Staggered vs non staggered wheels

[11Past9]

What would the difference in handling and putting power to the ground efficiently running a 17x9 wheel all around vs say a 17x8 up front and a 17x9 in the rear or a 17x8.5 up front and an 18x9.5 in the rear on a light rear wheel drive car like a swapped 240?

I'm trying to plan out my next set of wheels for my s14 once winters gone. I'm making about 300whp right now and may gt2871r in the future. The car will be a dd with occassional track visits

[Iron_Zenki]

There is a thread for small questions like this (if you catch my drift) lol

[The Hamsterball]

First of all, I am pretty sure this question has been covered before, so try searching next time or google it. Google is your friend.

Staggered wheels have the benefit of making initial turn in on entries of corners easier.
However, a staggered setup induces understeer, depending on how much of a difference there is between the width of the tires front and rear.

You may already know that if you do this, you won't be able to rotate tires, and if you're going to be racing, you will replace the front tires more often than the rear (alot more often).

It's usually not a bad idea to put a staggered set up on a car that is tail-happy or oversteers easily. I can't tell you if your car is like that just based on knowing it has 300whp, because it depends on your suspension set up.
Although, 300whp is a pretty sizable amount of power, so if you set your car up correctly you can make it very neutral in corners too.

[11Past9]

Suspension I've got tokiko blue shocks and s tech springs. I'm on stock turbo (t28) boost comes on hard and fast. The car handles well but I've never really pushed it to see what it's like at the limit.

What would you recommend for a wheel and tire set up? Staggered or not? What would having a bigger rear wheel do? An 18 out back vs a 17 in front.

[fliprayzin240sx]

Suspension I've got tokiko blue shocks and s tech springs. I'm on stock turbo (t28) boost comes on hard and fast. The car handles well but I've never really pushed it to see what it's like at the limit.

What would you recommend for a wheel and tire set up? Staggered or not? What would having a bigger rear wheel do? An 18 out back vs a 17 in front.

Nothing, its all about personal preference. Do you want cheaper tires or more expensive tires. Do you want the stretched look or max contact patch? Taking it to the "track" is vague as fuck. You plan on drifting, grip driving or drag racing? Do you plan on rolling or pulling the fenders? These are the questions you should ask yourself first.

[11Past9]

Nothing, its all about personal preference. Do you want cheaper tires or more expensive tires. Do you want the stretched look or max contact patch? Taking it to the "track" is vague as fuck. You plan on drifting, grip driving or drag racing? Do you plan on rolling or pulling the fenders? These are the questions you should ask yourself first.

-I don't want the stretched look
-I want the most grip without crossing the line of reasonable priced tires to SUPER expensive
-I am not going to roll my fenders and want zero rubber to car contact issues
-Track will be drag strip, auto x and maybe a road course

[jspaeth]

I like this question, bc it applies to me too haha.

I too, have not really pushed my car to its limits, but I feel ya.

I have roughly 300 wtq and 360 whp with a GT2871R.

Run 17x9 245/40 17 Kumho Ecsta MX all around.

Car grips really well. Have coilovers, Tanabe Sways, all solid-joint aftermarket suspension links, etc

Long sweeping turns, the car feels pretty neutral, but at times, like the rear end would come out if I pushed it harder.


On short turns, for example, taking a tight offramp at like 30-40 mph, it always feels like it wants to oversteer if I get on it any harder.

I was considering maybe trying to go with a 9.5 or 10-inch wheel in back with 275s or so.....

I don't have enough REAL experience though to tell how the car handles at higher speeds.....but my gut tells me it may oversteer a bit.

This could be in part due to alignment, but I'm not running anything super crazy....normal camber settings and nearly 0 toe all around.....maybe I need some more toe in in the back?

[fliprayzin240sx]

Get yourself some rims with similar specs to GTR rims. 9js +30 to +25 ish offset with some 255s. If you go 17s then 17x9 +25 with 255/40R17 Nitto NT05s or Dunlop Star Specs. If you go 18s then 18x9 +25 with 255/35R18 Star Specs.

[11Past9]

So if I run a 17x9 all around should I run more rubber in the back then the front?

I'm guessing that you're not recommending a staggered set up?

I just want to be able to stick my power, have the wheels look good (I don't need a slammed crazy set up) and stay under the crazy tire price line.

[Firestorm]

i had a staggered setup for two years now and i'm going to switch to 9" all around.

my car just always had a tendency to understeer. with a little toe out in the back the car would understeer going in the corner and oversteer when opening the throttle on the exit. so i hope going equal wheel and tire size all around will make the car feel a little more neutral with a more conservative alignment.

[11Past9]

i had a staggered setup for two years now and i'm going to switch to 9" all around.

my car just always had a tendency to understeer. with a little toe out in the back the car would understeer going in the corner and oversteer when opening the throttle on the exit. so i hope going equal wheel and tire size all around will make the car feel a little more neutral with a more conservative alignment.

So basically a staggered set up means a better turn in with track use but more of a tendency to understeer because of less width up front?

so basically a 17x9 is the way to go?

Do you still want the same sized tire in front as in back?

[jspaeth]

So basically a staggered set up means a better turn in with track use but more of a tendency to understeer because of less width up front?

so basically a 17x9 is the way to go?

Do you still want the same sized tire in front as in back?


This is debatable. I like being able to move the fronts to back and backs to front....i.e. rotating.

The tires I use, Kumho Ecsta MX, are grippy as FUCK....they wear kinda quickly, but not that bad.

And they are CHEAP.....Tire Rack I think mine 245/40/17 are around $130 per tire.


EDIT:

Also, I am running 17x9 +17 Work Emotions on an S14. In my opinion, you really can't get much more flush. My wheel/tires and suspension give AMAZING fitment.....I have it slammed to the point where I can only get one finger between tire and fender lip.

And it is essentially flush (to within like a few mm)......when the suspension travels up, the wheel gains a little camber and the sidewall tucks just barely inside of the lip, clearing it perfectly.

http://makingapril.com/greg/justin/kitfinal/9s.JPG



IMO that's about as flush as you can get without having rubbing, allowing for suspension travel, and not running stretched tires or monster truck ride height

BTW the front fenders are aftermarket fiberglass and are 20 mm overfenders, so aren't as flush. Also, this is with the rear fender lips rolled flat, and some MINOR pull.

[The Hamsterball]

Suspension I've got tokiko blue shocks and s tech springs. I'm on stock turbo (t28) boost comes on hard and fast. The car handles well but I've never really pushed it to see what it's like at the limit.

What would you recommend for a wheel and tire set up? Staggered or not? What would having a bigger rear wheel do? An 18 out back vs a 17 in front.

Okay, you have tokico blues and tein s-tech springs (which have probably one of the lowest if not the lowest spring rates available for spring kits for s14's).
It probably handles like a normal s14 with less body roll, more steering response, and better rebound.

I would say go for a better suspension set up after learning how to drive, although you have a pretty decent set up as it is (maybe add some strut tower bars, c-pillar bar, and other things as it comes along).

If you're going to keep it this way, don't get staggered set up for auto-x or road courses. Just keep your alignment with zero toe. Maybe mess with your shock settings a bit (try having an ever so slightly stiffer stiffer setting in the rear) too. This should make the car neutralized. A VLSD or other type of LSD will seal the deal.

Running 18's in the rear has no advantage except changing the sidewall height of your tires (even if they're the same profile) and making your car slower since it has to rotate a larger diameter wheel.

And if you're going to get 17x9's, why not go 275/40/17? If you want to go 245/40/17, just get 17x8's. It's best to run the maximum amount of rubber for best grip. Also, if you chose between Kumho Ecsta MX 245vs275, there's only like a $20 per tire price difference. Just make sure you get the correct offset that will fit the car (with your current suspension and also with a future set up with better suspension).
I've seen s14's run 275's before with almost no pull (i saw one guy at a meet run 275's, and all he had to do was fold the inner fender lip a bit).
Make sure you get the correct offsets for 17x9 and 275's.

[sincity_sil80]

^^^ima ask this dude questions when it comes to my setup haha.. jk