Guys running 18x8.5s

[WE3RX7]

Which offset did you choose for front and back and do you have photos?

I'm looking to put 255s out back and 245s still up front (have 245s all around now).

Just curious which offset will give me the best fit inside the wheel well w/out and concerns of rubbing under hard corners.

I know there is a "huge" thread on the "other" forum, but I wanted to keep it in the RCC, lol...

[I8U]

Maybe try a 38 or 45 offset. I'm running 18x9.5's 45 offset with 275/35's all the way around on TEIN S-Techs with rubbing issues.

Question though...why go with a staggered tire setup? Kinda defeats the purpose of perfectly balanced car. I tried a staggered fitment for about a weekend at Deal's Gap...NOT FUN!!! I had a ton of understeer...not good when you're playing on two lane mountain road.

[WE3RX7]

I'm not 100% sold on staggered. I wanted to get some more meat out back for the lower speed auto-x events I have this year without suffering a ton of points, but I do like the 245 setup I have now.

[Easy_E1]

I'm running 18x8.5, 35 off set with 265/35-18 on all four corners. No rubbing issues at all. I do SCCA Autocross and NASA HPDE2.

http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g307/Easy_E1/RX-8/mini-Newrims10152007011.jpg

[WE3RX7]

Now thats a decent setup, considering you can rotate your tires front/back if needed.

What do you have for suspension though?

[WE3RX7]

I ended up going with 18x8.5 +38 255/40 on all four corners. I'm not running any suspension setup right now, so I should have some room to grow. I plan to add MS Shocks and springs next month before my first event. I'll throw some pics up when the wheels get here!

[Herblenny]

I put my forgeline zx3's (18x8 +30 F and 18x9 +38 R with 245/40s and 275/35s) and I thought it was better than stock 225s with 18x8s on the street and on the track.. but I'm not as experienced as some of you trackies :)

[WE3RX7]

DGRR is the test track for my new setup which should show up right before I leave, lol...

[WE3RX7]

NM... discount tire screwed me, twice in 48 hours. Long story short, I cancelled that order and called TireRack. I got a good deal on some Enkei NT03-M 18x8.5 38 offset only with 245/40 which is the size I'm running now on the 8" wheel.

I'm trying the Ecsta XS from Kumho as well.... even though it didnt "appear" to have a good rating, I've read good things and always liked the Ecsta and V100 slicks so I will be a test dummy I guess. If all else fails, I'll put the RT-05 on from Falken like I wanted...

Oh, and the wheels weigh 19.6lbs, which makes me :)

[Flashwing]

I don't know much about the XS from Kumho but I ran the Ecsta SPT's with a lot of success. Great tire for the money and the grip wasn't bad. I was running a 225/45 so I bet a larger 255 size would be nice.

I'm running a 18x8.5 with a 42mm offset with no problems. I run 255/40/18 Nitto Invos with no rubbing.

[WE3RX7]

Yea, I wish they had the XS in a 255, but only a 245 for now. It'll give me a chance to decide if I like the wheel/tire combo... I will probably have to move up to a 265 or larger next year if I want to move up in class.... we'll see though.

[Renesisking]

I'm running Falken FK452s 245/45R18's on my stock wheels. It rides great, I probably should've gone with a thinner side wall but I can't complain. I autocross with it and its my daily driver so I chose those tires. I'm looking for rims but after talking to a lot of people, I want to keep a stock set up for better balance.

[WE3RX7]

I've had some time now on my setup... I still need to throw a pic up here (for those who werent at DGRR)... I ran my first auto-x last month with them to. The XS is a really good compound. When they get to temps they stick really well, only down side was after making a pass and then sitting in the grid the tires would cool off fairly quickly again, towards the end of each pass you could tell a difference. After 6 runs, the 7th one starting getting a little greasy, but overall I'm very happy with the setup and the tire.

I think the 245/40 is a good size for a stock-powered 8. Once I get better at driving the car and start to find the limits of the 245s, I'll jump up to a 265... for now though, they do great!