Hello All,

Ok. So since I flew straight into buying my 8 I thought I would do a bit more research this time around on it's first major upgrade. New wheels!!

Pretty much have my mind set on TSW Thruxtons. See below:



So my questions are:

- 19 or 20? Both are around $1600 shipped
- Staggered is a must. front x 8.5 back x 10 reasonable in both 19 or 20?
- What kinda rubber should I wrap them in?

Looking forward to opinions. Thanks guys...

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Why is staggered a must? Have you read the two sticky threads here? (One about staggered setups, the other about unsprung weight)

Be advised, up front, that putting on heavier wheels in a staggered setup pretty much guarantees that your handling and ride will get worse. If the look is that much more important to you than actual performance, then by all means follow the herd.

 

Thanks for the opinion. Yeah, looks are pretty high on the list. The 8 is obviously a really sexy car, if I wanted pure performance, I would have gone with an ugly as EVO or WRX!!

Open to other thoughts. The deep dish on staggered rims is just too hot to pass up...

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moo......................

moo..............

 

Why not go with wider lighter 18's?

 

pretty sure your suspension determines your ride qualityand handling last I checked, and staggered wheels aren't always heavier, that's just an assumption on your part. I've had nothing but a positive experience ever since swapping to a staggered setup, car definitely feels more stable, especially cornering at high speeds and in wet weather.

 

way moo


beers

 

Hey Gil
those will look very clean you your shinka, I remember you mention you like a huge lip and those rims have just that.
let me know if you want to go wheel shopping

 

i have toyo t1r tires on my 19 inch rims.

 

definately go with the 19's...8.5 front and 9.5 rear is fine.

 

FYI, if you like the way it looks on the car in the pic, get 20s.
That is jenkins-crew's car, he has 20s on it in the pic.

IMO, its the only 20" rim i've ever seen on an RX-8 that looks right.

-hS

 

You might not have read the above unsprung weight thread if you don't think wheel weight has an impact on ride quality and handling...

I didn't say that staggered wheels are heavier, I said that heavier wheels are detrimental. Of course, the fact that TSW has usually made heavier than average wheels was a factor in that comment, but it certainly is possible to spend larger coin to get lighter than stock 18' or 19" wheels. If someone does spend the money to get lighter than stock wheels in a larger diameter - bravo!

Of course it feels more stable - that's the increased understeer talking! More stable does not equal better handling...

 

Slightly torn between Thruxtons and RS-721s. Big investments so I wanna get it rite.



$1600 w/tires for TSW (20 inch) vs. $3000 w tires for Racing Hart (19 inch) big question.

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