Best wheel size for road racing?

[drivesideways46]

I just saw there is a sale in partshopper for a set of 17x10.5 and 17x9 2003 Cobra wheels. While this setup looks awesome on the SN95, I was wondering if the staggered 17 inch set would be as good as 18x9's all the way around on the car.

If it helps, my 2000 GT is a daily driver and I'd prefer road course handling rather than dominating the drag strip.

 

[Donw35]

I went woth the 17" Cobra rims on mine, I am like you, I like the road course more. I do 4 to 6 track days a year in my car, I felt the 17" rims would be a good choice of the cost of tires on 18' rims. If you are into handling though, alot of others things can be done to your car that would a big improvement.

 

[bdcardinal]

my understanding is the most important factor in wheels for road racing is the weight. many people get bigger rims for the increased tire size, however the wheels are substantially heavier and unsprung weight is the worst kind of weight on your car.

 

[40th GT]

Is there a handling advantage of having wider tires in the back than the front? Can I just run 9" wide rims for all 4 wheels?

 

[twogts4us]

How about Konig Villians - 21 lbs - 17X9 and $169 each at Maximum Motorsports. I'd like to see how these look on the SN-95 Gen2.

 

[highvolts]

How about Konig Villians - 21 lbs - 17X9 and $169 each at Maximum Motorsports. I'd like to see how these look on the SN-95 Gen2.

Amazingly enough, those dont look bad at all.

 

[BlackenedSVT]

18" Wheels are supposed to give you MUCH better handling. But 17" wheels have MUCH better traction, due to the thick sidewalls.

18" wheels and tires are also more expensive, but are the perfect size for 99+ stangs IMO.

 

[hognutz]

The only reason to run an 18" wheel is if you upgrade the brakes.

the only reason you would have better handling or traction is in you tire size not wheel diameter.

18" wheel is is heavier all things being equal and it raises the height of the car .5 on an equal size tire.

exotic brake setups will usually not fit under a 17" wheel though. you can't get big 4 piston calipures and huge rotors on with a 17" rim sometimes.

that being said I like the looks of 18" better and I would run them just in case you get tired of the factor brakes.

 

[Q88-GT]

I have the Villians on my 04 GT with the 4 piston Brembo upgrade. I run several track days a year, and went with the 17" wheels for the weight and tire cost advantages. I may have a pic of the car from a track day this year, I'll look for it tonight.

 

[GinoGT]

The only reason to run an 18" wheel is if you upgrade the brakes.

the only reason you would have better handling or traction is in you tire size not wheel diameter.

18" wheel is is heavier all things being equal and it raises the height of the car .5 on an equal size tire.

exotic brake setups will usually not fit under a 17" wheel though. you can't get big 4 piston calipures and huge rotors on with a 17" rim sometimes.

that being said I like the looks of 18" better and I would run them just in case you get tired of the factor brakes.

On an equal size tire..............okay? Say 245/45-17 and 245/45-18 I guess you're right, but what kind of idiot would do that? My 265/35-18's are a tad bit smaller in overall diameter than the stockers.

18's on a 99-04 usually do look very nice.

 

[BlackenedSVT]

The 18" STEEDA Ultra Light wheels I want to get are like 5lbs lighter on every wheel than the stock 17" bullits at the moment. so 20lbs lighter all around...

 

[Donw35]

The key here may be, are your going to do track days or road race. If its road racing your after then racing rims should be your consideration, along with all the other components you will need on your suspension to be competitive. Conversely, if its track days you are doing, then you might find that tire replacement costs on 18" rims may be more then you want. I can get one and sometimes two track days out of my tires.

Go to www.tirerack.com and pick a set of 17" tires and 18" tires and look at the delta between the two. There you may find your answer.

As far as 17", I would recommend any Cobra R offset replacement rim, this will give you the ability in the future to upgrade to Cobra R brakes.