Chuck S

Originality counts. In some venues. If you want to eventually sell your car as original it needs the original wheels. The next owner will probably discard them for aftermarket wheels though!

The S2000 is not in the classic, collector class yet where originality does count for bragging rights and some sort of "points.". A buddy of mine still has the Shelby Mustang 350 he bought new in 1967. He was too poor to afford the alloy wheels so the car was delivered with steel wheels and Shelby wheel covers with spinners. All shows on the original build sheet and sticker. Those wheels and tires go on for car shows. The rest of the time he has "correct" alloy wheels. Save your 16" wheels for those shows.

-- Chuck

ZDan

I still have mine, run the winter tires on them.
My Summer wheels are 16x7 front 16x8 rear 5-spokes (similar look to stock but painted silver), currently with R888s mounted.
Even for a track-focused setup, I'd probably keep 16s with 245 Hoosiers, *maybe* 17s in back to run 275/35s.

Aurex

Still have mine, still in great shape. But the writing is on the wall. The last two times the tires needed to be replaced, it was difficult to source decent tires and I ended up with my 3rd or 4th choice both times.

17" rims will open tire options and make sourcing good rubber easier. I really like the look of the AP1 rims, and I don't quite know yet what I want to replace with.

zeroptzero

Personally I think ap1 rims look great, one of my favourite looking rims out of all years. I was surprised that they don't offer any weight savings over the 17" ap2's, but having the weight closer to the centre of the hub also helps. Tire sizes of ap1 rims provide a more comfy ride, and more protection against potholes. Moving to ap2 wheels and tire sizes adds more understeer characteristics to an ap1.

Now I went with ap1 JDM OEM 16 inch rims made by BBS (forged), they are super light offering lots of weight savings. I wouldn't trade these rims for any other s2k rim, hopefully I'll keep them forever. A 2.0 litre torqueless motor needs all the help it can get. I wouldn't want larger/heavier rims. I used to have several ap2 tire/rims on my car and I prefer lighter weight packages.

Maximum6

What is the spec of the bbs ap1 wheels?

Aurex

How have you found sourcing tires for the 16"?

zeroptzero

They are the exact same offset and width as the USDM ap1 rims, but they are forged for lighter weight. On my bathroom scale around 12-13 lbs. The spoke design gives me a bit more clearance over my spoon rims compared to USDM rims, with the same offset.

zeroptzero

I haven't had any issues and I've run a few sets of tires on these, all Bridgestones. Currently running RE-11a's. Lots of selection on tirerack , using the oem sizes , and you can run wider tires if you want.

Aurex

My problem perhaps lies with me trying to support locals instead of purchase online.....

saving4one

I'm in. I've always liked a five spoke wheel, from the Cragar S/S on my first car, Konig's (forgot the design name) on my Integra during my 20's, to the OEM on my AP1. I've considered going with a 17' set-up over the years but all the decent ones are quite expensive, I'd rather spend the money on other goodies like tires. I have always ran the S-02 on my stock wheels because I consider them an excellent street tire that I have grown accustomed to. I was actually crazy enough to pay cash for a used set of AP1 wheels to put race rubber on. Then I scuffed them up and had a friend rattle-can them a bronze that looks amazing with the right amount of brake dust and road grime. If I ever have a couple grand or so just lying around, I might buy a brand new set of OE CR rims or something with RAYS written on them, maybe. For now, I do love the classic look of the AP1 wheels, and the best part is their already paid for. Here are a couple of pics, first one is stock ride height, the second after lowering 1". Check out that crazy fender gap