Hi Guys,

After doing a track day i'm now addicted and so am looking to go down a size from the current 19" BBS on the R3 to a much lighter Volk TE37SL wheel in 18".

My question is to do with offset/fitment.

I have no idea what to go for when ordering wheel sizes....

I want to run as wide a tyre on the back and front with no rubbing but good responsiveness. So something like a 265 on the back and a 235 on the front maybe?

If this is the case, what offset rims do I get? Staggered?

Does anyone have any suitable setup suggestions that will not only look good but also perform well on track? I am currently lowered 20mm and running 20mm spacers on the stock rims but will switch to proper coilovers.

Thanks

 

A staggered wheel and tire setup is not recommended for the track. But honestly, I suggest staying with the stock wheel/tire setup until you learn this stuff and learn what you need.

 

So no one has any tried and tested fitment sizes?
there are people who have spent years tracking their rx8 and I'm not one of them. I don't have the time to experiment with different wheel setups and sizes nor the money to waste.
I'm more interested in what other people are running.
You say staggered is bad for track, yet I know a few experienced people who have to run at least 265 on the back due to how much power their rx8 makes with a smaller width on the front and staggered fitment to allow for the rolling radius to be the same...

 

How much power the RX-8 makes? Rolling radius? What are you talking about? And what experienced people? There is no one size fits all, as different sanctioning bodies require different things and wheels and tires are high regulated in the different classes. People have run everything from 285/30-18's on stock 18" wheels, to 17" wheels (17 x9 17 x 10, various tire sizes) and tires, to 19's. Search the racing subforum and you will get an idea.

 

From Goodwin Racing.

When shopping for new RX8 wheels there are a couple critical issues to consider:

Weight. The Mazda RX8's fine handling and ride quality is very sensitive to what is called "unsprung" weight (which can best be understood as what hangs off the RX8 suspension rather than what sits on it). More than most automakers, Mazda tunes and equips its sports cars with very light wheels and owners should be very careful about keeping the weight down when they select replacement RX8 rims. Most RX8 owners can feel a deterioration of ride quality from a gain of as little as 3 pounds per corner in unsprung weight. We therefore strongly recommend that you use only light weight wheels for your RX8 like those we sell here. Unlike other vendors who rely on overly optimistic wheel weights as listed by the wheel manufacturers, we weigh each wheel that we sell to verify the lightness. For that reason, many of our listed weights here are slightly higher than the marketing weight listed on the wheel manufacturers' websites.

Offset and Size. RX8 wheel offset causes a lot of confusion. Here is a simple explanation. If the rim is 8 inches wide, and the mounting surface of that rim (backside of the bolt holes), is 4 inches from either outside edge, that rim has a 0 offset. To the extent that a rim's mounting plane is offset from that zero position, that offset is measured in millimeters for Japanese cars. The Mazda RX8 factory 18x8 inch wheel has an offset of 50mm. A 40mm offset choice is moving the track wider by 10mm per side. RX8 owners looking to stick to stock width can consider any of the offsets we offer here, but RX8 owners looking to go with substantially wider tires should stick to our 45 to 48 mm choices. For those looking to mount maximum tire width for
autocross or track events see our 45mm 18x9.5 RP-F1 alloys which are lighter than stock wheels but allow 265/35, 275/35 and even 285/30/18s to be mounted on all four corners of an RX8.

*Note*
I have a set of Silver Enkei PF01's 18x8 with a 50et @17.9 lbs. (this is the same size as OEM wheels) I'm looking to trade for a set of clean series II wheels. There's not a mark on the PF01's! The car is going back to stock.

 

There are plenty of cheap 17x9's in the 45-50mm offset range that should work just fine. One can go less on the offset and still be ok, but it's getting closer to the fenders so depending on many factors, rubbing becomes a greater likelyhood.

I run 17x9, 48mm TRMotorsports C3's with 255/40/17 Nitto NT01's and they work well together.

For a little more money, but more performance, try the 949Racing 17x10's, which will help 255's perform a little better and will properly support 275's if that's what you want. They will fit up front too, so don't limit yourself there.

 

if you go 17x9 or 17x10, the tire options will be cheaper, and in general the wheels will be lighter...

if you did one track day and you're hooked, I'd try it out a few more times before spending that kind of $$ on the Volks. Get a pair of stockers (18s) for cheap ($300 or so) and get some tires and drive around and have fun!