I want to put 8.5 fronts (maybe 9.0 fronts) and 10.0 rear rims on my FD3S for track work. I want to keep the centrepoint the same (that's what we here in the UK call it when the rim width is increased absolutely equally on the inside and the outside, so that the geometry of the stock set up remains the same). What I need to know is what makes of light race type wheel will fit and be available in the right offset? I don't want to roll the rear arch lip if I can avaoid it. I may run either 17 or 18 inch diameter, not settled yet, as I need to discuss 2002 tyre availability with our suppliers. What tyre sizes will still give arch clearance? I will be running JRZ coil over suspension. By the way, it is all but impossible to buy Volks (Rays) wheels here in the UK, so they are out. I really want something, if 18 inch, that will accomodate a 355 mm front disc and AP 6 pot caliper, so I need ideally a one piece rim with plenty of clear internal diameter.

Thanks.

 

for racing, go with either Kinesis, Forgeline, Fikse, or CCW (if you dont want to spend that much $$$). these are custom wheels that they make for your specs.

i would have said VOLK, but thats out of the question.

 

It's not so much the money, but believe it or not, in the home of F1 it's hard to buy a decent road car wheel. Hell even the single seater stuff comes from Italy in the main. All the nice light forged wheels are on cars imported from japan (loads here). Trouble is, damage a rim and they are then "no longer made" even if you are willing to fork out to ship from japan. Thanks for the reply though.

 

Kinesis, Forgeline, Fikse, are all AMERICIAN & Made to Order - should have no problem getting the widths & offsets you want and replacements when needed

 

The truly hot track setup for the FD Rx7 is 10 x 18s all around with 285/30-18 Hoosier R3S03 road racing tires. The 10 x 18s will come in 7.5-inch backspace (or 52 mm offset if you run another width). Please note that the 10 x 18s all around with 285/30-18 Hoosier R3S03s will only fit up front if you have 2.5-inch outer diameter springs. The 18-inch wheels will easily clear the rear trailing arms and also clear your 14-inch brake calipers.

Same-sized tires all around preserve the FD Rx7's neutral handling balance. A staggered setup will dial in more understeer, depending on the amount of stagger. I have 1-inch wider tires in back with my setup, and experience a slight increase in understeer compared with same sized tires all around in my old setup. I simply adjusted front tire air pressures, and changed my driving style to take advantage of the increased rear-end grip, to make the new setup more effective at turning quicker laptimes than the old setup. For your reference, my old setup was 245/45-16 Hoosier R3S03s mounted on 8.5 x 16 Kosei K1 Racing wheels. My new setup is 245/45-17s mounted on 8.5 x 17s; 275/40-17s mounted on 9.5 x 17s. Current tires are Hoosier R3S03 and wheels are SSR Competitions.

As already mentioned in previous posts, CCWs would be a good choice for you. They'll run $450 American dollars each wheel for 10 x 18s all around. If you have the stock 4-inch OD springs, then you'll need to go 9 x 18 up front and 10 x 18 in back. Contact John Purner directly-- john@ccwheel.com or jp8493@aol.com. He'll take the time to thoroughly discuss your racing wheel application needs.

Another option is Forgeline Racing wheels. Their Competition wheel is basically an RS with no centercap, and built to wider widths. The Forgelines are also available as 10 x 18, but they will be quite a bit more money than the CCWs. The Forgelines have true forged centers which is solidly welded to the wheel rims. Check out Forgeline's website-- http://www.forgeline.com/wheels/comp.html The WC3 mesh wheels will be more expensive and heavier than the Forgeline Comps.

If you do contact Forgeline, you'll end up talking with Mark Schetter. He's their wheel application guy. The only experience Mark has with preparing racing FD Rx7s is with Brian Richards' M2 World Challenge Rx7 which has been out of the racing scene for a few years. As you know, Brian's car has radically wide tires...probably 10 and 11 x 17s with 275/40-17 and 315/35-17 Hoosier R3S03s, mounted to their respective wheel widths. No doubt, Brian used a 4.3 rear-end to compensate for the 0.6-inch taller rear tires!

Based on your initial post, Mark will probably suggest 9 x 17 (or 18) front and 10 x 17 (or 18) back, both in 52 mm offset, for a stock spring setup [If you have 2.5-inch coilovers, then you can go 10 x 17 (or 18) all around in a 52 mm offset].

Note--if you stay with a 52-mm offset, you're basically adding 1 inch to either side of a stock 50-mm offset, 8-inch wide wheel, thus maintaining the wheel "centerline" and the car's suspension geometry, which is what you're after.

I'm suggesting the 17s with Forgelines because their wheels have very large caliper clearances, so you can go with the lighter 17-inch wheel. Both the CCW and Forgeline 10 x 18s will weigh between 20 and 21 lbs. The 10 x 17s will weigh in between 18 and 19 lbs. My SSR Comps weigh ~15 lbs for the 8.5 x 17 and ~16 lbs for the 9.5 x 17s (minus the centercap and lugs)

IMHO, you should choose your wheel sizes to suit the tire size you plan to use. In my case, Hoosier Racing Tires (the best performing road racing tires available for the enthusiasts' hard-earned dollar/pound, IMO) offers 275/40-17 and 285/30-18. Each size will mate nicely with a 10 x 17 or 10 x 18, respectively (see Hoosier Tire's website-- http://www.hoosiertire.com/rrtire.htm ).

Ultimately tire size will depend on which wheel will clear your 14-inch brake calipers. The Hoosier R3S03 285/30-18 has an overall tire diameter of 24.6 inches, and the 275/40-17 OD is 25.3 inches. The ~1-inch taller sidewall with the 275/40-17 will afford more progressive slip angles, while the shorter sidewall of the 285/30-18 will behave with an abrupt slip angle. You could split the difference by going with Hoosier R3S03s in 275/35-18. The overall diameter is 25.3 inches for both 275/40-17 and 275/35-18, thus yielding a 0.5 inch difference in sidewall height?

Best of luck!

Let us know what you end up with!