I was wondering that the widest size wheel/tire was that Id b able to slap on the STI without it extending past the fenders. someone told me 9 inches, but im not sure. i plan to exceed a g in cornering when i get my sti, if the suspension gets set up correctly. I plan to have two sets of wheels/tires so that i can switch from racing stock back to all season street. any advice is much appreciated, and thanks in advance
Wide Wheels: how big is too big?
Tires/Wheels
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What do you think of 245/45-17 Victoracers? On 8" rims they ought to have a section width of 9.7", which is the same as S-03 tires in 235/40 on an 8.5" rim. Much as I would like to see 255's, it seems unlikely without a bit of body work. I'm not sure I want to roll my fenders just for the small amount of extra patch over 245s. Until I get the car I won't know what will fit anyway.
If I do go non-stock width rim, I'm thinking 8.5" since that fits a lot of big tires (255/45 Hoosiers, 255/40 Victoracers) as well as the more sane 245/235/225s. 9" might be too wide for a lot of 225 tires, but maybe you won't care about ever running something that small.
According to my G-Cube, my stock non-R Miata with 195/60-14 Falken Azenis tires typically exceeds 1g at transition. Sweepers look more like 0.8g or so sustained. Good R-compound tires would help immensely, and the increased patch from big tires, and decreased body roll (I hope!) of the STi would help as well.
If I do go non-stock width rim, I'm thinking 8.5" since that fits a lot of big tires (255/45 Hoosiers, 255/40 Victoracers) as well as the more sane 245/235/225s. 9" might be too wide for a lot of 225 tires, but maybe you won't care about ever running something that small.
According to my G-Cube, my stock non-R Miata with 195/60-14 Falken Azenis tires typically exceeds 1g at transition. Sweepers look more like 0.8g or so sustained. Good R-compound tires would help immensely, and the increased patch from big tires, and decreased body roll (I hope!) of the STi would help as well.
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245s should fit fine. I've seen a few tuner WRXs in magazines running 245/45-17 without mentioning anything about fender mods, and some of them may have been lowered, too.
If they fit a WRX, they'll fit the STi.
If they fit a WRX, they'll fit the STi.
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I'd hope so given the differences in stock wheels/tires: 16x6.5 205/55-16 vs. 17x7.5 225/45/17. I'm not sure if we actually got a well that can fit more space or not, but I'd hope it was a smidgeon larger. It would be awesome to fit 255's without body work.Agent Chobos said:
For competition, the 245/45-17 Kumho Victoracers look good at $138, and they'll even fit the 7.5" stock wheel size (though they'd appreciate something larger). For the money-laden, the Hoosier A3S03 245/40-17 at $208 would be nice, but it requires an 8.5" wheel minimum. For street use stock replacements, the 245/45-17 S-03's might be nice at $192 or maybe the Falken Azenis Sport at only $122. With a wider wheel I'd think about the 235/40 or 245/40, but I wouldn't likely do competition on these tires, so the extra sidewall might actually be nice.
I'm not sure we've entirely answered Wrex-man's question (I'm not sure we can before someone with an STi takes the time to run some tests). We're pretty sure that 245 tires fit, but unsure about 255. We're also not sure what wheel width will fit. 8.5"? 9"?
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Also, isn't the OD changing if you go to 245/45-17? It might throw off your odo/trip meters as well as your speedometer.
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For competition use only I wouldn't worry about it -- I guess I'd be more concerned with what it did to my speeds and acceleration. The 255/40's seem to be almost a match in diameter to 225/45. The 255/45's are the farthest at about 4% off, 245/45 and 235/40 are almost 3% off.
One thing I don't follow is that looking at the specs from the Tire Rack, different tire brands have different listings for "overall diameter" -- for instance the Hoosier and Kumho 245/45-17 are listed at 25.3", while the S-03 is listed at 25.7". Fairly different diameter even with the same rim size (8" for this example on all three tires) and same tire size. If this is correct, then arguably we need to measure the stock tires and then select ones that match that diameter. But maybe I'm just confused.
One thing I don't follow is that looking at the specs from the Tire Rack, different tire brands have different listings for "overall diameter" -- for instance the Hoosier and Kumho 245/45-17 are listed at 25.3", while the S-03 is listed at 25.7". Fairly different diameter even with the same rim size (8" for this example on all three tires) and same tire size. If this is correct, then arguably we need to measure the stock tires and then select ones that match that diameter. But maybe I'm just confused.
I'm also looking to go wider. (But in the street tire class). I'm thinking about an 17x8 wheel and I'd love to run the Azenis Sports (or comperable?). any suggestions? 245/40/17? My car is lowered quite a bit with some JIC coilovers so I'm concerned about rubbing, etc.
ya, i'd read that. the caption for the photo says he's comparing 225/45 to 245/45 but the sticker on the Kumho is 245/40/17. Kumho doesn't make a 245/45/17 MX do they? Kind of like how Falken doesn't offer their Azenis Sport in 245/40/17... is the ratio from 245/45 to 245/40 significant? furthemore, the rest of the write-up seems to be WRX specific. can that be true for the (2004) STi as well then?
I hate to burst your bubble, folks, but here we have a "how wide can I go" discussion that also includes such esoterica as changing the height of the car's center of gravity by fractions of an inch, and there appears to be not one mention of wheel offset. For crying out loud -- you can't even contemplate going to 9" or 9.5" wheels without considering the wheel geometry. The original question asked what wouldn't extend past the fenders. Wheel width and offset in combination will determine that -- without considering them together it's not a well-posed question.
I suggest reading the offset tutorial on the TireRack site (the tech section). HPH
I suggest reading the offset tutorial on the TireRack site (the tech section). HPH
go here:
http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=448097
pretty much covers wheels....
http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=448097
pretty much covers wheels....
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