I have a B16 CRX that I am driving in the SM2 class.
After one year of driving on street tires I am switching to R Compounds with the hope that I have learned enough not to destroy the R Compounds in one day.

My question is which wheel size would I get the most out of?

I know some of the CSP CRX's are on a 13x8 or 13x9 wheel but since I have the b16 swap I am thinking a 15x7 is the way to go (possibly running a 225/45/15 or a 225/50/15).

Am I on the right track or should I be looking to fit a 13x8 or 13x9 wheel?

 

13's as long as you don't have a brake swap so that the wheels will fit.

You get lower gearing, lower center of gravity, lighter wheels, and cheaper tires

 

13's !!!!!!!!!!!!!

My Dad runs his 88 Si in CSP and has 13x8 Keizer wheels with 235/45/15 Kumho V700's.

 

I too recommend the 13s. I'm running 13x8s on an '89 Integra.

Are you running a 1st or 2nd gen CRX? I bought the wheels off a guy with a 2nd gen CRX, and he was running them fine, with no spacer needed, with stock brakes. He has since upgraded the calipers (not sure what to) but he needed a spacer to run them then. I'm running them with the same spacer he had, 3/16". Clearance is fine.

Like others have said, it'll help your acceleration, gearing, etc. The 13x8s, mounted with 215/50 Ecsta V700s are about 3.5lb. lighter per wheel than the 14x5.5s I was running, with 195/60 Azenis.

 

Will you be using the R tires for anything other than autocross? 13x8 and wider usually stick out a bit, so are not suitable for HPDE/lapping.

Are you running stock brakes? Many of the bigger brakes (GSR, 99-00 Civic EX, etc) will not allow anything but modular 13" wheels ($$$$).

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Crack Monkey &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote"> Many of the bigger brakes (GSR, 99-00 Civic EX, etc) will not allow anything but modular 13" wheels ($$$$).</TD></TR></TABLE>

Really?? That's great news, except for my wallet. Do you know which wheels will work?? I thought 13's were out of the question with the gsr brakes, but wow

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Another Drew &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

Really?? That's great news, except for my wallet. Do you know which wheels will work?? I thought 13's were out of the question with the gsr brakes, but wow </TD></TR></TABLE>

I know the modular, 3 piece, Panasports can be made to fit over GSR brakes. Mike Neary ran them for a few years. I know he stops by HT sometimes - RacerMike I think.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by DSPDA3 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
I bought the wheels off a guy with a 2nd gen CRX, and he was running them fine, with no spacer needed, with stock brakes. He has since upgraded the calipers (not sure what to) but he needed a spacer to run them then. I'm running them with the same spacer he had, 3/16". Clearance is fine.

</TD></TR></TABLE>

That was me. My car is an '88. Those wheels will clear just fine with '88-'89 calipers. I upgraded to '90-'91 calipers. The wheels will rub the inside of the caliper unless you use the 3/16" spacer.

 

I couldn't remember your caliper Jeff. For some reason, I thought you were running an Integra caliper...

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Crack Monkey &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I know the modular, 3 piece, Panasports can be made to fit over GSR brakes. Mike Neary ran them for a few years. I know he stops by HT sometimes - RacerMike I think.</TD></TR></TABLE>His wing is too big for RR/AX now.

 

New truck Jeff? Just noticed your sig.

 

Yep,

I was tired of pouring money into the 'ole GMC. Ford just started giving back crazy money at the end of the year...almost stupid not to take it. Now I have a warranty and 9600lbs towing capacity.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by DSPDA3 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I too recommend the 13s. I'm running 13x8s on an '89 Integra.

Are you running a 1st or 2nd gen CRX? I bought the wheels off a guy with a 2nd gen CRX, and he was running them fine, with no spacer needed, with stock brakes. He has since upgraded the calipers (not sure what to) but he needed a spacer to run them then. I'm running them with the same spacer he had, 3/16". Clearance is fine.

</TD></TR></TABLE>

I am running the 2nd gen CRX (88).

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Crack Monkey &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Will you be using the R tires for anything other than autocross? 13x8 and wider usually stick out a bit, so are not suitable for HPDE/lapping.

Are you running stock brakes? Many of the bigger brakes (GSR, 99-00 Civic EX, etc) will not allow anything but modular 13" wheels ($$$$).</TD></TR></TABLE>

I would be using the 13" for just the autocrossing. I could keep the 15" for HPDE or any of the big track events.


The gearing on the B16 would be interesting on 13" wheels as the gearing seems pretty short even on the 15". Sounds like for 13" the modular wheels might be the way to go. What is the difference in a modular wheel that makes it possible to go with a brake upgrade?

 

The modular wheel usually has a larger inner diameter in the "shell" part of the wheel where the center is. If you don't plan to upgrade brakes beyond what fits on the stock rotors and don't plan on hitting the national tour, just get some steel 13s from Diamond or Circle. Best bang for the buck and durable as hell.

Trust me, with some good pads you won't have any problem stopping on the 13s with what you have now.

 

What/where can you get a good and inexpensive 13" wheel?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by hughesl &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">What/where can you get a good and inexpensive 13" wheel?</TD></TR></TABLE>

http://diamondracingwheels.com/RoadRaceSeries.htm

 

actually if you don't mind them being 13x7.5inch exospeed has a sale for lenso VPD's for 460 a set only 10 pounds.

https://honda-tech.com/zerothread?id=1513424


also weld has cold forged 13x8s only 6 pounds each

 

According to the specs, the 225/50/14 will have the widest tread area on both Kumho 710 and Hoosiers. It is also one of the few sizes that is currently available from both companies. The OD is the same as a 225/45/15. The best balanced CRX I've driven had 225 front and 205 rear tires but I'm no expert on the CRX so others probably have other opinions. If you have one of the very short geared transmissions, you may want the taller tire versus the 13's to avoid constant use of 3rd. All the serious CSP CRX's I've seen have run the 13" tires but as you said, you have more weight and power up front and the 13's do have issues with overheating easily. The SM Civics I've seen running B18 or 20 motors have been running 15's but I think they could have run the 14's too.

 

thanks for the link Suavacito.

FYI also, the Lenso VPD 13" will clear stock Integra and civic brakes. No spacer needed or extended wheel studs. You can use regular lug nuts and the existing wheel studs on the car. Weight on the VPD are about 9lbs from what I remember weighing them a year ago. i'll reweigh them again and take pictures of the scale so you all can see.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by suavacito &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">actually if you don't mind them being 13x7.5inch exospeed has a sale for lenso VPD's for 460 a set only 10 pounds.

https://honda-tech.com/zerothread?id=1513424


also weld has cold forged 13x8s only 6 pounds each</TD></TR></TABLE>

for 13's

i'll vouch for the durability of the diamonds mentioned earlier. 225/45 hoosiers arent the easiest (!) things to mount, and any issues were easilly whacked out with a mallet. try that with an expensive aluminum rim . you'll need a small spacer for 90-91 si brakes (3-5mm), and some 45degree taper lugs since they aren't hub-centric. (diamond sells some nice 1"drive aluminum ones). lack of hub-centricity also makes them a pain in the *** to balance since noone has the adapters to lug balance, but at autox speeds i never noticed any issues. one note is that the prices went up a LOT the last time i checked with them compared to what i paid a few years ago, due to the steel surcharge they implemented.

there is also the te37 thread over in the marketplace, but that deal still seems a little "confusing".

most of the reputable modular 13's (panasport, keizer, kodiak) have been talked about quite a bit in here. is there any chance that those weld's (especially the 6lb ones) would hold up to anything other than going straight?

i'm also curious to hear any real results testing between 13s and 15s in 225 flavor on a higher powered sm car. added diameter and tire might outweigh the weight factor, gearing being a completely different (and compounding) issue.


Modified by rsca_crx at 10:40 AM 2/14/2006

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Another Drew &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote"> Really?? That's great news, except for my wallet. Do you know which wheels will work?? I thought 13's were out of the question with the gsr brakes, but wow </TD></TR></TABLE>
The only ones that have been confirmed to fit are Panasports, Volk TE-37s, and Lenso VPDs.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Targa250R &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
The only ones that have been confirmed to fit are Panasports, Volk TE-37s, and Lenso VPDs.</TD></TR></TABLE>

is there anyone with a set on hand that could measure the inner diameter of the shell? it would be nice to have a thread with concrete numbers for fitment. "clears gsr brakes" isn't good enough for someone with a slightly different brake setup.

 

the volk deal is bogusand the 13x8's are out of production. The welds have been tested on 800hp cars without failure and the appear to have been run on some ASE cars in the past to. But contact them. They have offsets that clear the GSR brakes

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by suavacito &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">the volk deal is bogusand the 13x8's are out of production. The welds have been tested on 800hp cars without failure and the appear to have been run on some ASE cars in the past to. But contact them. They have offsets that clear the GSR brakes</TD></TR></TABLE>

i've read the arguments on the volk deal- do you have any specifics as to which part is bogus, or is it still just the fact that things don't add up with mackin (mackin has told me the same thing). backdoor agreements to get a product made are one thing- knockoff wheels are another.

EDIT: you never identified yourself in that thread. it seems that some people around here know who you are, but an introduction would lend to your credibility- and also your stake in this. i'm just an interested party that doesn't want to get screwed.

on the welds- are you talking about the 3p w/ the gold centers or the all silver (stamped?) centers that are labeled "drag" and their "lightest whel". 800 hp in a straight line is a lot different than the forces that a 2000lb car on 225/x hoosiers generates mid corner.


Modified by rsca_crx at 1:41 PM 2/14/2006

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by suavacito &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">The welds have been tested on 800hp cars without failure </TD></TR></TABLE>

Drag cars? Cornering puts a totally different kind of stress on the wheels. I remember in the past Weld specifically stated that the wheel is not recommended for any other racing use except drag. I dunno if that changed...