i have a choice of getting either of those setups. They are 5zigen FN01R-Cs and i have a set of 17x8 sitting there but was told that 17x8 and 17x9 staggered would be better. I can just change 2 of them to 17x9s since i work at a shop but 5zigen USA don't have them in stock and has to special order them from Japan and their next shipment is in about a month. I don't really want to wait and my question is what is the biggest difference between staggering them and not? Other than the obvious look factor but if i don't stagger i would be able to rotate them? Thanks for any suggestions.

 

yes, you would be able to rotate them if you didn't stagger them. only benefit to staggering is, looks, like you said, and the ability to run a bigger tire on the wider wheel, which would help with help with traction when racing, if you race your car. if you don't race your car, no reason to get the 9's for the back other than looks.... and I doubt you'd notice much difference in looks unless you're a wheel fitment nut.

 

thx for the suggestion, anyone help want to comment?

 

Yes, obvious advantage to have all the same sizes is that you can rotate them.

The wider rear will give you better traction, especially in a big powered car.
Also, the wider rear will give you better tire life due to have more rubber to start out with.


-Ted

 

if youre just cruising around town and not driving the hell out of your car all day long and not racing it, then you can get away with 17x8 all around. I think whatever tire you can fit up front will look stupid in the back, at least without spacers to push it out to the fender lip.

I had 17x8 F and 17x9 R fno1rcs and the ride was perfection on 235 fronts and 255 rears. awesome balance and nice feedback.

I switched to an even wider setup in hopes of putting the power to the ground and still run a slightly staggered setup... the handling is better IMHO with a staggered setup on an FC.

 

i'm running 17 x 8's all around and it's been good, as long as you have decent tires :-)

 

I went with a staggered setup, and I was concerned it would understeer badly and be hard to get the tail out, so far that hasn't proven to be true. It's still easy to toss around and puts down the power far better than the stock wheel/tire sizes. The tires are still very new, and I haven't really pushed it hard, but so far I can't complain about my decision.

 

I'd say that unless putting down power is an issue then stick with the same size tires and wheels all around. It'll be better balanced and you'll be able to rotate tires, it'll also be far cheaper in your case.

On my relatively low powered NA with only minor suspension mods I've got 8's and 225's all around and it handles pretty well, but there's still understeer at the limit. The only way you'll get a staggered setup to be balanced at the limit is with suspension tuning or by overpowering the tires, but that doesn't really count (being able to induce power on oversteer doesn't make it balanced).