Ok so i want to buy some 17" wheels but don't really know what to get and money is not a problem, but i was thinking of getting 16" also because of the sidewall factor. i would like to track my car and i don't know what tire size would grip better. i want to run the falken 615s on them. anyone have any previous experience or knowledge with wheel and tire size on a ep3?

 

Get 16's 205 50 16. Im running that size tire on my 16" Work Emtion CRkai.

 

how wide are the rims and what is the offset on them? it just seems like 205s are to narrow...

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by k20EP3 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">how wide are the rims and what is the offset on them? it just seems like 205s are to narrow...</TD></TR></TABLE>

16x7 and I think they are 40 for offset........

I know some people have fit 235's but on 17's im not sure about 16's...... You could run 215's.... maybe that'd be a better fit for your needs.

 

hmmm.....yeah thats the off set i want but im looking for at least a 7.5 to 8" rim and its so hard to find them in that off set.... any ideas where i might be able to find some decent rims with those specifications?

 

there are better tire options available in 17" sizing.

 

What size tire will grip better? Wider. Easy.

Go with a 45 offset if you can -- that's stock, and will give the best chance for fitment.

I've got an EP, but it's a special case. It's got a Type-S hub & brake swap, so although I can find 15" wheels that fit, there's only four models that I know will fit. I'm about to go with 17's myself, but specifically for high-performance tires (Azenis 615's, etc). I'll have 16's for my other daily-driver tires & winter. I'll explain further down my post...

What kung fu grip said about tire choices is pretty much right. Then again, I don't know what year of EP you've got, and that makes a difference. I'll explain...

The 195/60-15's of the 02-03 EP are not a common size, mainly in terms of overall circumference. You could go wider in 15" tires & wheels, as wide as 225/50 or 225/45 (quicker overall gearing because of the smaller sidewall). Look around and you can find some honest-to-goodness race rubber for 15's.

For 16's that are equivalent to the 02-03's stock size, the choices of performance tires narrow quite a lot. There are enough 205/50-16's out there for regular driving, but fewer in wider sizes and in higher-performance models. Finding R-compound tires is actually pretty difficult. But, there are a few key tires that are the right size -- one of the best choices in streetable race-like tires would be 215/45-16 Azenis RT-615's.

Go with a 17x7.5" wheel with +45 offset and you could run 235/40-17 tires safely. The larger wheel diameter means that its inside edge will clear the rear suspension more easily, allowing that extra width. Falken 615's come in that size, as do Hankook 212's, Toyo RA-1's (probably a better track tire due to their higher ideal temperature) and Nitto NT01's.

HOWEVER... If you've got an 04-05 EP, and you want to stay with the stock overall circumference, you've got a lot more choices. And, if you want to run a staggered setup (wider in front, please.. it's a FWD after all), understand that it's easier to fit wider tires in front than in back -- 245 front & 225 back is doable.

 

If you want some really cheap wheel and tire package, check this site out:

http://edgeracing.com/

I wish I would have found out about this site before I already ordered other rims....

 

Something else to ponder while I'm nearly asleep...

Rotational inertia needs to be a consideration. Given the same overall weight, a 15" wheel will always be easier to accelerate & brake than a 17" wheel.

It's the same reason why a toy gyroscope has a heavy, massive ring around the edge and a lightweight center. It's harder to begin spinning than a solid disc of the same weight, but it also keeps spinning longer because it has such a higher momentum.

At least it's easy to find wheels that are lighter than stock. If you go larger, try to go with as light as you can afford.

 

Yes i understand everything you wrote, but don't you think that 235s on a 7.5 rim is a bit to wide considering that the tire would be wider than the wheel therefore creating side flex and creating less steering response? i have a 02 ep and i think im going to go with 17/7.5 or 8.0 with a 40 offset just so my wheels are further away from my suspension and giving me a much wider stance for better handling. thanks for all the advice i really appreciate it.
I do however have previous experience with tire sizes on other Honda's but i was just wondering what would work best on an Ep.
Thanks again...

 

I am thinking about picking up some black racing wheels from that site, unless I can find a better deal soon.

 

235's work well enough on a 7.5" rim -- one of the EPs on ephatch.com that's hoping for Ride Of The Month (Mitchep3typer) has a setup just like that, with 235/40's on 17" +45 Slipstreams. Both he and another Dallas EP'er (Technyne, who has the same except for the wheel style) have said that they've ridden like that without problems.

The front suspension clearance isn't much of a concern, really; you can put some meaty tires in there. The rear is where you might run into problems. Too low of an offset, and the tires will rub on the fender edges; too much positive offset, or too wide, and they'll rub against the lower trailing arm (the big pipe).

Bigger wheel diameters have some extra room from the back suspension because of how that trailing arm angles away from the wheel hub. My +45 16x7's have maybe a half-inch of clearance from the arm, but a bigger diameter wheel would have a little more clearance.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by BarracksSi &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">235's work well enough on a 7.5" rim -- one of the EPs on ephatch.com that's hoping for Ride Of The Month (Mitchep3typer) has a setup just like that, with 235/40's on 17" +45 Slipstreams. Both he and another Dallas EP'er (Technyne, who has the same except for the wheel style) have said that they've ridden like that without problems.

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

"without problems" is a pretty subjective term. for instance, i found a car for my brother over the internet that was in "great shape with no problems". once i got it home, man not only was that thing was screwed together pretty ghetto stylez, it had all sorts of issues that needed attention.

to answer the question better, to get the best grip from a given tire size, you should use a wheel 1/2" narrower than the widest allowable wheel for that tire. i.e. if a 235's maximum recommended wheel width is 9" you would use an 8.5" to get the best grip.

and rotating inertia is a valid point, but i never hear anyone mention anything about the size of the sidewall. comparing 16's vs 17's, the 16's might use a 205/50 and the 17's a 205/40. a shorter sidewall is generally going to be stiffer, most importantly more responsive. one of my pet peeves is a sloppy sidewall, wallowing like a boat in the water during transitions. when i used to autocross, we pumped the heck out of our tires not for grip, but to stiffen them up for responsiveness

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by StuDizzle &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">If you want some really cheap wheel and tire package, check this site out:

http://edgeracing.com/

I wish I would have found out about this site before I already ordered other rims....</TD></TR></TABLE>

+1 for edge. I bought my Falken Azenis st115 from there 215/45R17 on a Focus though.

 

For autocross, I've pumped up my front tires so that they wouldn't roll over, mainly because I still haven't added camber (or is it "taken away" since the goal is negative camber?), and varied between high ( low pressures in the back for less grip back there. If I put negative camber in the front, I could lower their pressures closer to normal (35-38 psi instead of 45+) and regain the straight-line grip that I lose with high pressures.

Here's Mitchep3typer's thread:
http://www.ephatch.com/forum/s...13130

and one of the better pics of his wheel & tire setup:
http://img136.imageshack.us/im...1.jpg

 

Thanks for all the help guys, i think i made my decision on the size of rims and tires im going to get...
I appreciate the help

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by BarracksSi &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Something else to ponder while I'm nearly asleep...

Rotational inertia needs to be a consideration. Given the same overall weight, a 15" wheel will always be easier to accelerate & brake than a 17" wheel.

It's the same reason why a toy gyroscope has a heavy, massive ring around the edge and a lightweight center. It's harder to begin spinning than a solid disc of the same weight, but it also keeps spinning longer because it has such a higher momentum.

At least it's easy to find wheels that are lighter than stock. If you go larger, try to go with as light as you can afford.</TD></TR></TABLE>


i agree with this.

i know some people don't particularly care about this end of performance, but i do.

i run the lightest 15" wheels i could find on my vehicles. one set are SSR comps 15x7.5 at 9.8# each. i keep these on the miata, though i had them on the Si for quite a while before. i currently have 15x7 enkei rpf1s (10# each). personally, i can feel the effects of lightweight wheels. handling is crisper, the car doesn't crash over bumps and heaves, and the suspension has a much easier time keeping the wheels on the ground. braking may be improved a little, but i haven't done any real testing.

i have no qualms against people who use larger wheels, everyone has their own style and i have no business telling them otherwise.

 

i had 16" sw388's with 225/45/16 es100's on my ep3. couldnt have asked for anything much better. they stuck to the road very nicely.

 

I'd go 17s.

 

After all that I posted above...

My next wheel set will be 16's, with either 225/45 Hankook Z212's or 215/45 Azenis RT-615's. They'll be for nice weather, autocrossing, and maybe a couple HPDEs if I ever get the chance.

My reasons:

If I went with 17's, I might as well go with track-ready tires like the RA-1 or NT01. However, I don't have much use for high-grip, fast-wearing race tires like those. And, if I wanted to run r-comps on 16's, there are a few that would work for me and still give a lot more grip than I've got now.

If I went with 15's, it would be for one of two reasons -- race tires or winter tires. Same argument as above about race tires. For the winter, acceleration & performance isn't as much of a concern as durability and very low cost (as in, why buy alloy rims when steelies would work, and who cares if a steel wheel gets fucked up).

 

well im going to track my car so i think that im going to get 17" rims because of that and because i want o get the stoptech big brake kit, so ill have to have the extra room for the calipers.

 

Cool -- a big brake kit is probably the best reason for larger rims, too.

 

A 7.5" rim is best served with a 215 or 225 tire. A 235 *really* needs at least an 8" rim to work properly.

A 225 is a good tire on an EP3, especially a 225 RT615. Why do you think you need a 235?

 

i didn't think it it was suggested by someone, but im not going to go with that. 225 is the widest ill go and im going with the 615's. i had them on my eg6 and i loved them on the track.

 

i didn't realize how bad the stock brake are untill i took my car out for a run. they overheated in one lap. the brakes are way to small for the cars weight but what stock brakes arnt right? i had a gsr complete hub rotors and calipers on my eg6 and aftermarket pads and i could never get those things overheated no matter how hard i tried. so bigger brakes are the way to go if you guys wan to do some serious lap times.