update - need fender roll, alignment, but, absolutely stunning - perfect fit, could not be happier!




looking at getting either of these sets.

I just heard from CCW and I really love the classics. I'm looking at 17x8's front and 17x9 rear. I am not lowered on anything, yet, but I eventually will be. not slammed. looking for suggestions on the offsets, I was going to ask for 50ish in front and rear.

CCW told me the wheel is completely custom made with my spec.

also interested in tire suggestions, assuming 215 in front and 245 rear?

I was also looking at bbs LM's and on vividracing they are 17x8.5 et55, but it's no longer staggered setup, would this drastically effect cars behavior/handling?

my car will see some autocross, no real racing, just a nice cruiser on the weekend.

thanks guys.

 

Are you planning to roll the fenders is the first question.

Moving to an 18" will cost more, but will also give you wider tire options in near equivalent overall diameter measurements, which is an important factor.

You are investing a lot in a nice wheel, so do you want to maximize the cars performance as well? If upping the performance/grip potential of the car with or without rolling fenders, then I can make a proper recommendation. If you don’t want to move to a wider then stock package, personally I wouldn’t bother with the cost of replace the stock wheels.

Going non stagger on a stock s2k, will cause it to want to over steer much easier and in my opinion to its detriment, this isnt hard to induce on the staggered setup so you are compounding this. In fact if your running a stock ap1 I would strongly advise against it unless you are a well versed/experience driver/track guy that understand chassis tuning. The 04+ had a factory sway bar configuration that lent itself to want to push more at the limit, so going non stagger on these models in stock form isnt as dramatic, but still caution it, especially if you have little understanding of what the effects on the road will be. A 245/255 set up in a stock ap2 would be on the mark for a more balanced but yet still lean to over steer at limit.

 

all for improving cars performance. I got the car a week ago and I drove it back home for 1k miles, and loved every minute. it's a bit oversteery for my taste, but I still love how it handles and responds. in that sense, I would not want to drastically change cars behavior. if I have to step up in size, I'm ready. I have not seen too many s2000's with 18's though.

as far as rolling/pulling, from all the search I've done, these measures are normally applied to wheels with low offsets. in my case, it seems that it's nothing a 1-2* of camber won't fix? but again, I'm open to suggestions. one of my buddies is EXTREMELY good with fender rolling, so if I have to, it won't be a problem. but I would probably prefer to avoid doing that.

I should also mention, I have no plans for boost. staying n/a. at most, I may consider ITB's in VERY distant future.

 

If its a little too over-steery for you now, then would strongly advise against any non staggered set up no matter how many people chime in and say its the best thing since Jesus Christ. More then half the guys that are for it don’t even push their cars enough to care how they handle, they just do it for looks and to rotate tires front to back.

What year is your S?

Depends on how wide you want to go on tire/wheel, not just offset, so all 3 of these factors will determine if you need any fender mods. I can tell you off hand you can fit a 18/10.5" 285 in the rear without touching the fenders with the right offset. The front is quite a bit less at 9/245. If you roll your fenders you can add 20mm more to the outside on top of what I stated.

 

apologies, it's an '03

and as it happens, I would prefer to stay with staggered setup!

at what point does a fender roll become a necessity on the ap1? would not lower car by more then 1"

 

When you exceed the wheel/tire width I mentioned above, or run a narrower package with a more extreme offset.

My main point is you are buying essentially a custom offset wheel, so take advantage of that and get some rubber under the car. 255/295 is the most you will get with a stock but rolled S. If you don’t roll and can narrow down the exact offset needed then 245/285, but i'd probably roll them anyway just for the added insurance and wheel alignment flexibility, especially since you are lowering the car some.

If you want to stick to 17's and have to have these wheels, then no point in roiling fenders, just get the typical 225/255 stagger on a 8.5 +60 up front and a 10 +70 in the rear(or as close to that offset you can)

 

there is no way to hurt s2000 by having so much wheel/tire out back?

I had a 1983 n/a 944 and general consensus was not to go past factory specs too much, but that was probably due to car not having much power to move so much tire.

I have not inspected fender/quarter wells yet on the s2000, but do rears get rolled or pulled?

thank you!

/edit - what would be main reason for stepping up to 18?

 

The grip level increase of a wider package on this car far outweigh any efficiency drop. The car produces enough power, even more so with a few typical bolt on’s and lowered vtec to turn them nicely and the chassis is definitely capable, certainly more so if you plan on lowering with stiffer spring rates. The 944 is an under powered slush box compared to the S, no offence, but im sure you can feel the handling difference.

Moving to a 18" allows you to exceed a 255 width tire wile maintaining a factory overall diameter package as I mentioned previously. 245/40/17 = 285/30/18. Keeping the overall diameter is important for many things related to the performance of the S. The gear ratio and the overall weight which both effects acceleration, braking and handling as well as fender clearance. If your going to do a larger package, you need to have these things in mind so you execute it in the right/best fashion.

Last year I ran my usual 255/295 package at the Ridge road course in Shelton WA, I didn’t have my SC on a the time, so I was running 220whp and I will tell you I had not the slightest issue with lap times or bogging. The car with that package can carry and support a higher overall speed over stock sizes in same compound simply do to the traction increase in the turns. Faster in is faster out. I was just over 2 sec faster at that track then a buddy with a similarly prepped s2k/driver in a 235/255 package. I think he even had a little more power.

 

CCW mentioned in the e-mail that the weight of 17x8/9 should not be more then 19lbs

I imagine 18 would be a little more. they also said that for the most part, all their wheels cost the same, price difference comes from going with overall bigger diameter.

I imagine that 18's would be the same sizes? 18x8.5ish front and 18x9.5ish rear? I'll email them on pricing for 18.

definitely want to maximize cars performance, but I don't want to upset cars balance too much. I'll talk to my buddy for fender rolling.

I will still have to clarify with CCW the offsets, but they made it sound like they can make whatever I need.

 

I don’t think your tracking with me for some reason. Let me clarify this, don’t move to an 18" unless your going to exceed a 255/10" package. There is no reason to move to a heavier package with more expensive tires unless you are going to get the performance benefit of what you could fit width wise from 18".