t777jb

I'd like to optimize handling for street use on a completely stock ap1. When I bought the car last month, it came with the stock ap1 wheels and new General brand all season performance tires. They are better than I expected, but I'm guessing 17" wheels with better tires would be a lot better?
My first thought was to get some OZ wheels 17x7 and 17x8.5 and tires from tire rack - wow, they are steep. Not many other options for 17" wheels if you want to remain staggered without doing any fender rolling. Hardly any wheels have enough offset. The OZ's with supersports will be about $2,100.
There's a guy on ebay that sells replica ap2 wheels for $470 delivered. Everything I can find on them is positive. I can't find a single complaint about these wheels. Finding used original ap2 wheels in good shape is not so easy. Most of them are beat up and more than $470...and who knows if they are actually straight.
So if I go that route, I'm thinking I would put Michelin Pilot Supersports on them - 245/40 on the back. For the front, would you go with 215/45, or 225/45? Those 2 sizes are the same price at Discount tire. Total price would be $1,200. All advice will be appreciated.

Chuck S

Just PM'd you. Give me a call.

Opinions vary. It's nice to have choices.

I personally prefer OEM wheels for many reasons starting with they're known items and their styling compliments the car (to my eyes) more than aftermarket wheels which every Civic at the high school seems to have. And stock tire sizes which is 245/40 rear and 215/45 front. You can play with different tire sizes in a couple of years once you know how the car handles but top tier tires will astound you with their cornering ability.

$470 for 4 replica AP2V(x) wheels? Do they have OEM or even OEM style center caps? Honda center caps will cost you another $130 (plus shipping) so your price can escalate to at least $600. For replicas. Perhaps no one but you (and us!) will know these are replicas but you'll feel dirty when you think about it just to save a couple hundred bucks.

Pilot SuperSports are Max Performance (2d tier) performance tires. Top rated 2d tier, but still 2d tier. They offer more tire wear. Perhaps. Extreme Performance (Top tier) tires cost no more. I'm running Bridgestone RE-11A tires and will probably fit RE-71R tires this summer when there will be about 12,000 miles on them. Still have good tread at present.

-- Chuck

NeutralSteer

I'm basically in the exact same spot as you, t777jb. From what I have read, it seems like going to the 17" AP2 wheels are a decent handling improvement over the stock 16" AP1 wheels (probably due to wheel widths), so it wouldn't be a bad way to go. My AP2 S2000 is pretty much stock (other than wheels) too, so I've been looking around for a few months for non-curbed AP2v2 wheels too, but yes, they are pretty tough to find. I looked at what they would cost to get from the Honda dealer, and they would run about $2000 dollars (without the center caps too I think), which is a bit pricey. They also seem to be refinished wheels too, although probably to a tougher spec that what you'll find at online refinished wheel dealers.

I agree with Chuck though that replicas probably aren't worth it as I can't imagine them being as strong as the OEM wheels. And for a little more money, there are places like Finishline Wheels that sell refinished wheels. From the research I've done though, it seems like people have had mixed experiences with these refinished wheels, sometimes getting ones that are decently out of round and not able to be balanced.

I still haven't made up my mind yet, but I was thinking of going with the OZ Alleggerita in 17" with stock AP2 wheel widths for track use to avoid any fender rolling. They'd work for the SCCA street class for AP2s, but probably not for AP1s due to the different wheel widths, in case you care about that at all. I was then thinking of waiting till someone sells some non-curbed AP2 wheels on the marketplace, but who knows how long that will take.

Tire wise, I was also leaning towards the Michelin Pilot Super Sports, but Chuck may have convinced me to try out the RE71s first since he seems to have gotten a decent amount of miles out of his RE11s, although I hear the RE71s are noticeably softer supposedly. For what it's worth, the Pilot Super Sports do come with a tread wear warranty, which would be nice if you're not planning on doing any autox'ing or racing on them.

Mocky

Not sure how the points work on going square but have you looked at a 17x9 square setup and running 255s? I looked at that setup for my car and still am thinking about it. OZ or Enkeis make a decent wheel setup with a proper s2000 fitting offset. (+60~63)

My next tires are RE71Rs after my RE-11a wear out.

The OEM wheels are nice but they are heavy as hell. I agree with some of the other posts. I wouldn't do a replica OEM wheel. For the marginal difference in price, I'd get authentic or an aftermarket wheel.

t777jb

I think at the most this car will only see any type of track use in a performance driving class.
So one advantage to a square setup is that you can rotate front to back. What else? 255's all around sounds like a lot of grip. Tire Rack has the TR C3 wheels that would work for that setup. They aren't great looking, but the reviews seem pretty good and the weight and price are decent. Half the price of the OZ's.

BlueBarchetta

Fwiw, I will have 2 sets of squared OZ 17 X 8.5 +59 available soon. Price will be good. Pm if interested

Re71r is simply the most grip you're gonna get on a street tire. Maybe not as good as re11a in rain. You will sacrifice wear though. I have super sports on my Aston. Haven't tracked them but they are great on the street, and seem to be wearing well.

Re71r if you want ultimate grip. super sports if you want a quieter tire better in rain, and more wear

And don't discount the idea of running 245 square. It's oem rear, and easier to fit than 255 on front. Either way, square will introduce a little more oversteer

Mocky

Uh. You have one set of OZ wheels for sale soon I already called dibs on the other set. As much as having a newborn is holding my opportunity to track again on hold, at some point I will, and when I do, I'll want some wheels. Might as well lock down a set of track tires now (and yes, whatever update to Re01r/re11/re11a/re71r update that's available at the time will go on the wheels)

t777jb

Still researching this one. What do you guys think they mean by "reconditioned OEM wheel"? Is this something that was broken and they fixed it, or is it just refinished? Wheelsandcaps.com sells reconditioned OEM AP2v1 wheels for $142 and they sell used wheels for $178. That doesn't make any sense unless reconditioned means something really bad happened to that wheel. They sell replica wheels too which are only $116.

Chuck S

Reconditioned can run the spectrum you list above. Something really bad can't usually be repaired. Slight rim dents can come out as can curb damage. Many places advertise these these wheels but seldom have them in stock. I don't trust replica wheels for other reason that they're not the real thing. There are wheel repair places that will not recondition wheels and vv,

Wrecked cars are the common source for reconditioned wheels and fortunately guys are wrecking these weekly.

-- Chuck

Tkakron

I bought an ap1 in january and replaced the stock wheels with oem 17 inch v2 wheels the center caps from the 16 inch ap1 fits the center cap of the oem 17 inch . I reaearched many reconditioned places . They all seemed shady with 1 year limited warranty . So i went with oems. U hope this helps