Updated to winter temp setup. For me, when the day-time hi temps are no longer above 50F, I change to all seasons especially when running S03's.

Was playing around with my factory wheels yesterday and came to the below setup.

Using the exact setup above except factory wheels and tires (18's) and
spacers as below:

Front +15mm, so 15mm offset
Rear + 5mm, so 25mm offset

The car is a tad tail happy vs the 19's coming through tight corners, but
there is much more nimbleness from the narrower tires.

Im thinking about getting some light 18's in the Spring and try 225/45 and 265/40's.

 

this is how the car looks right now with the spacers.

man, i really want to replace the rear tires with something wider...
im thinking about a 2nd set of 18's and wrap some S03's on them.
either 18x8 factory wheels with 225/45 and 255/45 or new wheels
18x8 front with 225/45, and 18x10 rear and run 265/40.

im noticing the car performs better with the narrower tires than
the 245's and 275's i was using during summer. the 265/40 might
be too wide too... well, still got some time to think it over.

 

255/45 should fill in your rear fenders pretty well. I had 255/45 out back at 30psi, no rubbing when the suspension is under load though, I had a tad more sidwall flex vs the 245/45 pilots. I dont know if they'll cut the fenders with spacers though.

 

only 30psi? was that your drag radials? or is that the standard psi for sedans?

 

nah, they were on my GR-Betas. I'd bring them back up after trackdays.

 

i hear those Falkens stick like glue.

 

well, i heard that from a WRX owner...so not sure. ofcourse they'll grip on AWD.

I typically only use S03's for my street use. Im running GS-D3's on my Cooper-S and they're good tires too.

 

I thought about the GSD3's before getting the Falkens too. I figured I'd just got with what my sponcer has and got the Falkens at a discounted price, otherwise I wouldve gone with S03's because at retail prices, they're about the same. IMO, S03 > GR-B. I read some nice reviews about the GSD3's on TireRack too, I almost went that route. Now I run on DOT R-Compounds - Dunlop SuperSport Race - and I've kind of kicked my GR-B to the curb, and I have a set of RT615s mounted on FN01RC's just waiting to be mounted. So I dont know when I'm going back to using harder tires, for one...I'm too lazy to change them out, secondly...I'm just loving how the R-Compounds hold on the street.

 

im not familiar with R-compounds as I don't track my car, but what are the treadwear ratings on those tires? Are they more than 100AA?

 

it's rated at 60/A/A.

 

yeh, thats wat I thought. typically i see 50-60AA's...

 

yah, it's not bad on the street. I try to drive sanely on the street and backroads around here. I just have to be extra cautious when it's raining.

 

Just an update on my setup. currently running my summer setup with 19's
f/r +23mm 245/35/19 (8.5" width) and +26mm 275/35/19 (10" width)
respectively.

f/r stillen swaybar setting soft/hard. since about a week ago im starting
to hear light knocking noises from the rear sus over bumpy parking lots
as my endlinks with heim joints were making back on my previous cars.
When there's plenty of vehicle load on the car there is no noise...
i think my endlink joints are wearing out. I have about 4k miles since
using the hard setting on the rear.

i got a new pair of endlinks today from the dealer. will see how much
longer my current pair will last (until the noise gets pretty constant,
not until it collapses, ofcourse).

When i replace them, Im going to set it back to medium unless I get
aftermarket ones down the road.

 

Ken,

Thank you for all of your posts and replies throughout all of these boards. Your comments have always been quite informative and helpful, as well. I simply wanted to take a sec out and acknowledge your useful and helpful input . . . Thanks!

 

^ np, glad I can help.