No idea, but I typically get everything from Tire Rack. And I'm not just saying that because they sponsor this forum. I'm saying that because everything is always exactly what I asked for, delivered to my door from their warehouse, not drop-shipped by some guy living in his parent's basement.

 

I have an account and order all of my tires from them but they don't have prices listed for wheels so I am just curious if anyone has gotten good deals from a vendor on here.

 

Not sure exactly what your experience is but I know since you popped up about a month ago that you do know what you're talking about. Though I would agree that you wouldn't gain much in terms of lateral grip with the addtional .5", I would imagine the additional stretch to stiffen the tire up would be helpful for turn in/agility in an autocross situation.

 

have you looked into nt03+m in 17x9.5 +38? those are a nice alternative from the rpf1 and don't require spacers

 

I have a great fear of losing air to even momentary de-beading (which comes from my rallycrossing but has now carried over to autocrossing, too). That's why I said that I, personally, would probably end up choosing the 9" wheels. With that said, it seems that the set up for Evos older than an X involves 17x9.5 wheels, so anyone looking to be competitive at the national level should probably take that route.

For those who care (thanks for the kind words, Boltz), my experience comes from winning local and state events in ESP then STX then SM in my 2G DSM, and then getting my butt whipped at the divisional and national levels. But don't blame my understanding of automotive dynamics; blame my driving.

 

I appreciate everyone's feedback but after a long discussion with Smike today it turns out I will never be eligible for STU. I would need to downgrade my precious OS Giken twin to a stocker and that just isn't going to happen. To add to that I would have to install a stock intercooler, uicp, licp, stock diverter, stock dp, and stock cat which again isn't going to happen. Looks like I wont be too competitive for awhile as I will be on RS3's. I am still gonna sell the Grids and get a set of RPF1's in 17X9.5 + 18 and run a 255/40 tire and sharpen my skills until I grow a pair and get some r-comps