I should clarify what I'm trying to do. I'm not necessarily looking for faster lap times or anything. I'm not looking to do Time Trials or race. And it is becoming more clear everyday how expensive this can be, but I'm just trying to get one car to be my daily driver and have some fun at the track with it too. So super light rims and expensive high end tires are out of my price range and probably wouldn't even help me that much at my (in)experience level. Enkei's and O.Z.'s are probably out of the question money wise. Plus, for on the track I don't care what the rims look like so something cheaper and heavier would probably be okay.

And it could be that if I just do this 2 or 3 times a year, I would be better off just buying street tire more often rather than having a whole other set of rims and tires. I'm just not sure yet.

But having a rim size and tire size definitely helps me figure how much or how little this might cost. I don't even want to get into all the offset stuff but I guess that comes with the territory?

I do appreciate all the advice and Dubi I'll PM you once I get closer to pulling the trigger on a track set.

 

After a little more research here is what I'm considering:

Cheapo 18x9 inch rims front and back

265/40R18 Hankook Ventus RS-3

This looks like a pretty low budget alternative to larger rims like 18x10.5s. I just wonder if the 265/40s on 9 inch rims will give too much sidewall flex?

Also, I know nothing about offset. The stock 19's have 30 on the front and 33 on the rear. Most of the aftermarket rims I'm looking at are +35. Will this create any spacing problems?

 

You have a good plan. The 265s will be too wide on a 9" rim, I'd look at a 235/45/18 or something similar. As mentioned above you don't want a fat tire for the track a mild stretch here is definitely advantageous. Look for a set of 350Z wheels in good condition. They are light, strong, have decent offsets, look pretty nice, and can usually be found cheap as ****. Hard to go wrong with all of that going for you.

 

The 235/45/18 would make more sense. It would be 10mm narrower than the current rears but 10mm wider than the current fronts. Compared to stock, I'd lose a little grip in the back and gain a little grip in the front given the same tire type.

Sidewall would be 7.5mm taller than the stock rears and 15mm taller than stock fronts, but they would be 'stretched' a little on 9" wide rims. Circumference and radius are very close to stock rears. The Ventus RS-3 does come in that size. I know it probably isn't the best track tire but it is the cheapest and again, I'm not looking to shave seconds off my laps, I'm looking to preserve my street tires and maybe have a somewhat better track tires than street tires. The only thing that will make any difference in my lap times right now will be more driving.

 

Another tire you might want to look at for the track is the Nitto NT-05. I don't believe they offer a 235/45 but they do have a 235/40 and they are less than $170 ea at Discount Tire. That's the tire ttrank runs on his 648hp TT sedan and he loves them.