[Transporter_STi]

Originally Posted by Invisiguard

Uhh, well I guess you didnt get it. What Im tryin to say is 19" blings might have been popular with your old Honda/Acura crowd but most STi owners will just laugh at you, dont do it!

I am going to be test fitting them, if they don't fit my buddie will take them off my hands. So it's not a bog deal.

[Transporter_STi]

Originally Posted by CloNeGTS

It's comments like that that scare me sometimes...... :roll: Did you do any research into whether these were a proper fit for the car?

The Brembos are the MAIN issue that people have to overcome in order to get a wheel to fit properly. Offset is one thing, the spoke shape is another. Offset simply changes the placement of the wheel in the wheelwell laterally. +35 on an 8" wheel???? Your offset should be going higher as the wheel gets wider unless you like the roller skate look. And in our case, offset still means nothing as for whether the giant Brembos will shave the inside of your spokes off.

Just for reference, this is the P1 size that Prodrive recommends for the STi specifically.

Available sizes: 18” X 7.5”
WRX Colors: Anthracite, Gold, Silver, Crystal Titanium
STi Colors: Crystal Titanium, Rally Gold
Fitment Specs:
Bolt Pattern: 5 X 100mm
Center Bore: 64mm
Offset: 18” ET53mm
+46mm offset for STi

A 46 vs. a 53 is needed to move the wheel face outward and clear the calipers. But, go too much lower of an offset and you'll have half of the wheel sitting outside of the fenderwell AND depending on the shape of the spoke, you still might not have cleared the calipers! Now take into account that you have an extra 1/2" of wheel hanging out vs. these P1s....yikes.

I understand what you are saying, the only thing I am concered about is my brembo calipers fitting. I have a friend with the G35 he had to uses spacers to make it fit. I picked them up for a really good deal so if they don't fit I can sell or my buddie can take them off my hands. So it really doesn't matter to me.

[eatV8]

A friend of mine recieved a pic of a STi with 19" wheels, i dont remember what they were. I will see if he has still got the pics and get him to email them to me.

[bitabur]

Yea, the only thing I could think of when this came up was this:




Those are fat sidewalls.... my guess is they don't hinder performance.

[CloNeGTS]

Originally Posted by "Transporter_STi

I understand what you are saying, the only thing I am concered about is my brembo calipers fitting. I have a friend with the G35 he had to uses spacers to make it fit.

Everything I just said was related to the calipers...... :roll: And yes, using spacers will get you to clear the calipers, but the offset you purchased is already leaving way too much wheel outside of the fenderwell.

And we won't get into why spacers are an extreme no-no...you don't seem too interested in what is the correct way to fit wheels without trying to break your suspension.

[CloNeGTS]

Yeah.....I was curious though if the FIA has a specification that says they must run that high of a series of tire....kinda like having to have the grooves.

[Transporter_STi]

Originally Posted by CloNeGTS

Everything I just said was related to the calipers...... :roll: And yes, using spacers will get you to clear the calipers, but the offset you purchased is already leaving way too much wheel outside of the fenderwell.

And we won't get into why spacers are an extreme no-no...you don't seem too interested in what is the correct way to fit wheels without trying to break your suspension.

Like I said I am first going to test fit them, then if I am not happy or they don't work I will sell them

[rallybred]

thanks Rob, some very good points. those tarmac wheels and tires must be at least 18". on the other hand, f1 and indy tires are huge (sidewalls). still want 18" i guess, to improve handling, but now im not sure about lower profile improving anything but looks.

anyone else have any ideas on whether the "rubber band" (low profile) is all show or all go?

[norcal-sti]

F1 cars are limited to 15" rims, and, basically have no suspension travel. any vertical wheel movement is pretty much the carbon suspension arms flexing. the tire sidewall is the suspension.

[Scuba_Steve]

Here's some pics of an 04 WRX on 235/35/19's.

[Agent Chobos]

Originally Posted by CloNeGTS

If I was going for handling only, I'd stick with the lightest, widest 17" I could find that would fit AND one that would allow an R compound tire to be fitted.

Exactly. I have long been of the opinion that anything bigger than 18" is completely unnecessary (and often detrimental) on ANY car. Personally, I wouldn't go bigger even on the Lambos & high-dollar supercars that seem to come with 19s and 20s from the factory these days.

[M]

I don't know enough about the cornering aspect to get into that discussion.
But I do know John Sheperd is running his 8.76 1/4 mile times on 16"x8" Volk TE-37 wheels. Previously, Shep was able to do a 9.89 sec run on Toyo RA1 tires, sized 225/50ZR-16 on the same Volks.
AWD makes up for big wheels a lot, especially in drag racing.
Shep's Drag Talon

[Invisiguard]

When we setup cars for Improved Touring we would only run as big a wheel as we needed for the brakes we were alowed to run, other than that we kept the wheels as small as possible

[toyworx]

17 versus 18 versus 19. It's a pure matter of physics. There are so many variables to talk about, so for the sake of this discussion, i will only talk about sidewall deflection. Given the same make and model of tire combined with the same make and model of rim in the 3 different sizes, a 19" with a 35% aspect ratio will have the least amount of sidewall deflection under hard cornering.

ALSO, there is another piece you are all overlooking. The contact patch on the 19" package is bigger. The first part of the tire measurement is the maximum width of the tire at the buldge in the sidewall. 225 means the tire is 225mm from sidewall buldge to sidewall buldge. 35 means the sidewall height is 35% of that (known as the aspect ratio). A 45% aspect ratio tire (like a 225/45/17) will have a taller sidewall and a bit more buldge resulting in less actual tread width. Translation, the actual tread width is narrower on a 225/45/17 versus a 225/35/19 even though they are both a 225. Yet another plus for the 19 when talking hard cornering.

The only other real big factor is weight. And in most cases, again given the same make and model of tire and same make and model of rim, the wieght difference won't be that much. Not enough to worry about.

My take is that the 19 has the potential to turn in a faster slalom time and a better skidpad number.

[Transporter_STi]

Originally Posted by toyworx

17 versus 18 versus 19. It's a pure matter of physics. There are so many variables to talk about, so for the sake of this discussion, i will only talk about sidewall deflection. Given the same make and model of tire combined with the same make and model of rim in the 3 different sizes, a 19" with a 35% aspect ratio will have the least amount of sidewall deflection under hard cornering.

ALSO, there is another piece you are all overlooking. The contact patch on the 19" package is bigger. The first part of the tire measurement is the maximum width of the tire at the buldge in the sidewall. 225 means the tire is 225mm from sidewall buldge to sidewall buldge. 35 means the sidewall height is 35% of that (known as the aspect ratio). A 45% aspect ratio tire (like a 225/45/17) will have a taller sidewall and a bit more buldge resulting in less actual tread width. Translation, the actual tread width is narrower on a 225/45/17 versus a 225/35/19 even though they are both a 225. Yet another plus for the 19 when talking hard cornering.

The only other real big factor is weight. And in most cases, again given the same make and model of tire and same make and model of rim, the wieght difference won't be that much. Not enough to worry about.

My take is that the 19 has the potential to turn in a faster slalom time and a better skidpad number.

Thank you for clear that up for other. I just think people get scared when they hear 19", I always had 19" on most of my cars and they all handle great with no problems.