the dumontster

I was told from a very experienced/excellent s2000 driver that the s2000 was meant to be driven the way it came out of the factory and putting aftermarket parts unbalanced the car and made it feel very sloppy. He, in particular, bought 17 inch rims with tires and sold them the day after because he couldn't believe how awkward the car felt on 17s. Bottomline is: he swears by s-02s on stockers.

I am concerned about losing the handling characteristics the car holds with its stock components. Would it be a problem to keep the diameter of the wheel the same but widen the stance of the car with 16x8 or 16x9 in the rear proportional to the fronts and overall of course.

I am interested in the volk TEs and the SSR comps. 16 or 17 inch, this will decide.
Has anyone noticed improvement/decline in handing with 17/18 inch rims?

spa-zz

04+ S2000s come with 17x7 and 17x8.5 wheels stock, just FYI. There is no inherent reason 17s or 18s can't be used if the proper ones are chosen. Typically however, larger wheels weigh more, which can have a negative impact on performance and feel. Also, offsets must be chosen properly.

the dumontster

understandable, I also heard the suspension on the 04+ is softer than 00-03, but that is besides the point.

hyperpm

i tracked with 17's and felt better than my stock 16's. if you get 17's with the right offsets and good sticky tires then you should be fine. tried 18's and slows acceleration and braking. handling wasnt great either.

greys2k

I've got 18's and I love them, my car sits way nicer, and it handles better, and sticks like glue, not to mention looks 10 times better..IMO

Jim@tirerack

There is no reason why the 17" would not work well. If your friend sold the package the day after putting them on he never even let the tires get broken in. A full tread depth brand new tire is not going to handle like the S02 with 10K miles on them. Giv eth ecorrect tires a little time to break in and they are fine. Choose a tire that is a max performance tire and I think you will be happy.
The unsprung weight also will come into the picture. We do have some 17" wheels that are lighter than stock and you can go to a wider tire as well. Both of these things are good for perofrmance.
If I can help let me know.

the dumontster

Thanks for the quick helpful responses. Jim, I am interested in the SSR comps in 17. What is the widest/most effective setup over stock. 17x8/17x7.5 in from, 17x9/17.8.5 in rear with 225/255 respectively. I am not even sure what the staggered wheel width on the stockers is. I would like a lightweight wheel to help with the unsprung weight issue, and i know that ssr offers that type of solution. Thanks again.

Vanos954

Try to stay as light as possible with stock rolling diameter and proper offset and there isn't a reason it wouldn't handle just as well or better with the proper tires. I think people put too large of a diameter tire on the car and too heavy a rim and then complain that it feels funny.

New Concept

so you are saying that the diameter increases traction?
I dont know where you are getting this from.

ASMspec

IMO, 17 inch wheels are the best size for the S2000. 16s are great dont get me wrong and 18s are a little overkill. Stick with 17s. You can run wider tires than the 16 inch wheels and weights and styles are great too. 18s you can also run a variety of tires but most of the 18s out there are over 20 pounds per wheel.