enkei
 

Just wanted to give my impressions on new enkei rpf1. I would of course post some pics but we have all seen pics of red rx8 with rpf1's. I went with 17 by 7.5 and firestone firehawk wideovals. 225/45/17. I get these cheep because i work there :suspect:. I wanted to go totally performance minded but after installing these i really like the look of the bright silver with the red. I am happy with the overall fit and added performance. Braking, steering effort, and acceleration seem alittle better. The best way i can describe it is the car feels lighter on its feet. Now acceleration may seem alittle better then it actually is because of the speedo being off. I will get to mazda next week and get them to fix that issue. There was alittle more wheel gap then i would have liked but i have bilstein pss9's so i lowered it back down another half inch and it looks great. Overall very happy with this setup and worth the money. :mdrmed:

Why go 7.5?

^+1. If you were going for performance in mind, you should've gone wider than 7.5, no?

i suppose it depends. i liked my setup the way it was, as far as handling, so why go wider i guess. i wanted the lightest weight possible.

^Light weight isn't a substitute for better grip.

again.... i wasen't going all for just grip. i understand your point.

Getting a 17x9" rim with 255 or 275mm tires turn faster lap times than the weight savings you get by going with 7.5" rims with 225 series tires, which by the way is only 0.4lbs per rim and approximately 1lb per tire going from a 225/45R17 to a 255/40R17. So total weight savings is going to be 1.4lbs per wheel over the 17x9, a difference you will never notice.

So if you were going for looks and keeping tire costs lower for a daily driver and not so much performance then the 7.5" are a great choice. I run 275/40R17 NT01's on the 17x9's for track duty and I love them, excellent rim for sure.

awesome. love the flames out the back.:SHOCKED:

I like your style and idea!

I had Enkei GF-1 18 x7.5 on new; I guess the dealer tried to mod the car a little.

Anyway, I like to go against conventional wisdom by using tires that fit the best, and are light.

I'm running 225/40r18 which gear it down 4% after a little wear, and with Hankook V12's my current weight is 42#. With Continental DW I can get the weight down to 37#.

Your weight is approx 38.2 #, and you could get it down to approx 35.2 # by running Continental Extreme Contact DW.

I use my scangauge II to correct mileage for the 4% gear down, and I don't care that most cars are faster on the track; My 8 drives like a dream in all pavement or rain conditions.

Light weight wheel and tires make the 8 feel peppy!