19” staggered for HPDE?

[RE36TRO]

This holiday season I am thinking about upgrading my current wheels on my E92 M however, I am also looking into getting into Auto x driving events as I have not yet experienced the hobby.

That said I intend to utilize the car as a dual purpose street/track vehicle. I’d like to stick with 19” staggered possibly ARC-8’s as they visually look slightly better on this chassis. Will this hinder the track aspect and if so to what extent? I will obviously be just a beginner and realistically doing events perhaps 3-5 times per year if that. Of course who’s to say I won’t totally fall in love and want to go as much as possible. Either way, I love both street aesthetics as well as functionality. Hopefully i can still pull off both.

[DRLane]

19" won't hinder any performance but 18" wheels have more tire options, better performance options, and much lower tire prices.

I'd go 18" for track / XC. There are an abundance of Apex wheels on this forum for less than $1k. Use Shipnex to ship and it's quite reasonable ($125-$150 without tires).

Keep existing wheels for the street.

[Kelse92]

18” wheels have more tire options. Go that route. I kept my 19’s and DD on them, and if I have any issues with my track set of wheels the 19’s have been on hand and have been handy. They were fine on track with my PS4s, just not something you should do on a regular basis

[dogbone]

All great advice from DRLane. If you have room and can afford to keep a dedicated track set of wheels, your experience driving on the street will be much better because you won’t be chewing up your street tires at the track. And you can drive a more track focused set of tires at the track.

If you get a set of track rims, consider going with a square setup (all rims and tires the same size). This allows you to easily rotate the wheels around the car and extend the life of the tires. (This is my preferred setup with my three sets of track wheels.)

[RE36TRO]

Great advice so far all, yes my initial plans are possibly a 18x10 ET25 ARC-8 setup w/ 275/35 squared, perhaps RE-71's. But it's good to know that if it ends up I make it out only 1-2 times a year, 19's won't be taboo.

[Ximian]

Consider the EC7 as they allow for better BBK fitment at that size compared to the ARC8s.

[roastbeef]

keep your existing wheels/tires for the street and get a set of 18's for the track.

[RE36TRO]

Originally Posted by roastbeef

keep your existing wheels/tires for the street and get a set of 18's for the track.

Agreed - however it’s an attempt to kill 2 birds with 1 stone. Lose the stockers (non-ZCP’s) and have a nice set for the street AND upgraded track tires

[roastbeef]

you might actually like the way the 18's drive on the street better than 19's. you could really kill two birds with one stone with 18's and not realize it.

[Kelse92]

Originally Posted by RE36TRO

Agreed - however it’s an attempt to kill 2 birds with 1 stone. Lose the stockers (non-ZCP’s) and have a nice set for the street AND upgraded track tires

I have 3 sets of wheels lol
But if I had to only reduce down to one set it would be 18x10.5 square. 18x10 square if I was still on stock suspension

[RE36TRO]

Thinking of taking advantage of the Apex BF sale and going with 19x10 squared. As much as I want to get into autox, reality is 1-3 times per year max.

[RE36TRO]

Originally Posted by roastbeef

you might actually like the way the 18's drive on the street better than 19's. you could really kill two birds with one stone with 18's and not realize it.

Fair...and I probably would, but for some reason it's a hard pill for me to swallow paying for aftermarket while bumping down diameter from stock being I feel the chassis matches to this size aesthetically. As mentioned below, I may do 19x10 squared just to satisfy both wants if I'm not hindering performance...not to mention being 'that guy' on the track.

[roastbeef]

Originally Posted by RE36TRO

Fair...and I probably would, but for some reason it's a hard pill for me to swallow paying for aftermarket while bumping down diameter from stock being I feel the chassis matches to this size aesthetically. As mentioned below, I may do 19x10 squared just to satisfy both wants if I'm not hindering performance...not to mention being 'that guy' on the track.

aesthetically, yes, 19's look great.
secondary to that, i'd argue that going with 19's with the track in mind is hindering performance. it seems like it is slightly easier to keep pressure in the right range (temperature) with less wheel and more tire. diameter wise, there is still something there- its just tire instead of wheel.
another benefit of 18's is the tire has more body to it to act like a "spring" and behaves more like a suspension component rather than a rubber band on a wheel. berms and imperfections on both the road and track become more pronounced with less tire.

now, take that above statement as theory and opinion, but i think most people will back me on that. there is a compromise with 19's, otherwise, people would more commonly run 19's.

you can still get high performance out of 19's. all the heavy hitters (porsche, mclaren, etc..) at track days have 19's, but they also have massive carbon brakes and massive wheel wells so they don't have to compromise with sidewall height like we would. i think this also helps with tire carcass temperature management because they have more tire everywhere.

getting back to your original question- yes, you can upgrade to potentially lighter weight 19's and gain performance. you can also upgrade to 18's and have more performance.

[DRLane]

Originally Posted by roastbeef

aesthetically, yes, 19's look great.
secondary to that, i'd argue that going with 19's with the track in mind is hindering performance. it seems like it is slightly easier to keep pressure in the right range (temperature) with less wheel and more tire. diameter wise, there is still something there- its just tire instead of wheel.
another benefit of 18's is the tire has more body to it to act like a "spring" and behaves more like a suspension component rather than a rubber band on a wheel. berms and imperfections on both the road and track become more pronounced with less tire.

now, take that above statement as theory and opinion, but i think most people will back me on that. there is a compromise with 19's, otherwise, people would more commonly run 19's.

you can still get high performance out of 19's. all the heavy hitters (porsche, mclaren, etc..) at track days have 19's, but they also have massive carbon brakes and massive wheel wells so they don't have to compromise with sidewall height like we would. i think this also helps with tire carcass temperature management because they have more tire everywhere.

getting back to your original question- yes, you can upgrade to potentially lighter weight 19's and gain performance. you can also upgrade to 18's and have more performance.

Fully agree with Roastbeef!

OP I think you'd be surprised at how subtle the difference is visually between 18 and 19.

My BBS CHR 19s (255/295) PS2 worked great for my first year tracking. Was able to get 10 days in with various groups in Colorado (BMW, NASA, SCCA, 3RRacing) without too much drama. Had one over zealous event spinning off the track at >60pmh and rolled the beads on the driver side of the car. Luckily the 3R Racing tech team was able to get be back together. Now I'm running AS tires on these wheels to disincentivize driving aggressive on the streets and save speed for the track...

End of season I got Titan7, 18" as dedicated track wheels with RRs (275/295).

[RE36TRO]

Originally Posted by roastbeef

aesthetically, yes, 19's look great.
secondary to that, i'd argue that going with 19's with the track in mind is hindering performance. it seems like it is slightly easier to keep pressure in the right range (temperature) with less wheel and more tire. diameter wise, there is still something there- its just tire instead of wheel.
another benefit of 18's is the tire has more body to it to act like a "spring" and behaves more like a suspension component rather than a rubber band on a wheel. berms and imperfections on both the road and track become more pronounced with less tire.

now, take that above statement as theory and opinion, but i think most people will back me on that. there is a compromise with 19's, otherwise, people would more commonly run 19's.

you can still get high performance out of 19's. all the heavy hitters (porsche, mclaren, etc..) at track days have 19's, but they also have massive carbon brakes and massive wheel wells so they don't have to compromise with sidewall height like we would. i think this also helps with tire carcass temperature management because they have more tire everywhere.

getting back to your original question- yes, you can upgrade to potentially lighter weight 19's and gain performance. you can also upgrade to 18's and have more performance.

Originally Posted by DRLane

Fully agree with Roastbeef!

OP I think you'd be surprised at how subtle the difference is visually between 18 and 19.

My BBS CHR 19s (255/295) PS2 worked great for my first year tracking. Was able to get 10 days in with various groups in Colorado (BMW, NASA, SCCA, 3RRacing) without too much drama. Had one over zealous event spinning off the track at >60pmh and rolled the beads on the driver side of the car. Luckily the 3R Racing tech team was able to get be back together. Now I'm running AS tires on these wheels to disincentivize driving aggressive on the streets and save speed for the track...

End of season I got Titan7, 18" as dedicated track wheels with RRs (275/295).

Thanks guys, yes I'm now leaning towards the 18x10, 275/35 setup running perhaps RE-71's. Curious what coils are you guys running? I am looking into the KW CS, TCK or far fetched...JRZ DA.

[DRLane]

Originally Posted by RE36TRO

Thanks guys, yes I'm now leaning towards the 18x10, 275/35 setup running perhaps RE-71's. Curious what coils are you guys running? I am looking into the KW CS, TCK or far fetched...JRZ DA.

Running JRZs, the RS 2 way with race camber plates. They're noiser than stock EDC suspension so be aware of that. Can't speak to what's ideal for autoX.

[Kelse92]

Originally Posted by RE36TRO

Thanks guys, yes I'm now leaning towards the 18x10, 275/35 setup running perhaps RE-71's. Curious what coils are you guys running? I am looking into the KW CS, TCK or far fetched...JRZ DA.

I have KW CS, only reasoning was because of the price. They are easy to pickup used and new with some vendor discounts I get through friends still the cheapest whole kit. MCS would be my choice if I wanted to be a bit spendier on them