Thoughts on Wheels
 

I have two sets of wheels and been using my stock 18's for track use. I also have a set of the BBS 19's R3 wheels which I bought (love the look) but have read that 19' in wheels aren't great for racing.

Been looking at RPF1 Enkei 18's so I can mix and match my stock 18's for difting. Thoughts on this strategy or should I go with Enkei 17's? Or is the R3 19' set good or comparable to the RPF1.

Thanks,

John

I'd love something simple like TE37 18".. i dont think u could go wrong with that.

I thought 17 is better than 18' for racing so better to go with 17'? If I go with 17, can I mix and match with my stock 18 for daily driving and drifitng?

17s should be better for racing but if u're going for looks, 18s

Cheaper tires too for 17s

17s - cheaper tires ftw. RPF1s are pretty light and seem to be durable as well - just make sure that if you're actually going to do any racing, that you get a width that is appropriate for the tire selections in your class.

You can mix and match between 17s and 18s if you're drifting - not a big deal.

If you don't need a big brake kit, I would stick with 17's. Cheaper tires, lighter.


I run kosei k8r 17x9 +48 with 235/40/17 tires and Rota RT5-R2 17x10 +50 with 255/40/17 tires (but these wheels need some caliper mods - search for a post I made on the subject if interested).

^pretty much what hufflepuff said.
For road racing I have a set of 17x9 +45 RPF1s with 255/40/17 tires. These have proven to be light and strong.
I also picked up a set of Kosei 17x9 +48 for some rain tires. Have not run these yet.

Stock 18s for the street. I have also used these on track and plenty of people run 18s on track.

19s seem like a bad idea for the track (cost, weight, not enough sidewall).

You might consider the 949racing 6UL 17x10 +52, I have an original set and they bolt on even with the RacingBrake BBK

Enkei also makes a fairly light 17x10+37 RPF1, but it will require flattening the rear wheel well lip, several RX8 owners use them

I didn't even think of going 17x10... and just got another set of 17x9, haha. oh well - i need more driver mod than car upgrades at this point.

I use 17x8 RPF1 in a 35mm offset on my T4 car and 225/40/17 hoosiers they work great. I have 17x8 kosie instagrams on my rain tires they are a little heavier but alot cheaper. The RPF1 are a known strong well made wheel. I have not had the instagrams long enough to know how they will hold up.

Road racing Stock suspension
 

I have just switched over from Spec Focus to an RX8,I'm not 100% ready to club race it yet, but was looking for advice on Rims and Tires. On the Focus we ran Stock 17s with BFG R1, and would like to stick with 17s due to tire cost. What size tire are you guys runing on a 17 in wheel with Stock Suspension 17x9 I assume 225/45/17 or something else? I don't want any rub issues for now. Thanks in advance.

What are you end goals? - if you do plan to go club racing make sure you know the wheel size you are allowed for the class(s) you plan to run in. For example in SCCA T4 and ITS you can go up to 17x8 however in ITS the rules are kinda weird in that a 17x7 can use a 245 tire but the 17x8 can only use 225s. ( I wrote them to see if this was a typo...) Personally I use 17x8 with 225/40/17 or 225/45/17s Hoosiers which tend to run bigger than the BFG. A 225 Hoosier is probably closer to 245s in most other brands.

I am thinking about running in IT first and see how that goes, T4 at my track is a dead class. I will eventually change suspension, but considering the season has already started, and I sold my car I need to get this one going rather quickly. Just focusing on cage, slicks and of course all the safety requirements to pass tech.
The only slick I have ever ran on was BRG R1 as that was mandatory for Spec Focus. 225/45/17 price wasn't bad. And they seemed to last, but I don't have anything else to go off of.

Personally I would go with 17x8 as that is legal in both classes and is better for T4 in case you do any Majors or other races. (I used a 35mm offset so I don't need spacers) The disadvantage to the 8" in ITS is you are limited to 225 tires, as dumb as it sounds they allow wider tires on 7" rims but in my opinion that isn't safe. For T4 225 is the widest you are allowed regardless of rim size. Also in ITS the car is heavier but no intake restrictor and the ride height is a bit higher 5" vs 4.5". If we could run wider tires in ITS then they might last a little longer but the heavy weights of the rx8 do eat up some tires.

Thanks for the advice, I'm gonna go with 17x8s. I'm sure I'll have a lot more questions as the build goes on as I'm new to the RX8. It's like starting over from scratch.

You made a great argument in general, but the "not safe" clause is simply not true for modern radial tire technology. Maybe you actually meant "not ideal", but plenty of people have done it without issue and ended up winning too. I know people who wouldn't think twice to stuff a 255 on a 7" wheel as crazy as it may sound.

Where did you purchase the kosei kr9 +48 mm? I can't seem to find that size online.

They were from tirerack, and don't appear to be available. TR also has other Kosei offerings (K6R, K5R, K4R) options in 17x9. I usually search under "2007 mazda mx-5 STR SCCA class" for car type.


Konig has the hypergram, ultragram, and rennform all in 17x9.

Thanks using "2007 maxda mx5 str scca" for search really helps

What tire size did you run on the 6ul setup, and did you have rolled or pulled fenders?

I haven’t used them yet, but the 275/35-17 Hoosier is a common choice

Search for other input

I have the 17x10 6uls and 275/35/17 Hoosier A7's fit easily. You may need 3-5mm spacers to keep from rubbing the shock tower if you run a ton of camber. Also dependent on alignment, they may fit under stock fenders even while lowered. We ended up rolling the front a tiny bit but we are pretty low.

Good to know! I'll be running a 245 or 255 200tw street tire on them so I imagine they would have plenty more room to spare than your setup.

I have used pretty much nothing but 17x9s on the track and for autocrossing. The tires are cheaper and I like the thicker sidewall vs 18s.

17x9 is fine for those tire widths, lighter, less cost, easily found, no mods required, etc.