So i've got an issue, if you've read my previous post, you know that my wheels are too goddamn narrow, I'm running o.e. sized rota p1's. and squeezing a 245 on it just isnt working for track days. i've got a set of 265/35R18 BFG R1's sitting in my garage, and i need wheels... ideally 18x9.5 +45 rpf1's would be the choice, but $$$ is an issue at the moment. I have an offer to trade wheels with someone here for some SSR's in an 18x9 +40. this width works fine with the 265's, but my concern is that my rotas weigh in at 19.5lbs, and the ssr's weigh around 25/26lbs.

I Suppose the whole point of this is to get the opinions of "Will the massive amounts of extra grip I gain with the R1's overcome the fact that I will gain almost 6lbs per wheel?"

opinions please.....

 

I don't think the weight increase is worth it for a N/A '8, if you're performance minded (vs. aesthethics). Keep in mind that the Top Gear guys matched the lap time of a BMW M3 and a 350Z on stock tires. Enhancing driver skills is money better spent imho.

Good-Win Racing:
"Weight. The Mazda RX8's fine handling and ride quality is very sensitive to what is called "unsprung" weight (which can best be understood as what hangs off the RX8 suspension rather than what sits on it). More than most automakers, Mazda tunes and equips its sports cars with very light wheels and owners should be very careful about keeping the weight down when they select replacement RX8 rims. Most RX8 owners can feel a deterioration of ride quality from a gain of as little as 3 pounds per corner in unsprung weight. We therefore strongly recommend that you use only light weight wheels for your RX8 like those we sell here. Unlike other vendors who rely on overly optimistic wheel weights as listed by the wheel manufacturers, we weigh each wheel that we sell to verify the lightness. For that reason, many of our listed weights here are slightly higher than the marketing weight listed on the wheel manufacturers' websites."

 

squeeze the 265's onto the OEM wheels: problem solved. Didn't Team smash 275's on his OEM's once?

the SSR's are not a good idea, especially not at 26lbs each.

 

I have the "driver skill" i'm laying down 2:11.xx on CW13 at buttonwillow, there are 2 things holding me back, 1, the horrible stock seats, 2, my little 245's. the tires dont have the grip i need, and i HAVE a set of 265 r1's sitting, waiting, begging, to be ran... aesthetics have nothing to do with it, they can be the most ugly set of wheels ever, as long as they fit the tires i'm trying to run, and are of decent weight. thus my question.

 

265's? on an 8" wheel? i've done some squeezing in my life working in a shop, but, i dunno about going a full 1" under minimum rim width of a tire. The section width of a 265 is 10.45", minimum rim width is 9" and I'm trying to squeeze that onto an 8" wheel....

 

definitely not ideal but just saying that it has been done before.
I'd go ask in the racing subforum and see the pros / cons about doing it but since you already have the tires...

 

me thinks the weight is not worth it, i definitely felt a noticeable difference coming from oem to a 17lb wheel

 

I've got 245 BFG R1s I'm putting on the stock wheels. They don't look any wider than my Star Specs, which fit without any weird bulge.

Autocross people are limited to stock width in stock class, and run up to a 295/30-18 Hoosier A6. That sounds nuts, but I've seen a 285 Hoosier in person on OEM wheels and it works just fine.

I wrote Hoosier asking about 275 width full slicks I was looking at, and an engineer replied that they should work just fine on a 8" wheel. FWIW, I wussed out and got the 245s anyway.

 

Keep working... Spec Miata runs a 2:06 at Buttonwillow 13 CW. An RX-8 on a 245 should be well under that.

I never had any issues with a 245 on an 8, and have run the 265 R1 on both an 8 and 8.5", both worked great.

On our SSC Nissan we run a 235 R1 on a 7" wide wheel, they rock on the track.

 

Do not go up in wheel weight.

You will notice the difference big time.

 

the 245's im running right now are not being friendly with heat, they're 595 rsr's.

also, a side note, a STOCK miata is around 700lbs less than an rx8.

again my point being that i have a set of anxious r1's sitting at home, i plan on using them, i just didnt want to throw them on an 8" wheel, but apparently people are doing it, so, i'll give it a shot...

 

What 18 x 9 +40 SSR wheel weighs 26#????

 

from what I've read, from multiple sources (doesn't mean they're viable), the 18x9 +40 SSR D5R (the GT-C wannabe's) weighs around 25.5-26lbs

 

265 R1 + 18x8 = knot teh suxors

keep your wheels, mount the R1's, have fun.

 

i have the 285s on my CS car and they work great. the only issue is that some shops have trouble mounting them b/c of the short sidewall.

 

I agree, +1