jdmegtim

Ok so I would somewhat consider my self a fairly new S owner only had mine for about 8 months anyways here are my questions:

! - whats the deal with the whole staggered set up im assuming that plays into the handling somehow but exactly how much ?

2 - is it better to go staggered or non staggered all around

3 - If i do go staggered does there have to only be ! inch between the rim sizes

4 - whats the deal with the rear wheel having a lower height than the front?



thanks in advance sorry if these are noob questions

B serious

Rear wheel at a lower height than front? Wha?

Staggering rim and tire sizing helps with the car's tendency to oversteer. A lot of the faster guys are running non staggered to help with braking.

If you're just going for looks,...the non staggered ones sometimes look better because of the more agressive offset/width up front.

If you're just street driving the car, it really won't matter if you do a staggered or not. Just realize that if you do wanna have fun, the front now has more grip...so if the car will exhibit more oversteer behavior.

ZDan

It is pretty normal for high-performance rear-drive cars to run wider rears than fronts, for a number of reasons. It does play into the handling, of course, but probably not to as great an extent as one might think, particularly for normal street usage. Anyway, the stock S2k's suspension setup was designed with stagger in mind.

It isn't "better" or "worse" to go staggered or non. It all depends on wants/needs/usage/skill level, a host of factors. If you are tracking the car and modifying the suspension, it makes sense to maximize overall grip, which in our case *generally* means a non-staggered setup. But your suspension setup should reflect that choice (i.e., relatively more front roll stiffness to better utilize the greater front grip and to give the rears greater grip as well).

GENERALLY, I would say that for the stock '03 suspension, driven on the street, that staggered is the way to go.

You *could* run a staggered setup on the same rim sizes all around, or you could go with rears that are 2 or more inches wider. Are you considering getting new wheels?

I *think* that what you are asking here is: why do the stock rear 225/50-16 tires have a lower aspect ratio than the front 205/55-16 tires, right?

Answer: the front and rear tires actually have the same sidewall height, calculated thusly:
205/55-16 sidewall height = 0.55 x 205mm = 112.75mm
225/50-16 sidewall height = 0.50 x 225mm = 112.5mm

Front and rear tires have the same sidewall height and, hence, the same diameter.

jdmegtim

all information highly appreciated i am thinking about getting new wheels not sure what size just trying to figure out whats the best set up for me and my driving ........pretty much i only do street driving but i would still want the S to handle well