I'm looking to upgrade my wheels, tires and suspension to match the power mods on my Evo 8. I'm not concerned about tread wear as I only drive ~ 3,000-4,000 miles per year. My goal is to stick with stock wheel and tire size and was considering the following:

1) Enkei RPF-1 wheels (lightweight - willing to risk rims bending since I don't drive much)

2) Hankook Ventus R-S4 or Dunlop Direzza ZIII (two highest rated Extreme Summer Performance tires on Tire Rack)

3) Ohlin's Road and Track - Would it be best to buy from a suspension shop, like John Mueller or Works? If so, which would be best? Will the Ohlin's degrade if I keep my car outside, but don't drive during winter with salt on roads?

Any thoughts or different suggestions?

 

Stock size isnt aggressive and if you lower it on stock size it looks daggy IMO, the only good look on stock size is the MR rims which are hard to find these days

I have RPF1 8.5x17 which put a bit more rubber on the road with a 245/40x 17 without any rubbing or mods, This rims are light and strong and I use two sets one for track and one for road, they dont look that great but in black with the center cover they are acceptable without looking too naff. I wouldnt buy silver ones though and I'm not going to lower the car and go down that rabbit hole. I like the yokohama a052 tires for track but aren't a good road tire in the wet

 

For sure a yes on the RPF1's. Been a fan of those for years. The go-to spec IMO is the 17x9.5 +38 (20mm front spacer needed0

Also, Mueller has worked on my EvO a few times. His shop is net cheap but they are knowledgeable.

Forget the Ohlins w/their mis-matched non EvO spring rates & step up to some custom built FA510's or the FA Dreadnoughts if you need to go that deep into suspension tuning. But, pretty sure Muellers shop is not authorized by FA.

But if you do go w/the Ohilins they certainly need to be re-sprung by Mueller or Performance Shock in Sonoma CA

 

Also a bit curious as what is meant by an "aggressive street setup" lol. Are you trying to slaughter on-ramps? Light to light spirited driving? Sorry if I missed something, not meaning to come off rude or anything.

 

No worries. Hard driving on mountain roads mostly. Not sure if the coilovers are overkill for that?

 

Certainly not overkill if you want that extra level of ride height & camber adjustment. C/o'rs are almost maintenance free but periodically make sure the collars are tight & the brake lines are properly secured

 

That sounds fun. For many years, I autocrossed 400 whp on OEM KYB and Bilstein suspension on the OEM 235 sized tires (RE-71R). The most noticeable improvement in cornering for me was going to a wider tire. Currently running 265, but I doubt you will need that wide for canyon runs. I also upgraded to Ohlins R&T last year and my opinion is to go with wider wheels/tires first if possible. The stock Evo suspension is actually decent (more so the Bilsteins w/ swift springs), and changing both at once introduces too many variables. Hope this helps!

*edit*. I just re-read your post that you are trying to keep the stock wheel/tire sizes if possible. In that case, I would just keep a Bilstein/lowering spring setup and try that out first. The only reason my car needed coilovers was that my car was rolling so hard in sweepers the 265 tires rubbed the fenders, etc. With the coilovers and much higher spring rates, that does not happen anymore due to the extra stiffness. Driving on the street, I never encounter those kind of forces, unless I had a death wish LOL

 

Thanks for the advice. Initially, I was going to keep the stock suspension and go with lighter wheels and stickier tires.

What do you think of Jonno's suggestion of 17X 8.5 RPF-1 and 245/40x 17 tires? Hankook Ventus R-S4, Dunlop Direzza ZIII and Yokohama Advan Neova AD08 come in that size.

 

If you're going to spend money on wheels I would just step up to 17x9+ with 255/40-17 tires. As long as you have the proper offset and spacer they clear factory fenders while filling them out much better than 235s. Do you have any other suspension mods (RCA kit, bushings, swaybars, etc)? I autocrossed on stock wheels and tires with GTWorx springs & MR Bilsteins and they're definitely better than KYB but not to the level of a good coilover with stiffer springs and matched valving. I would agree you really don't need coils to do hard driving on mountain roads. Restack the diff, drop in a rear sway bar, add sticky 255s and go carve away.

 

For a street car, off the shelf Ohlins will be fine.

Since you're buying wheels, I agree with terror rising, at least step up to a 17x9 30 or 35 offset wheel with 255/40r17 tires.

 

+1 on the 255's

 

Maintenance free coilovers in SoCal

 

ohlins is fine as is, just put 10 k springs on the back and 8 on the front and add some preload on the front springs..

 

Thanks. My existing suspension is 100% stock.

What Extreme Summer Performance tires do you guys recommend? For 255/40/17 Tire Rack has Hankook Ventus R-S4, Yokohama Neoova A08R and Dunlop Direzza ZIII as top rated. Looking for both good dry and wet performance.

 

Are you planning on storing them inside in the winter or no?