A 7" rim with a 235 won't be a stretch, it'll be a squish. I have 17 x 7 stock and 17 x 8 for summer use with 235 tires and I can't imagine putting the 235s on my stockers, they're just too wide.
I just checked the Road and Track November issue and it lists the wheels as 18 x 7.5 with Bridgestone RE050As. Just looking at the rims though they appear stock.

 

I have my winter wheels on guys.
18x8 +35 rota torques bronze. These are EVO fitment i picked up for 4 Benjamins new!
Unfortunately I didn't mount the 235's just fear of it rubbing.

I put on 225's Continental ContiExtremeContact and let me tell you these tires rock in the winter. Everything fits good and rides nice. 1. These tires are 10x better in the winter than the stock summer yokos in the summer. Handling is also a lot more confident. The stock wheels just felt narrow. Now there is a slightly larger footprint.

I will be getting some 17's 8.5" forged wheels in the summer. Just gotta save up for that. $400 per wheel....instead of $400 a set....crazy. Maybe, I'll get evo 9 or x wheels.

 

Also if you lower my setup it would probably rub easily. Might need a +40 to +42 offset. Then, I don't know if you can put on a 8inch wheel. That +35 offset pushes the wheel far out.

 

If you roll the rear fenders, you may have a lot more options of wheel sizes and offsets. I run 18x 8.5 with a +40 offset. It sits right up against the fenders and even sticks farther out than the side skirts. It has a very aggressive stance and can fit 235/245 series rubber. PM me or Robispec if you have questions on how you can fit larger sizes than 225 or 8 inch wide rims.

 

how close was the fitment? if i dont lower right now will i still need to roll the rears to get the setup you have? i definitely want that setup but i'm a little bit nervous about rolling my own fenders on a car with just over 1000 miles on it haha.

 

235s Dunlop Direzzas are no stretch on a 8.5 inch wide rim.

 

The fitment was real close to the rolled rear fenders with my setup. Guaranteed it would not fit on stock fenders. Robispec also grinded away the inner part of my fenders to give me extra clearance. Also on this set up, with a +48 on a 8.5 inch wide wheel, you will not clear the front struts (Im on Megan Coilovers). I needed 8 mm spacers to clear. I also ran the 8 mm spacer in the rear for a more aggressive set up. So an originally +48mm offset 8.5 inch wide rim is now a +40 mm given the 8mm spacers.

Here's how it works (my understanding). The stock ralliart has a +46 mm offset and also a 7.0 inch wide wheel with 215 rubber. If you buy 8 inch wide wheels with a +46 offset, then your wheel will take up 0.5 inch on inner side and stick out 0.5 inches on the outer side. If you have an 8.5 inch wheel with a +40 offset, your wheel will take up 0.75 inches on the inner side and 0.75 inches on the outerside. But since you have a +40mm offset, your wheel will stick 6 mm more out from the stock wheels. I hope everyone can understand this. Without rolling your fenders, there's not many options. I believe CRC has a 18x8 +35mm wheel. His tires (235s) rubbed against the rear fenders when he had weight in the back (passengers) or hit a huge dip in the road.

 

ahh... ok. so i guess im looking at rolling the rears then... i see you can rent the tool online with a heat gun and everything. maybe i'll do that if it comes down to it.

 

Currently looking at these Tires.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....peed_rating=(Y)

what would yall recommend?

 

You are a brave man using those tires in the snow. I have Direzzas on my Deuce and they are nice and sticky.

 

Yeah, 225 tires even rub a little on big bumps in the rear. There isn't a lot of room in the rear. With the same 18x8 +35 setup. I believe cr22 has 235's.

 

hahaha...I don't actually. I had just put on the wheels and tires after I got them to take some pics. Also, my dd is a 2002 Lancer ES for the winter. My mother is enjoying her 6 week vacation while I get to use her car and store mine.

 

Getting back to an old topic, so is anyone running +42 offset 18x8 rims on an RA? I'm considering that setup myself, as 48 offset sounds way too high :-(

 

+42 x8 sounds perfect .. just go for it