My question is how much of a difference wheels size comes into effect at the drag strip? Last time I was on the stock wheels and Advan tires. Since that time I bought some 18x9.5 enkie nto3's with 265/35 tires. Will my new wheels slow me down or help me out? People are telling me different things. Thanks for the help

 

that should be an excellent way to get extra grip! stretching the tire over the rim will increase tread patch. you could even go to 10" wide rim with those tirs.

 

Wheel & tire weight will make the bigest diffrence. If the new setup is a lot heavier than stock it will slow you down. I'm not sure of your power level, but traction is not usually a problem with stock tires. Also if the overall outside diameter is changed it will affect your final drive ratio.

 

It really depends on the tires. The 18X9.5 NT03+Ms are 19.5 lbs each...or at least mine are - whereas the stock Enkeis are 20.5lbs each. The 265/35 tires are probably a little heavier than the stock Advans, but that's not for sure - they may be about the same. The weight difference is probably a wash, so there would be no change. The extra width on the tires are not helpful for us. In fact, some people go with drag radials that are THINNER than stock and cut 1.5 60's. A wider tire will help with twisty racing, but not so much with drag racing on an Evo unless maybe you have mega power.

If you just have a regular Evo, then you will not notice any difference in performance at the drag strip, imo.

 

Thank you for the replies guys Yes I have just a basic bolt on IX. My best time was a 12.01 I was hoping maybe I could drop the 2 hundreths and get into the 11's on the new wheels but people were telling me different things. Some say it will slow me down while others say it will help me out. I guess I will leave my new wheels on and see how I do

 

Personally when i ran with my 18s i had terrible wheel hop and cut a drive shaft...

Now i got a set of 17 inch Kosei K1-TS which weight 15.5 pounds each, almost 5 pounds lighter than the stock ENKEIS... Still on the winter tires though but i will get a nice set of sticky tires eventually which might even weight less than the Stock Advans which weight 25lbs per tire...

For example the BFGs weight 23 lbs so with these tires i would have 7 pounds less per corner...