Wheel and tire help

[Jason@SportsCar]

Originally Posted by chewychewbacca

I want to get new wheels and tires. I am running Micro Image springs which give a 1.8 drop and Tokico Blues.

I am pretty set on the Enkei Racing RPF1 17's. 17x7 + 43 offset.

I'm planning to get them from TireRack with new tires installed and they recommend 205/45-17 tires so I chose the Yokohama ADVAN Neova AD08 which are 205/45/17.

My question is will I get a lot of rubbing with this setup?
Do I need to modify anything to get this to fit?

Also, what other tires and sizes would you guys recommend? I'd like something good for DDing as well as occasion autocross. Im very interested in 215/40R17 Dunlop Direzza Star Specs, would these fit with these rims? Rub less or more than the AD08?

And is installing TPMS required? Tire rack states:
New TPMS sensors must be initialized at the dealer. This charge is not included in the cost of the sensors. If TPMS sensors are not installed in the wheels, the TPMS light will flash for 1 to 2 minutes and then stay permanently illuminated. An audible chime may also be heard at start-up.

Both of those tires are an excellent choice, and both sizes are a great fit on a 7" wide wheel. They both perform great in the dry, and work well for street tire class autocrossing. I give the edge to the Dunlop, it is the only brand aside from Toyo that is winning SCCA street tire championships (STU class). Bonus, they are typically less expensive, and great in the wet.

As far as rubbing, hard to say for sure. Looks like you picked a conservative offset wheel, so that helps. The Dunlop is a bit shorter at 23.8" VS 24.2 for the Yokohama, so that helps a little. Also section width (overall size, not the tread) is very close, the AD08 is rated at 8.2" wide on a 7" wheel. The Z1 is rated at 8.7" on a 7.5" wide wheel, so putting it on a 7" wheel should bring it's width down around 8.4-8.5" - for every 1" of wheel width change the section width of the tire will change .5", so the 1/2" smaller wheel will narrow up the sidewall of the Dunlop just a bit.

[chewychewbacca]

Originally Posted by Jason@SportsCar

Both of those tires are an excellent choice, and both sizes are a great fit on a 7" wide wheel. They both perform great in the dry, and work well for street tire class autocrossing. I give the edge to the Dunlop, it is the only brand aside from Toyo that is winning SCCA street tire championships (STU class). Bonus, they are typically less expensive, and great in the wet.

As far as rubbing, hard to say for sure. Looks like you picked a conservative offset wheel, so that helps. The Dunlop is a bit shorter at 23.8" VS 24.2 for the Yokohama, so that helps a little. Also section width (overall size, not the tread) is very close, the AD08 is rated at 8.2" wide on a 7" wheel. The Z1 is rated at 8.7" on a 7.5" wide wheel, so putting it on a 7" wheel should bring it's width down around 8.4-8.5" - for every 1" of wheel width change the section width of the tire will change .5", so the 1/2" smaller wheel will narrow up the sidewall of the Dunlop just a bit.

Thank you.

[TOUGEghost]

I used to have set of RPF1's in that same size with 205/40 tires. There was a tiny bit of rubbing on the inner plastic fender liners. 205/45's will probably rub a lot more. With the +43mm offset you don't really need to worry so much about the sidewall of the tire rubbing the metal fender lip but rather the top of the tire rubbing the inner fender plastic. If I was to go back to 17" wheels again I would go with the 215/40 size for combination of the extra width and short height.

Here's a old picture of my car:



I never bothered to get new TPMS sensors; the blinking light doesn't bother me and I am perfectly capable of checking my tire pressure.

[chewychewbacca]

Hey thanks for posting the picture, that gives me a real good idea of what it might look like on my car. And yeah, I didn't realize the TPMS is just a light and doesn't make noise, I can check my own tire pressure.