I would think it depends on what you would like to do with your car. Better tires will definitely help no matter what wheel size... the stock RE92's, from my experience, are not that good.
If you plan on running in the stock SCCA solo class then you need to stick with your wheels. New wheels, of course, cost more but they can really make your car stand out and improve performance by giving you the option of running a wider tire.
I'm still not sure what I'm going to do but I've been eyeing the Rota Tarmac 2's... ohh they look so good in royal gunmettalic!!
Better tires are going to help out. My plans are to get a set of 18's w/ Toyo Proxes T1-S's for spring, summer & fall and then a set of RS rims(16*7, i think) and throw a set of Toyo Proxes 4 on for winter weather and then sell the stock rims.
You gotta consider sidewall. The larger the rim, the thinner the sidewall, which means less movement, better handling, but more NVH. Also, the larger the rim, the heavier.
15" is best for rally and dirt roads.
16" and 17" is the best over all for most road use.
18" is best for track only and unfortuanly, very expensive.
17" is usually the prefered by most.
Width wise not too sure, depending what you want. Of course the larger width the more traction, but increase in NVH. Plus more $$!!
But don't skim on the tires, after all, they're the only physical thing between your car and the ground.
I was going to walden books tonight to see if I could find Bob Bondurants High performance driving book. Do you think these books are compairable or is Nick Warnes more about modifications?
I drive past Bondurants every day on my way to work, always busy, cars racing all over the complex, I think if you cannot afford the school, the book may be pretty good as well. you could also look into some local roadracing clubs, I got started in the midwestern council club back in IL, was quite inexpensive to join, had 3 weeks of winter classroom, then several on track lessons, as well as the chance to learn from hundreds of fellow racers during the summer racing season. and always a wealth of info for somebody willing to get out there and go head to head on the track with seasoned racers.
18s can be heavy though. If you have money to buy new wheels and tires for racing, I say get some lightweight Enkei 17x8s and wrap them in something like the old or new Azeni (old can be bought from Vulcantire.com for pretty cheap).
I have the Volk CE28N's on my car, 18's you cant tell the difference if you pick up the stock wheels with tires and then pick up the Volks with tires. 18" Volks are 17 lbs. Of corse the 17's are even lighter 15 lbs. I think?
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