I have been noticing that most of the people that change the wheels on this car put on the te37's but i noticed most people get 19 inch, dosent that mess up performance by having that big of a wheel. is 18inch better for autocross and road racing????

 

the arguement could certainly be made for that.

I dont think theres anyone that can argue 19s are better for performance, but some question the difference between them as not being anything substantial.

they choose 19s for appearance.

 

A larger wheel if offset by a tire with a smaller sidewall- keeping the overall diameter- the same or close to stock.

 

its not really the overall diameter in question, instead its the rotational inertia and the lips distance from the center.

typicly it would also be more metal, but oddly, an extra half inch on each spoke with these forged rims probably weighs less than an extra half inch of sidewall. so for forged its different, but for cast, its certainly better to make up the distance in rubber vs metal.

 

Right on!
But having a wheel/tires setup that is too much larger or smaller thatn the stock diameter will affect your speedometer as well as mess with the VDC.

 

oh of course.

and have I mentioned I love tammi/sophie? cause I do ya know. yup.

just thought id take this time to mention that.

 

so, if someone is going to get 19's and wants the speedometer to stay as close as possible to correct....what offsets should they get?

djk

 

The offset has nothing to do with the speedo...the overall diameter of the tire is what affects the speedo. You will have to research this answer based on the tire that you chose (brand, model, size)

True. In the case of my 19x9.5 TE-37s, the wheels weigh less than the 275/35 tires mounted on them. A smaller wheel would have weighed less but the higher profile tire would have weighed more.

I'm not saying it is better to go with 19"s but with the TE37s, I don't think it's significantly worse.

 

oops.....read the post wrong.

i've read that three different offsets are being purchased with the gt-7's. here are the offsets....

Wicked4u2c says he has +32f and +24r. Mike at Gruppe-S says +23f and +30r. Another post says +23f and +24r.

what are the differences?

i have some on order....maybe i should change the offsets?? i've lowered my car 1.8 inches...which would be the best for my car??

thanks,
djk

 

You've just opened a can...

There is a big debate about what offset is best for our cars. This all depends on the size of the wheel/tire and your goal (performance/looks).

Here are the factors:
- If the offsets are too far from factory (30f, 33r) then you could suffer wear or performance issues as this changes the geometry of the suspension.

- The other issue is rubbing. Obviously the tire/wheel size plays into this greatly.

I see from your sig that your looking at 19" rims. I assume these are 8.5f / 9.5r. If this is the case, any of the offsets you mentioned should fit fine.
Because you bought 19" rims I assume you're appearance minded. That being the case, the smaller number offsets will look "better" (deeper dish...). But with the GT7s there is another factor...Type. This has something to do with caliper clearance and affects the dish and "shape" of the spokes.

You'd be better of calling your dealer for what fits and looks best on your car.

 

probably 23 24. lower the number the mor it sticks out I think... and for some reason when you lower the car its good for it to stick out more. Im not sure why, but that just seems to be how it goes.

 

thanks guys. that helps. i was getting confused with all the different offsets that people were getting.

djk

 

DJK, who's your avatar?

 

that's my girlfriend at her house this past summer.

sure it is....right?

no, it's some random picture i got off of www.amithebomb.com (my coworker has it as his background and i wanted to put it as my avatar).

 

How could you not

djkern- I probably confused you by using the world offset when referring to the over all diameter.

 

haha! no worries.....i got it all straight now!

 

I'm confused by the screwed up posting on this board, but to back to your original question

you should know (and maybe already do -- if so, sorry) that in autoX, if you change your wheel size from stock, or if you lower your car, or change the suspension in anyway (other than to change shocks), you will be moved out of the stock class.

You'll be placed in the Street Prepared class and while there are many nice folks who do that, be aware that the competitive ones have spent $10k or so on suspension mods.

Obviously this isn't an issue if you're mostly interested in style and only do an occasional autoX for yucks.

Don't forget to post pics of your results!

 

actually thats very interesting, I thought tires, rims and boltons were allowed in stock class. owell, guess Ill just be racin for myself, see if I can beat any of the heavily modded guys.