Hi,

Got an offer on some really nice Ray's wheels and was thinking about buying them. I have a stock 07' AP2 and want better handling. Already installed coilovers and larger sway bars. I don't mind a rougher ride for better
handling, and would also be willing so sacrifice noise for better handling. Would this make it rock hard or livable? I don't want to modify the fenders, so lower profile tires would be required. I also want more room for
big brakes, as I'm updating the car to modern sports car standards. I think these wheels are lighter and stronger as well as more open for better brake cooling and cleaning. I also think they will look better on the car.

Thanks for any helpful suggestions.

Eric

 

What's the size and offset on the wheels?

 

Yeah you've given nowhere near enough information.

 

Thanks but I’m still working on that. Can you just tell me the difference in the roughness if I buy lower profile tires that make it the same outside diameter. Don’t worry about fitment.

The only question I’m interested in getting answers is on the roughness of the ride and if it’s worth it to make the car handle better. Just put coil overs and sway bars and I love driving it but I think the stock wheels are ugly and would like something bigger. Also want to put on big brakes later if I decide to. Just want to know about the roughness and handling.


Thanks for your help.

Eric

 

Yes 18's will have a rougher ride since you have less sidewall to get the same diameter. How bad the ride is can still vary depending on the tire chosen. Not sure why you think you can adjust the profile of the tire to change the wheel fitment but thats not really true unless you are stretching the hell out of the tire.

 

Yep.

And not sure why you're thinking that bigger wheels = better handling either.

 

Exactly. Lots of assumptions being made.

 

If your planning on running a 275/285/295+ section width tire then 18" can make some sense because of poor or no options available in 17's.

Tire cost is substantially more in a 18" same width vs 17" however so keep that in mind.

Also you are going to be limited on tire width options with non rolled fenders so its virtually moot, unless you go with a custom offset/width 18" wheel.

Typical BBK on the market for the S2k come in around 328mm rotor (about an inch oversize from oem) which 17" accommodate as well. This keeps the front/rear brake bias more balanced. You can get a bigger rotor up front, but then your typically modifying the rear brakes as well to retain near OEM bias. If you depart too much from OEM bias you can actually make your overall braking worse.

 

Again I’m only interested in the ride roughness. The handling will be better because the wheels are wider and so will the tires. Also lower side wall usually means stiffer as well.

I think you guys are making the assumptions not me. I don’t think I need to give this much detail to get an answer to a simple question.

 

Thanks for the help. It is a custom offset. Just trying to see about the sidewall being smaller making it worse ride in exchange for better handling. I know there are more options with 18 inch wheels and they are more expensive but I don’t care. I want to update the car and make it more like a modern sports car you could buy today, without all the computers and other things I don’t really need.

I’m not even sure I want the bigger brakes but if I did I would do the front and the rear. Mostly because I think the stock brakes look funny on a larger wheel. Also I want the car to be safe and fun to drive.

I also think it would look better and its easier to clean brake dust than the stock wheels. Also will get more airflow which helps the brakes too.

I have a friend who has wider tires on 17 inch wheels and he says it looks and handles better. What about throwing rocks in the road debris? Would you get more of that behind the wheels with a wider tire? Seems like I would need something back there similar to mudflaps on a truck or something and I don’t really need mudflaps I mean something that mounts there that has the same affect.

Thanks