[AlanBDahl]

I've been running this year on 16" wheels with 225/45-16 tires and I'm wondering now that is almost the off-season whether 17" wheels might be better. Those of you that have ran both do you notice a difference?

 

[Couldahadav8]

Haven't run both. I am wanting to try 235/17's zii's, but I am not sure how much offset would be needed. I think the 17's might have benefit if one could find a decently lightweight wheel with the offset to fit the 235's.


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[AlanBDahl]

At least with OZ wheels + DIrezzas the weight difference of 16” vs 17” is maybe a pound at most. However the 225/45-16’s are wider and slightly shorter than the biggest 17” Direzza that fits without rubbing. There is a Hankook in a 17” that works too but I believe you’ll still get some rubbing with those too. Maybe others can jump in with their experiences?

 

[Couldahadav8]

I have 17x7 ozs w/42 offset. I think 215/45/17 kooks might fit especially if they are shaved a bit. The 215/40/17 zii's fit with no issue. 215/45/17 rivals rub even with stock wheels in the front. They work fine on the rear. I was thinking of getting 4 of the rs3's shaved for my oz's and/or 235/17 zii's on the stock wheels or maybe motegi mr117 w45 mm offset or st else. My understanding is that 235/17 Feds fit in front w/stock offset.


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[Mister_Mino]

I've been pondering the same question but because tirerack just put out a 17" wheel that is the same weight as the 16" ultraleggera at 14.65lbs yet $232 cheaper. Tire cost for 16s vs 17s in star specs is about $100 more for 17s so really the total cost difference would be about $100

 

[Pedro]

I have the Hankooks rs3 in 215/45/17 I had rubbing issues with the outside fender touching the tire in medium to hard turns. I temporary solved the problem by installing a 25mm sway bar and putting coil boosters in the springs which raised the front about half an inch. Saving up for BC coilovers where I can hopefully order in a rally spec to raise my ride height rather than lower.

 

[Couldahadav8]

Pedro. Are you running 42mm offset wheels?

 

[Pedro]

yes 42mm I have the Sparco Assetto Gara wheels

 

[AlanBDahl]

I've been pondering the same question but because tirerack just put out a 17" wheel that is the same weight as the 16" ultraleggera at 14.65lbs yet $232 cheaper.

Which wheel is this? The only one they used to have that was like that had a 40mm offset which would have required machining the wheels to make legal.[/QUOTE]

 

[Mister_Mino]

TR Motorsport FF10, et is 42

 

[Couldahadav8]

That TRM FF10 is a pretty great deal for a lightweight wheel. Would have loved to see it in a 45 offset. Alan, how wide are the 225/45/16 zii's?

 

[Couldahadav8]

http://www.tirerack.com/wheels/Whee...se&filterNew=All&filterWeight=All&sort=Weight

 

[Mister_Mino]

My goal is to wait and see if any more FiST friendly sizes come out. If my impatience wins, looking like 225/45-16 ZII on Ultras. Thinking the cheaper price of the 16" tires (~$100 a set) over time will justify/offset any advantage of a 17"...

 

[Mightymango]

Don't know if I could justify the total of eight pounds of rotational weight between the sparco and the ultras for 100 bucks more per wheel. Of course I say that now. I liked the Star Spec in the 16 so I will be running that again unless some new hotness comes out in the 225/45/16 next year.

 

[AlanBDahl]

That TRM FF10 is a pretty great deal for a lightweight wheel. Would have loved to see it in a 45 offset. Alan, how wide are the 225/45/16 zii's?

8.5” wide, the widest you can get without going significantly taller. The ZIIs in that size mostly worked well for me except at Crows Landing but I had yet to figure out the ideal pressures at that point, especially on concrete. I got a chance to drive a Focus on the new Hankooks this weekend and they worked ok too but didn’t seem to have quite the lateral grip that the ZIIs have. That said they did work very well in the rain when the skies opened up and we had to run in the wet.

 

[Couldahadav8]

Thanks Alan. Wow, I was giving up 1/2" of tire tread. Those are wide 225's. The 235's are only 8.7. Given the cost difference, I might just have to find some 16's and go with the 225's. I was thinking the 235's might be worth a shot because I have run out of gear a couple times this year, but the headaches related to worrying about rubbing are probably not worth that. Can you mix and match wheel sizes, like 16's in front and 17's in back, etc.? Thanks again!!

 

[AlanBDahl]

I do not think you can mix sizes but I'd need to re-read the rule closely to know for sure. WRT gearing i want to do some 40-55 runs in both second and third to compare. The gearing is of course worse in third but you get an extra 17 hp which likely means that on fast courses short-shifting would be the preferred option.

 

[Mightymango]

I show the section width on the ZII Star Spec at 8.9 inches (According to tire rack) I have both the original ZII and the ZII Star Spec still. I think I'm going to measure and see if there is a difference

 

[Mister_Mino]

Anyone run ZII against Star Spec notice a difference in grip level?

 

[Mightymango]

I have, the grip level is a little bit higher but the turn in and responsiveness in transitions is better then on the normal ZII. They also didn't seem to do that "flapping" that others have mentioned on the normal ZII under heavy braking. Rotating the car was fine as well, but I haven't seemed to have the issue of lack of rotation on my car like others have mentioned.