Wheels: Decided to go with a set of the Ro-Ja / Motegi FF 5 wheels for street driving. They come in an 18x7, but to run 225/40 tires which would be the proper plus size for the upgrade from 17's we had to use either a 18x7.5 or 18x8. The next size up for the FF 5 is an 18x8, so that settled it for us. They are a tight fit on the front, but you could possibly go 18x8.5 on the rear. The offset is +37 and weight 24 lbs each.
Tires: On the tires we wanted to try a set of the Kumho Ecsta Supra 712 with a 280/AA/A rating. We used the 225/40/18 up front. With the 225/40's up front we keep our speedometer the same. As to the rear tires we tried something different and used 245/40/18's. The front tires weight 20.9 lbs each and the rear 22.0 lbs each. With the wheels added we had 44.9 lbs front and 46.0 rear lbs. The stock wheels were weighed at 45.2 lbs.
Well.. We've ran through the front tires. Over 15,000 miles and a year of wear, without rotating due to the staggered setup. If you keep the tires rotated then about 30,000 would be normal maybe even more.
Of course we were not kind to the tires and took great pleasure in pushing them all the time. We were doing the dyno for the Supercharger upgrade and the car got squirmy on the dyno. It dropped off to the right and one of the tires took a good burn to the sidewall, but didn't fail. After that we had to get them replaced.
We decided to try a set of the new Nitto Neo Gen tires. 225/40/18's all around. This isn't a directional tire, but an asymmetrical tread pattern, somewhat like the Yokohama Parada's. Lower noise level though than the Parada and less expensive. These are AA traction wet weather tires. They do not lose grip easily, even with the extra power. Only had them on a week, so we'll update you on our impression.
Suspension: We used B+G Coilovers to upgrade the suspension. These are a great set of coilovers which give a much better feel for the road, but still absorb a lot of the bumps. Installation was fairly easy as we had use of a lift to do most of the work. Overall, we are really impressed and quite pleased. A little bouncing on a road depending on what condition the road is, but it handles and performs in the corners much better. There is little understeer left and much less side sway. The stock sway bar is now more than plenty to keep the front from dipping in a turn, but we went ahead an added a FK Automotive strut bar.
