost always change steering feel significantly. Mazda's product development engineers will want to give you a massive wedgie when they hear about you doing it.

Different platforms have different tolerance for change. I've driven an E46 that was ruined by an 8mm difference, other cars that were decent with 11mm change. If a wheel that's otherwise the same with 2mm change is available, why go with the 15mm change? If you want to fill out the fenders cosmetically, 9.5" +45 et all the way.

not to be an ass

but do u mind explain urself on how the offset can make such a "huge" different feel as you said?

do u know what's scrub radius?

from what i know from school, it can only be affected by SAI and camber. Since there are not adjustment on SAI on our car. only thing that really affect the scrub radius would be our camber setting.

Yeah the oz are. Those rpf1's are light, 18 lbs. Would you go for staggered or just 35 (or 45) offset in front/back?

not staggered. staggered effects the handling, and i will be tracking quite a bit, so i want the best handling i can get

Got it.

from what i know from school, it can only be affected by SAI and camber. Since there are not adjustment on SAI on our car. only thing that really affect the scrub radius would be our camber setting.

Moving SAI or camber will change both the center of pressure of the contact patch and the point at which the steering axis intersects the ground (claimed as the "Dave Point" by my friend who is now a Mazda product development engineer). Your school assumed you are doing alignments, not changing wheels.

I say go bigger and wider! 19's would look hawt. (assuming they're available in that size)

nah, i just want to go wider. i dont need anymore top speed

heard that the rims are light weight also. like around 18 lbs?