Okay, so let's assume I'm not worried at all about rolling/cutting my fenders. How wide a rim do you think is safe to put on an 03 WRX? I'm worried if I go with anything too crazy I'll break something. Was looking over the SCCA rulebook not too long ago, and they let ya run rims up to 12" wide in SM. Sounds awesome, but that's going to generate a bit more side load than the car was meant to handle. Just something I'm thinking about atm. Assuming I did want to go that wide, where would y'all start looking? Been surfing the usual suspects online, & haven't turned up much. I'm guessing I would need to go with an actual 3 piece rim, but having trouble finding a place that knows about both wide rims and WRX's. Alternately, I'm sure I could back-calculate what they need to know. 55mm offset on a factory rim (6" wide) means I need the distance from centerline to the inner edge to be ~125mm (5") on the inside, and all the rest on the outside. Right? -Laters! -Chris!
What class are you planning on running in? 12" is just crazy. You would need to replace all axles not to mention all corners with new body kit or rolled fenders, and really hard spring rates. Just not worth it. You can easily run a 8-8.5" wide wheel on an 03 with a 245 tire (depending on brand). Some minor cutting may be necessary if you plan to run a Hoosier, but you could run the 710's with no cutting.
I would worry about the wrx hubs if you went with wide wheels. You might want to do an 05+ STi hub swap if you are going to be running insanely wide wheels. This would also let you pick up the cheaper Rota /5zigen wheels that come in 9.5" or 10" widths, which only seem to come in 5x114.3 hub spacings. If I had my choice, I would get a set of 18x9.5" or 18x10" wheels and run a set of 285/40-18 Kumho V710s on the wrx for AutoX. I would imagine any wider than that would be diminishing returns, and exceedingly more expensive. -- Brian
As Brian said, you're not going to find much in 5x100 thats readily available and reasonably economical (and a proper offset). Max yourself out at a 8" wheel and go for slightly larger tires perhaps (245-275).
There is no limit to wheel/tire in SM. 12" is the way to go. Run 335/35/17's. You will NOT need to beef up the stock hub/axle/knuckle stuff for autox use. However, you will need to cut the F*** out of your fenders/bumper cover...and find the correct offset to not hit the inner bodywork. For ROAD COURSE...you will.
Honestly, if your car is not already modified to the max then there is no reason to go so wide. You are throwing too much rubber for stock power or even slightly modded power. You are looking at rims and rubber that would cost over 3k alone.
Just use stock rims and 225/50/16 V710s for now. When you start spinning all four coming out of a corner...THEN go wider/bigger. Otherwise...do suspension, diffs, pads/lines/fluid....THEN power...
Thinking I'd be happy autoXing on street tires I went as wide as possible. On my '03, I run 17x8.5s with soft 245/45 street tires. It rubbed in the back until I rolled the fenders. They fit fine now, but it's CLOSE all over. If you want more width than that it won't be easy. I wish that I had stuck with a moderate rim and harder street tire, then put some 225 R comps on my stock rims for autoX. IMO, th only better choice for a bugeye is 16x8 with 245 Rs... mmmm... Weight is something to think about too. Big and wide adds rotating/unspring weight. My big ass wheels and tires weigh a TON. I'm not happy.
^^^16x8's are awesome. Its a lighter wheel, there are lots of tire choices, minor to no cutting of the fenders to fit, smaller wheel diameter (if running a 45) which means faster acceleration, and everything is cheapier smaller. The only downside to having the 16x8 is not being able to upgrade the brakes, but I never had any complaints with just my new pads, lines, and fluid. Only thing needed maybe would be a vented rotor, but those can easily be found in the stock size.
vented?!?!?!?! The stock ones are vented. You mean....slotted. You dont need slots anyhow...just use the appropriate pad.
Remember kids, unless you can leave black marks from corner exit to corner entry...you don't have too much power. Matt
Hey do you want to race....maybe on a real race track where they don't leave cones laying all over the place. Matt
Once the engine and transmission is done in the RX...ofcourse. 380hp/380tq to the wheels and weighing in at 2500 lbs should be able to take down your STi.
Slotted or drilled rotors are another means of "venting". I was speaking of being able to track your car on the 16x8's would require additional venting of some sort, not just a pad as I had mentioned for autox'ing in the original post. Not to mention, having a co-driver and myself after 4 runs, the brakes do get squishy just autox'ing.
You can't buy 16x8 rotas anymore. Well, you CAN, but it takes 6 months for them to make them... that's why I don't have them. If someone wants to sell me some, I'll buy them. Enki makes something crazy light too. Let me google it and edit later... Nope, it's a 17x8. I was thinking about the RPF1.