I'm running an AS 06 MR on stock suspension. 275 V710s in the front rub slightly on the inner fender liners at full lock. This is with RPF1s with a 3mm offset delta plus a 1/8th inch spacer. I wasn't sure that the 275s would fit in the rear so I'm running 245s. With the grip of the 710s, the car has more body roll than a 300 pound belly dancer.

 

Fender rolling is not legal in stock classing. You shouldn't need it anyway with 275s, just a +33 offset will do it whether by wheel offset or spacers.



Devin

 

Hi,

i just bought '03 evo8. looking to autox it in AS.

what budget wheels would you recommend on the lighter side?

should i just look for a used set of stock enkeis? does anybody know how much do they weight?

Thanks,
Ro

 

Enkei RPF1, 17x8, 35mm offset.

I believe they weigh 15.5 lbs per wheel. In '03, I paid about $1000 for a set of 4 including shipping. Couldn't tell you where to get 'em today or how much they'll cost, but you'll have a hard time finding a better bang for the buck in terms of light wheels.

 

+1

 

thanks brennen. that's very light wheels for good price. i wonder if the stockers are much heavier. i've searched the forums but couldn't find the answer. basically i'm looking for a justification to spend 1k on wheels.

 

According to the post referenced below... 21 pounds for the '03 stockers.

https://www.evolutionm.net/forums/sh....php?p=1368577

 

Not sure what level of autocrosser you are, but I'm curious why you would first consider lighter wheels as an upgrade. I've been autocrossing my '03 Evo for three years now, and from everything I've experienced and heard from other Evo drivers, the most effective car upgrades you can make, while remaining stock, are:

- Adjustable dampers (such as the Ohlins mentioned previously in this thread). The Evo has a high center of gravity compared to other A-stock cars, and stronger damping can help reduce body roll in the slalom and in short turns, although it won't provide much benefit on the long sweepers. I'm going this route next year.

- R-compound tires. The consensus seems to be that, unless you have a sponsorship with Hoosier, or are rich and can afford multiple sets of Hoosiers per year, the way to go is Kumho v710's. I'm on these tires this year, and they are great. Dropped two seconds from my time on the typical 60-70 second course around here.

If you are a first or second year autocrosser, my recommendation is to buy a spare set of stock wheels and tires from someone on this forum. You can usually find a deal for slightly used tires and rims at about $1000-$1200, because there are a whole bunch of buyers of this car that almost immediately want to replace the stock wheels and tires, not knowing or caring that the stock Advan tire is the best performing street tire out there for this car.


Use the spare set of stock wheels and tires for your first couple seasons, then, when you wear out the tires (probably in about 1 1/2 seasons) replace them with R compound.

Or better yet, upgrade the driver first. Take the Evolution Phase I and Phase II autocross schools, probably offered yearly somewhere near you. This is the most cost effective way to get faster, and you get to keep this mod when you sell the car.

Then, when you start to compete in the SCCA national tour, it's time for adjustable shocks, maybe a stiffer front sway bar, and then maybe lighter wheels and Hoosiers.

Just my thoughts.

 

By the way, someone's selling a gold set of these on e-bay, with a reserve of $500:


http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...tem=8073716441

 

thanks point&shoot, but it looks like they have 5x100 bolt pattern.

 

point&shoot, i've been autocrossing for about 5 years now, mostly in STS.
i totally agree with your set of priorities.
i'm not considering lighter wheels as an upgrade i just need another set of wheels to autocross and was wondering if there were some pretty inexpensive lighter wheels. e.g. in sts popular rota subzeros 17x7.5 for ~$500.

i found enkei rpf1's here http://www.evasivemotorsports.com/me...ode=ENKEI-RPF1 for $972 shipped. of course if i find stock wheels considerably cheaper than that i'll get stock wheels.

and thanks for the tire advise. i definitely want to go R-compound, but even v710's are might be too expensive for me. i was thinking toyo ra-1's or yokohama advan a032r's. i've heard they are not on par in sticking department but i hope they make up for it in treadwear. what do you think?

 

I think Ro already answered this, but if you're using dedicated competition tires, you need to buy an extra set of wheels anyway. Even if you stick with OEM wheels, you need to shell out money for them -- and if you can get lighter wheels in the same price range, why not do it?



I also take issue with the conventional wisdom that newcomers to the sport shouldn't use top-notch tires (Hoosiers, V710s, etc.). If you're committed to the sport and have the budget for it, I'd recommend buying the best tires that you can get. I bought my first Hoosiers 2 months after I started autocrossing, and proceeded to win the next 8 regional points events in which I competed -- in both A Stock and Street Modified.

YMMV, and buying the best tires available is no guarantee of victory -- but the only way you're going to find out how good you are (or how good you can be) is to actually race on a level playing field. Frankly, I wish somebody had offered to let me drive a car on Hoosiers the first day I autocrossed -- I would have bought a set two days later instead of two months.

 

How about Tirerack's Kosei's K1 TS? It's 17x8 at around 17lbs, I believe.

 

Both of those tires are great choices if you want something that will last more than one season. People who have them tell me they put them on at home and drive to the autocross with them, so that's a great convenience (you don't have to get to the event 1/2 hour early to change wheels). But you're right, they're not on a par with the Kumho v710's, which by the way are not quite as sticky as Hoosiers, although they're cheaper and last longer. It's all a trade off of money for performance and convenience.

Oh, one more piece of advice that may be specific to the Evo. I just discovered this when switching from street tires to R-compound, and switching between rain and dry: the stock Evo has the strange property that the more traction you give it, the more it will understeer. On my street tires, I used less pressure in the rear than the front, just like it says on the door jamb, and the car was nice and loose. I could rotate it just by lifting throttle in a sweeper. When I put on the R-compound tires, the car was pushing everywhere. I asked a top driver of an Eagle Talon about it (he runs the same tires, and is AWD), and he said that with the Kumhos (or any R-compound, I guess) you have to overinflate the rear tires to reduce the contact patch and make the car neutral again. He uses 8 lbs. more in the rear than in the front. I tried it and it worked great! Except than it started raining and the car was too loose, and I had to let some air out of the rear.

Just a tip.

 

jbrennen, you're reading my mind
i autocrossed 2000 eclipse in sts. with 89-91 light civics in the class there was no chance of wining no matter how good (or bad) i drive.
the most frustrating part was that were was no real reference point track your improvement when you are 3-5s of the leading pace. and i took phase 1 and phase 2 evo schools. i take experienced people to ride with me. and it helped a lot my driving but still nowhere close the front civic runners.
level playing field means a lot. when you're off the pace at least you know that you only got yourself to blame and you know where to concentrate your effort.