I think the other question is how much camber you are willing to run F/R as well.

I run Titan7 17x9.5 +51 square (which has about the exact same poke as the RPF1 17x9 +45). I also didn't want to pull either, so I got Origin offset bushings to pull the top of the wheel in by approximately 7mm, effectively turning the front wheel's offset from a +51 to around a +57-58. My car is about a 1.5 finger gap from tire to fender. I -2.5 camber F/R to be on the safe side and I've never rubbed since, and I drive the car hard (track, Autox, sprited driving, blah blah).

The caveat I must mention is that the offset bushings do not come without compromises. They require lubrication to stay quiet, and if you DD your car like I do, driving in the rain accelerates that process. I would say if you are willing to lubricate the bushings once every 6 months, then go for it. I've had them on for about 5k miles now and don't regret it.

 

^Interesting, that lubrication of the bushings is new to me. You soaking it down with white lithium grease every 6 months to ensure penetration? Probably isn't bad to make a slight mess with that stuff.

How would handling be affected if say alignment is the same but only difference is the bushings which place the top front wheel inwards ?

 

Yup, I used some sort of high temp grease I had on hand during install, but when it started squeaking going over every bump around 5k miles post install, I took it apart and put in a generous amount white lithium. I hope that lasts a bit longer than the original grease I had. Its been around 2k miles since then and it's been gravy.

Some have theorized that you might get suspension binding and/or hysteresis, but in actual usage I haven't noticed anything of the sort - apart from the squeaking when the grease wore out, I forget they are even there. The only other thing I can think of if you compared it with offset bushings vs non, is that the front wheel track width is effectively narrower.

If it were a dedicated track car, I would go with something like lower offset ball joints - the only reason I didn't is because I still DD the car and I wasn't too keen on running like -3 degrees camber to fit the wheel I wanted. The offset bushings are a compromise between the two for me.

 

Tight budget: Get a pair of the reproduction AP2V1 rear wheels and bore the hubs as previously recommended so they fit on the front. Guys with these wheels are not reporting problems.

Even tighter budget : Skip the "square" setup entirely and run 225mm tires on your OE front wheels and 255mm on the rear. These fit without buggering the body work.

-- Chuck