I currently have 17x7 ASA wheels on my white '95 Integra SE. I got these wheels before the glory of honda-tech could shine down upon me... so wheel weight was only a after-thought when I bought them. (plus I hadn't done any racing yet) I'm here to tell you, those heavy-*** wheels made a noticeable difference in performance. I originally had stock 15x6 GSR 5-spoke wheels. After feeling gains from my first upgrade, an AEM CAI, it almost seemed to dissappear when installing the 17's. I have yet to find a weight of them, but I'm guessing 23lbs or so. That's 7lbs more a piece! I was running 205's on the 15" wheels, and also 205's on the 17" wheels. I do need to say though, there seemed to be an obvious handling increase out of the 17x7's, but acceleration, low-end specially, seemed sluggish.

Last night I put the 15" GSR's back on the car, and though I'm not super fond of the 15" look after being on 17's, I could immediately tell a difference - the car just seemed more responsive, a little less slugish down-low. They don't handle quite as well, (maybe it's the no-name brand tires compared to the 17" khumo supras) but I could immediately tell that it didn't feel quite as "solid", and I couldn't even excercise them on wet streets.

So here is my delima - do I stick with the 15x6's or do I go to a 16 or 17 that is as light or lighter than the 15's? The main advantage I see with going to a 16 or 17, is that I can get a 7 or even preferrably 7.5 width wheel. That can afford me a 215 or maybe even a 225 width tire, right? I autocross about every other weekend, or road-track race, so I'm trying to get away from looks, and get back to performance basics.

I'm looking at the Kosei K1's, maybe the 16x7.5 with a nice big fat 225 tire on them. Anyone have experience with these or other brands of light-weight (and it'd be nice if they were cheap) wheels with a wider tire? Maybe even a racing/auto-cross point of view? Also, will 225's stick out the side of my wheel well? My 205's don't even seem to come close.

thanks!

 

Rota C8s, Slip Stream or Sub Zero, weight about 12lbs for a 15x6.5 rim come in 38-40mm offset which is perfect, also you can run a 205 or even 225 wide tire....

if you go with a 16x7" rim its about 16lbs a rim and you can run similiar tires but will decrease performace again

my advise is to go with a 15x6.5" Rota or even something lighter, run some good quality 205/50R15 tires (meaning stiff sidewall) and you shouldn't have a problem...its a perfect compromise...

check here for the best deal: (a set of 4 for $400 (Rota)) http://www.machiii.net/

 

heh heheeeee,
same boat as you, just a bit ahead of you.
I just sold my 18" tantrums for $1000 to my housemate, and am going to use my 15" Rota C8's for daily driving.
The performance gain is so great that I had to stay with a 15" wheel and not use even a 16".
*remember that even the 15" tires are usually lighter than 16" tires too... and a bit cheaper as well.

 

I'd like to stress that if you get 15" wheels, that you get GOOD, stiff-sidewall tires. Don't get the Kumho 712s...the sidewall is noticeably softer with the 205/50-15 size. But don't get me wrong...they do have good qualities (which would go off topic).

 

Anyone know about the reliability and durability of these Rota brand wheels? Being in a parking lot during an auto-x and the wheels cracking or breaking is one thing, but doing 75mph through a s-curve on a road-track is another.

That price is just too amazing for the weight... these are cast wheels right? They're not forged or semi-forged?

hmmm...

BTW: can't connect to http://www.machiii.net or http://www.rotaspeed.com


[Modified by uncleben, 8:07 PM 9/5/2001]

 

any tire recommendations?


[Modified by uncleben, 11:49 PM 9/5/2001]