Glad to see that this thread lives on. Now that I have been running the new set of rims/tires for 6 months, time to report back on visual and driving impression.

ORIGINAL SETUP

• AP1 Stock Rims
• Multiple tires from S02, RE750, ES100, M500, etc.
• 205/55/16 Front, 245/45/16 Rear (except for S02)

FINAL SETUP

• Volks TE37 17x7.5 +48mm Front
• Volks TE37 17x9 +65mm
• Kumho ECSTA SPT 215/45-17 Front, 255/40-17 Rear
• Stock height

IMPRESSION

• Didn't accelerate any faster
• Steering response improved marginally. Partly due to new front tires.
• Handling became mostly neutral with very very slight understeer while pedal steering out of corner. Can still induce power oversteer as needed.
• Rear felt markedly firmly plant in all conditions, fast/slow, dry/wet, acc/brake, etc.
• Fitment couldn't be better, both pair of tires sit just about 0.5" inside the fender. Any farther out (i.e. more offset or wider tires) will push it over to the 4x4 look.
• No rubbing. Granted, I haven't road raced or autox since the upgrade. Most load on tires is from drifting 1 or 2 corners in 1 trip
• Mileage dropped by 10%

AFTERTHOUGHT

• Why does a 10mm increase in rear tire width affect handling and feel so much? A possible reason is because running a 245mm on the stock AP1 rim didn't really put as much rubber on the road since the rim was too narrow, which also led to less optimal slip angle. If this is true, then the lesson learned is to avoid putting the widest tire allowed by the rim spec - give it some room is a safer approach.
• What should be the next upgrade?

 

I want to run 17x8 front and 17x9 rear and was wondering if rilling the fenders will make it a lot easier then having to find these crazy offsets.

 

Rolling the fenders won't make that much difference (5mm perhaps?). Proper offsets are still required.

 

you gain about 12 more mm at least

 

ok so what rims 17x8 front 17x9rear have u guys had the best fit with?

 

Silentdancer, I stand corrected. Thanks for the information. Does that work on front and rear equally or are you just talking about the rear?

Motoray69, the wheel width is of secondary importance to wheel offset and tire width. Check out the first post in this thread and you'll see that the information is all there. The most important relationship is between the tire width and the wheel offset. The wider the tire, the higher the offset will need to be.

 

I'm considering buying the Buddy Club P1 QFs in 17x8.0 +45 and 17x9.0 +63. I have an 07 with the stock suspension. According to my calculations the fronts will be 22.5mm wider than OEM. I plan on running OEM tires and according to the front page a +48 offset minimum is suggested for 8 in wide fronts with OEM tires. Will I encounter any rubbing problems? I tried to measure the extra room I had on my car but with the OEM suspension the fender is up so high I couldn't get a good measurement on how much room was left. Thanks!

 

Keeping the stock tires, the front will probably be OK because the OEM front tires run pretty narrow. It will be close.

The rear will fit almost exactly like stock.

Cheers,
Ken

 

Thank you!

 

Good info!.. way more informative then other forums I've been on..