Hi all

I did a lot of research before buying these wheels for my AP1, so I just wanted to post the final result here for the future reference.

Wheels are Sparco Assetto Gara, color is bronze (looks a bit more grey on the top picture for some reason)

Size: 17
Offset: 45
Width: Front=7", Rear=7.5"
Tyres: Front=205/50-17, Rear=225/45-17

Car is stock height with stock alignment and stock fenders. There is no rubbing at all. I'm aware that I could have gone for wider tyres, however the 17" wheels only come in ET45 and 7/7.5", so I played it safe a went with OEM width.
As for "flushness", the top of the wheels are just behind the fender line, however the bottom sticks out both front and rear due to the slight camber.

As for the wheels, Sparco are actually in the cheap(ish) end, and to my observation very high quality. I'm very satisfied with the result (not least considering the price). So without further ado:





Also mounted a new sticker - I take it I'm not he only fan here?

 

You did a lot of research but still ended up buying 7.5 inch wide wheels for the rear? Probably should have done more research to narrow.

 

Because it's best to go off oem ap2 sizes. Honda moved to the 17 for a number of reasons but the most important is the wider tire in the rear to increase grip on a tail happy car. There is other benefits like better tire options over the 16's and looks but the increase grip is the mat important. I feel like this question has come up a bunch recently where people ask about narrow 17's because they are only going off the ap1 size. The ap1 benefits even more from the increased grip since it is even more biased to the rear than the ap2. On the point of looks I also think the wider wheel looks better from the rear as well but that's subjective. It's your car but for me to hard to justify buying new wheels and tires and get no performance gain over what I am replacing as well as the ascetic improvement.

It's your car so if you are happy then good. I was just more referencing had you read much in this section when people have asked this exact question the unanimous votes go for wider wheels. That's all.

 

^I agree! Do what you want, daily driving it you probably won't notice much, but did you know that Uehara changed the rim & tire size for the AP2?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hyo7VU9_gps (around the 49 sec mark, the tire size change is mentioned)

Here's a video where they fit the Ap2 wheels on the Ap1. They didn't "notice" much of a difference, but their lap times shows an improvement.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SvfZ_BXQ1uI

 

Of course. I get that wider tires give better traction (not exactly rocket science).

It was the "...[you] should have done more research..." that I find unnecessary. I did exactly the research needed, and I just wanted to share the result here

I was very satisfied with the way it handled before, and only changed the wheels for looks (wanted to upgrade to 17's and get a more race inspired look in bronze or gold). The set of Sparco's were less than half the price of the closest alternative, so all things considered it was the right choice.

I may have not gained anything in handling, but I have certainly gained some looks... pretty much the same as with the spoiler and the new sticker (...although MCM promises +5 KW for the sticker )

All in all these wheels are a cheap alternative for those who want to upgrade (looks) from the original 16s. Works well for winter tyres also

That was all

 

are those winter tires on your car?

 

They are Optimo 4S (both summer and winter). End game is to land a set of AP2 or Enkei wheels with Potenzas or AD08Rs. This set will then continue as my winter wheels. We don't have a lot of snow in the winter here, so these will be ideal for winter use, where summer tires are hopeless