I was planning to get a separate 17" wheels to use for track days w/ 222/45/17" Hankook Z212 but started to think that maybe use my oem rims with same tires in a 225/50/16". Will there be much of a difference besides the obvious taller sidewall? Is that significant? The oem rims are pretty light, lighter than my 17" P1's that I so far used on the track but planned to have for the street only and I think I notice just a bit slower acceleration with the 17" wheels (they are 6-8 lbs heavier per wheel IIRC). One thought was having those tires on my P1's but not sure how fast the 'Kooks wear.

are you going to the track with the stock wrx brakes?

.....225/50's on the stock wheels on the track will be painful....and on the track, ya won't notice the weight unless ya slow down too much.....and the stock brakes on any track would be suicide.....and .......

Your stock wheels are awful skinny. Getting a nice 7.5 or 8 inch wide (or wider) wheel will help lots :)

A good, light 17X8 will give you better performance because you can run a wider tire with a lower profile (which will increase your turn-in).

'04 BBS/RE070 combo <---my recommendation

.....225/50's on the stock wheels on the track will be painful....and on the track, ya won't notice the weight unless ya slow down too much.....and the stock brakes on any track would be suicide.....and .......

But not as painful as the oem wheels, right? Did my first track session in the WRX (not my first tracksession) on them, did prety well. Just trying to save some money here. So how about the 'Kooks as double duty tires (on my 17" P1's), will they last long? This is not about the brakes, who said anything about stock brakes? I outbraked an Honda NSX on my last trackday, think the brakes are ok.

A good, light 17X8 will give you better performance because you can run a wider tire with a lower profile (which will increase your turn-in).

'04 BBS/RE070 combo <---my recommendation

Those are 17x7.5

I know, that's my recommendation over buying an AM set.

05+ BBS' are 8"...

I've run both sizes and I like the 17 inch bbs's with 225/45 tires more. the stock wrx rims with 225/50 are ok for auto-x (wet setup), but not great for the track. The lower profile tire and added shoulder strength (due to wider rim) help... Plus the brakes get a lil better cooling with 17's. And stock brakes are fine at the track with some performance pads and good fluid. Just can't stay out there for hours.

05+ BBS' are 8"...

Your point? He cannot run an '05 wheel because his bolt pattern is 5X100.

Once again, if there was any loss of clarity, I was not saying that the '04 BBS was 8" wide, I was merely saying that I'd prefer an '04 STi take-off set for track use to buying my preference of an After-Market (AM) set of 17X8's and tires. He could easily find a set of '04 wheels, and a used set of RE070's off of an '05 or '06 is an easy find as well.

With this combo he'll have a nice, light, forged wheel, and an extremely sticky set of track tires that he can DRIVE TO AND FROM THE TRACK WITH. Once he gets home he can then swap them out for his regular set. Trust me, less work AT the track is a good thing.

EDIT: Fixed

Your point? He cannot run an '05 wheel because his offset is different.



No, he can't run 05 wheels b/c the bolt pattern is different. His point was this...

In your post, you seem to be saying that 04 BBS wheels are 17 x 8, although I guess now you weren't. But you recommended 17 x 8, then said try 04 BBS's. It was just confusing to read... ;)

Yup, and I wrote the offset/bolt pattern thing wrong as well in my haste...lol, at least you knew what I meant :D. I need some coffee or something :lol:.