Hello all,
I am new to Road Racing/Autocross forum. I am Dan, I purchased the Mid-Engined RWD Del Sol from Cody Loveland back in December. I am in the process of finishing up a new motor for the car, and ready to start thinking about what wheels to run. I have seen that with proper offset a 15x8 would fit relatively easy, but I am debating if the added weight and cost are worth not running a 15x7 wheel. The reasons behind this are, my car weighs in at around 2000lbs. Due to it being lightweight, does running a wider tire not have as much benefit due to the fact that the cars weight is just spread out over a larger surface area? Also, I am trying to consider offsets and how it will relate to handling. From my understanding, which is limited, on a RWD car like mine, a lower offset (such as going from +42mm to +32mm) increases road feel and generally makes the car feel better to drive (the opposite being true for FWD because of increased torque steer). Am I correct on this idea, any other ideas on offset? And finally, with around 220-230 whp and, for the time being, no LSD, should I run wider tires/wheels in the back? Personally, I am against understeer, but I would be new to RWD so I don't want to kill myself. Would it be more wise to use suspension tuning to dial out oversteer, or just go with a wider tire? Thanks a lot.
Dan

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by rawkus &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Mid-Engined RWD Del Sol </TD></TR></TABLE>

Sounds like fun and cool car. Got any pics?

Generally, rules permitting, you'd want to run the widest wheel and tire you can stuff in the fenders, or even modify the fenders if necessary (again, rules permitting).

 

For info on the car see:
https://honda-tech.com/zerothread?id=1035592
and for the most recent picts of engine stuff look:
https://honda-tech.com/zerothread?id=1237903

I am not too worried about rules and regulations. I want the best dual purpose setup, something I can use on the street and track, but as far as meeting sanctioning bodies rules, im don't care much. I am more worried about what I can physically fit on my car, and, as you can see in the pictures, there is a lot of room to work with.
Dan

 

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

I am not too worried about rules and regulations.

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

LOL, with a car like that i figured that much. I was just saying that sorta BTW... I figure eventually you'd want something like 15x10R and 15x8F or more with 245R/225F to start. But if the car still has those wheels in the pic, i'd just go with that for now until you get all the other stuff somewhat sorted out. And by the looks of it, there will be plenty to sort out, that's for sure...

 

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

LOL, with a car like that i figured that much. I was just saying that sorta BTW... I figure eventually you'd want something like 15x10R and 15x8F or more with 245R/225F to start. But if the car still has those wheels in the pic, i'd just go with that for now until you get all the other stuff somewhat sorted out. And by the looks of it, there will be plenty to sort out, that's for sure... </TD></TR></TABLE>
Haha, yeah, there is a lot to work out still, but it's actually getting pretty close to coming together. The wheels that where on it are now on my mom's Accord and I was hoping to run something else. So for now I am looking for as many ideas before I make a pretty expensive decision. Thanks for the help so far.
Dan

 

Would love some more opinions. Thanks.
Dan