Thoughts? Anyone know what size is optimal for the tC? FYI, a 15x7 can support a 225/45R15 race tire nicely.

 

depends on what you want out of them for classification. Smaller wheels generally weigh less which is always good, and lighter wheels of the same size generally cost more, but perform better.

16's will have better rubber choices overall, but less width, but you may not need very wide tires depending on what class you want to stay within. 15's have limited width tire selection, but a huge amount of choices for the given sizes.

17x8.5" has some really nice 245 R-comps available for that size, but it'll throw you straight into SM class.

STS Class is limited to 7.5" wheel. STX & STU is limited below 245 series tires.

to stay in stock class, you have to keep 17x7 and can go up to .5" different tire size compared to stock, which would be a maximum of 225's. You could always get a nice lightweight set of 17x7's with 225 R-comps and do fairly decent in HStock.

--Joe

 

Braking in auto X is important.. BB kits require a 17" wheel at least.

So i'd say 17x7.5 for the wheel. That is just my opinion though.

 

^^ exactly what i was going to say


to go with a bbk or even upgraded rotors you will need at least a 17 inch wheel.

 

but isn't there stock caliper issues with 15" wheels?

 

Really??? Little Celica brakes?

 

I was just asking, sheesh.

 

With the style of driving that is in autocross, a big brake kit is not a money wise choice.
Our brakes do a fine job of stopping the wheels from turning. A normal autocross is from 35-65 seconds long and you may only have 7-8 breaking areas. And you have 10 minutes in between runs about. So heat is not an issue. A big brake kit would only be needed if the stock kit is unable to get the wheels to the point of lock up (or ABS hitting in our case), and I doubt anyone has issues with our breaks not slowing them down.

Since heat is not an issue, a BBK would be fairly pointless for autocross.
Now if you are running a track, yeah a BBK would be nice. 20 minutes of hard breaking on stock breaks would probably bring you to a point where lock up (ABS) is impossible to hit. And that really is the determining factor.

 

Good point.

I guess it really depends on what you want to do with your car, but I find many people who auto X, also go to the track.

 

Yes, it's true. So guys...give me some ideal tire sizes/ wheel specs for the tC for 15, 16, and 17 inch sizes. Anyone, Anyone?

 

I would go with a 17x7.5. and the standard 45 mm offset.

As for tires? Well there are many to choose from.

Falken, Kuhmo, Hanguk, Yokohama, Nitto, Goodyear...

All the tire companies make a good z rated or better tire with silicon compound rubber.

I'm partial to Falken and have them on my tC now. Nitto just came out with a new tire with some crazy name.. But i haven't seen or heard and road test and reviews on it, But at least they're expensive.

 

Since as you mentioned, the stock hubs are off of a Celica so 15" wheels should fit over them but in order to maintain the total diameter, you'll need some pretty thick tires and I don't know if that much side wall is desireable.

Also consider that with smaller wheel diameters, it's also tougher to find wider wheels. I don't think there are many 15" wheels that go wider than 7". In fact, it'd be rare to find a 16" wheel at 7" wide.

Btw, are you familiar with the tC enough to run in a higher class? Swapping for smaller lighter wheels are going to pit you in a tougher crowd.

 

Know enough about racing...as for the tires...I was looking for size recommendations, not brand. And you can easily get a 15x7 and fit a 225. Not that that would be the right way to go necessarily on THIS car, but it is an option.

 

What class are you looking to run? If you go to a 15 you wont be in stock class, and unless you have alot of other mods, you will be killed in the class it will throw you in.
Run a 225/45/17 It is your best bet. Try and find the LIGHTEST rim possible, but it must stay within stock specs.

I autocross and am way out of stock class, and its extremely hard to keep up. I am running against cars that kill me in the SM class.

 

oh wow. SM is a bad class to be in for us. you just need like a CF hood and pow you're right into SM. worst classification system ever in some cases.

i'm still in STS. i'm trying to find some lighter wheels now for autox to stick with some azenis (the most popular tire ever apparently) but i'm having no such luck finding some for not-so-expensive.

brakes are definitely not an issue in the least, to comment on the posts above. they work perfectly fine stock.

 

16x7.5? i actually have no clue, but that's a shot in the dark, should keep you in the right class if i'm following what those guys said


otherwise... i'd go for the wheels im looking at... hanabis 17x7.5 @ 16.9lb/wheel


I'm sure 17x8 is rather desirable... but those get a bit more expensive and, like they said, will throw you outta your class.

 

I run 17X7 motegi Track_lite wheels that have a weight of around 14.5 lbs and I mounted 245/45 17 V710 Kumho race tires.

This is the combo that helped me come in 2nd in HS class for the year and 3rd overall in the drivers standings out of 100+ drivers.

225 were ok but I still got a lot of wheel spin and abs activity. The 245s let me get on the gas a lot earlier and the brakes a lot later.

If you stay in stock class 245s are the way to go.