Wheel setup choice (18/17 or 18/18)?

[James]

I'm looking into some new wheels and have the choice of going with either 17s or 18s at the rear to pair with the 18s at the front.

 

The rolling circumference would have a very minimal difference between the 2 due to the tyre sizes I can choose between (0.755" circumference difference more with the 17s).

 

What I am curious about is the way that it'll feel with either setup. I've only ever ran with 18s on the Supra (275/35/18 at the rear currently) to date and it has felt fine. I'll be running pretty heavily damped coilovers so the comfort of the ride probably won't make too much odds either way! How will the handling be affected if at all?

 

I suppose another consideration with choosing between these 2 would be the availability of tyres at the sizes (315/35/17 or 315/30/18). The fronts would be ok at 285/30/18. Though with a 30 profile, I'm worried about not having enough tyre on the wheel! I have 35s at the moment and it has served me well enough. Though they are quite a bit narrower than these new wheels (8.5x18 and 9.5x18 just now vs 10x18 and 11.5x17/18).

 

So, any experiences with any of those sort of setups to chip in on whether I should bother with the 17s? Or should I just stick with 18 all round? I guess it is as much visual choice as anything as I won't be tracking/dragging with these wheels.

 

Cheers.

[Dan_Turism0]

285s on the front? That won't go on a 8.5J wheel mate

[James]

285s on the front? That won't go on a 8.5J wheel mate

 

The 285 will be going onto a 10J.

 

Current wheels:

 

8.5x18 with 225/35/18 (always felt they were narrow!)

9.5x18 with 275/35/18.

 

 

New wheels:

 

10x18 with 285/30/18.

11.5x17/18 with either 315/35/17 or 315/30/18.

Edited August 30, 2012 by James (see edit history)

[listy]

I think those are his old wheels and setup mate.

 

Edit: too late

[monsween]

what offsets are you getting to fit them under stock arches?

[T2 MSW]

mine that are for sale in the thread in my sig are 18" 9.5J front and 10.5J rear.

 

Front tyres 255/35/18 fit fine

Rear tyres 285/30/18 require the arches rolling because they do rub

[James]

what offsets are you getting to fit them under stock arches?

 

The rears (11.5s) are ET50. Not too intense. Should sit pretty nice with the coilovers and rolled arches! Just a case of saving up plenty first!

 

I'm not certain on the offsets for the fronts but, again, with rolled arches and coilovers I should hopefully avoid issues.

[Mario]

I’m running the classics in 18x10’’ fronts and 17x11,5’’ rears 17x10 in Front (+/- 44.5mm offset) and 17x11.5 in Back (+/- 51mm offset), few things which attracted me choosing this wheelset up:

Lightweight trhee piece design, Widest contact patch available on stock arches (slight roll on the rears)and choosing the tire size which you can safely run on the wheel sizes, 18’’ wheel up front allows you to upgrade to bigger rotors and calipers if needed, the advantage of the 285 up front and its narrow sidewall allows lower ride height and corner balancing flexibility and might promote quicker turn in as well, taller rear tire sidewall might provide better grip under acceleration.

This wheel set-up was a very common choice back in the day in road racing the supra,

http://www.supraforums.com/forum/showthread.php?446542-A-bit-of-Supra-road-racing-history...who-knows-the-full-story-(Pics)

And maybe still is, Titan motorsports lists the 18/17 as the ultimate road race set up, it’s an old school proven set up but I like it. Handling improved massively when installed, the supra is much more sticky-er on the road and it really feels confident in cornering. Tires are a pain to get hold of down here, so will have to order them from the US or have to try toyo tires Benelux for a couple of r888’s in 315/17’s.