I am more than likely getting a set of volk gt-c's that are 17x8..... the tires are nitto 555s, but not staggared (spelling?).... any thoughts? I couldn't get a reply in the tire forum.... just figured someone might have some info... thanks.

 

if u want looks, it won't make a big difference really. I have 17x8 and 17x7 on my car (GTNs) and am thinking of going 18x7.5 all around as the wheels i want only fit in that size.

I bought my wheels so i could use stockers for the track. I don't drive my car at the limit on the street, so the width thing doesn't bother me.

I guess it's up to you. It's not a big deal. Probably save you $$ as u can rotate tires and get cheaper tires too.

 

bump!

 

If you're just tooling around town, no biggie.
It's not just the wheels, it's the tire size and hence, the tire contact patch. The car was designed to handle with staggered tires/wheels. Without this, at speed, the car may severely wander like a gypsy.

 

I wouldn't recommend it. I had 17x7 wheels all around and so I put 225/45-17 tires all around too and I used my stockers for track use. Unfortunately, this setup through my overall diameter out of whack and so whenever I shifted the car drifted to the left. The faster I went, the harder it pulled. Even shifting at 10mph it noticeably pulled to the left. To correct this I went and changed my tires to 215/45-17(front) and 235/40-17(back) and it worked great. Wasn't too expensive either. This time around, I'm getting staggered wheels and tires.

 

I can say that I did it, and I'm very very pleased.
I've got 18x7.5s all around with 225/40/18.
The car is much more predicatable in handling. I have less understeer, and can push the rear with less effort when needed, so I feel more in-control.
Less "snap" oversteer, that unexpected surprise that can get ya in trouble.
There is no "wandering at all" as long as you get correct offsets, mine are 48.
I also can rotate tires easily
oh, and the car's stance is a little wider, and it feels more stable.
I Have the same overall diameter all around since the tires are all the same size.

I think the staggered setup is a little too extreme. There is too much of a difference in the stock tires since the rears have an extra-special wide track width in comparison to their "225" section width, whereas the front 205s have average tread width. It is in escence like running 205s in th front with 245s in the rear stock...a little extreme for such a fine handling car (the fronts are too skinny).

If you've got any other questions, you can send me a pm.
With the correct offsets, it is a great idea to throw out the staggered setup.

 

I would guess there were other factors (pressures, alignment, tire round) there because the diameter of the tire, in of itself, would not result in that pull. I have 225/40/18's in the rear (25.1-inches) and 205/45/17's in front (24.3-inches) with NEVER a problem with pulling. I even thought I might have an ABS problem with the .8 inch deviation in tire diameter but nothing to date. Getting new tires/wheels soon so it'll be interesting to see how things will feel but the stagger in inches between my current front/rear is very small, no more than half an inch whereas the stock stagger is 1.6-inches so for the most part, I've been running on tires with near-identical tread widths and enjoy it. As I've pointed out before on several other occasions, my MR2 Spyder (which comes with staggered tires as well) was retrofitted with 205/50/16 Yokohama A520's on all four corners and that car was a dream to drive aggressively. I have always felt that Honda, with eyes focused more on the track than the street, overcompensated on the tire stagger suitable for the everyday S2000 and in many cases (in the hands of the Mario wannabes) served up a perfect receipe of false security from those pushing the car's handling limits. It might have served them well to offer a tire option package for those who planned on driving the car extremely hard and perhaps a less aggressive set-up for those who drive spirited, but aren't the type who look forward to doubling or tripling the exit speed of off-ramps. This subject always seems to stir up a debate which usually divides the camps into two categories....those who drive very aggressively and would never mess with the staggers and those who aren't so manic with the car who seem to be doing fine with less stagger due to their chosen tire/wheel package. A LOT of the decision must come down to your experience with RWD platforms and your intent behind the wheel. I tend to shy away from recommending set-ups that I personally, wouldn't have a problem with because what works for me probably would make others nervous. Ask yourself this...if you're going to have fun driving the car but not so much as to push yourself beyond what you think you could handle, you probably can make do with 10-15mm of tread width deviation. If you plan on really shoving your car into each turn, you probably ought to think at least one-inch of stagger in the tread width would be a good thing. You can actually manipulate tread width with wheel width options based on the specs derived from the wheel width used by the manufacturer when determining tread width.
A tire which has a tread width of 8.1-inches (as measured on a 7.5-inch wheel) would actually have a tread width of 8.3-inches if placed on an 8-inch wheel) It might surprise folks to know a 225/40/18 tire on all four corners may not have the same tread width because the rear wheel width might be larger than the front, thus creating more contact patch from those two rear tires despite the fact they're the same section width as the fronts. There is a practical reason why the wheel widths are staggered and that is to support the variation required in tire widths. If you're fooling around with a 205/225 combo, you can use the same width wheel. A 245mm tire, however, will not mount properly on a wheel sized to fit a 205, you'd want to go at least one half-inch higher (say a 17x8 as opposed to a front mounted 17x7.5). The OEM stagger is 1.6 inches only because the rear S0-2 tire is mounted on a wheel one-half inch wider than the 7-inch wheel Bridgestone used to determine the S0-2's specs, which results in a tire tread width 5mm more than usual. For comedic sake, if someone decides to mount his Potenzas on a 16x6.5 wheel, the OEM stagger of 1.6-inches is reduced to 1.1-inches. Are you bored yet?
IOW, just call me the thread killa!

 

the wheel won't cause your car to drift to the left. r u sure u had your centering rings on the car?