SSR Type C-RS (good company? 2 piece?)

[Hirudin]

Hello all! I'm trying to make an informed decision regarding wheels (tire decision later, but leaning toward Goodyear F1 All Seasons)...

I've been looking through tirerack.com and am planning to buy the rims, tires, and TPMSs from them and have them mounted, balanced, and shipped as a package. I'm thinking I'll buy the new rims/tires before picking up my MS3 (that is yet to be ordered) so that I can remove and sell the original rims/tires/TPMSs with the absolute minimum of wear.

I'm trying not to let looks influence my decision too much, I'm mostly interested in performance/strength.

-I'll try to keep this short- I know a lot of people question whether different/lighter wheels will make any actual difference in terms of performance. I figure I'll have to buy new tires anyway (for the winter), I'd also like to have 17" wheels (so future replacement tires are cheaper and I have more selection), I'd also like to have 17" wheels to get a little smoother ride...

Here's the wheel I'm focusing on right now...

SSR Type C-RS
$393 + shipping ($30 or so each including the tires)
17" x 7.5"
49mm offset
15.5 lbs
2pc. Semi-Solid Forged

I see that they're 2 piece wheels. I hate to be a total noob, but... what does that mean?
[edit]OK, it's probably something like this... http://www.tirerack.com/wheels/tech/techpage.jsp?techid=145[/edit]

With shipping these are almost as much as the Rays/Mazdaspeed 18"s (which can be had for $432 shipped). Between the 2 should I just go with the Rays?

 

[utopia]

to be completely and truthfully honest (puts flame suit on)

i think the rays are ugly. that's right, i said it. granted they are quality made and nice and all that jazz, i just think they are ugly.

 

[SPEEDYONE]

I guess everyone is different. I love the look of those wheels and am considering getting the same style. The SSR i heard are really good wheels and with a low weight like that you will be shaving of some major poundage.

 

[lasermp5]

I love them, but don't think they work well on the 3 imo. What color is your ms3 going to be, and what color are you planning on getting the wheels in... black?

 

[Young Roids]

Wow, you read my mind. I have been wondering why these are 2 piece since from what I can see they look like one piece wheels. And I was wondering if they are better or worse than Volk forged wheels, I am guessing they are worse. Have you checked out the Enkei RPF1s because I am guessing that the Enkeis are better and cheaper.

 

[Hirudin]

I love them, but don't think they work well on the 3 imo. What color is your ms3 going to be, and what color are you planning on getting the wheels in... black?

I'm very conflicted on the color, the only decision I have set in stone is that I don't want the red (even though I think they look great!). I like the blue the best as a color, but I think as a package the silver looks the best. I also have an inkling that silver will be slightly less... noticeable to certain elements of society from which I do not want to attract attention.

The tire rack has a mock-up of what they'll look like on your car, attached is a picture of them on a silver mz3.

It seems tirerack.com only has the "Anthracite Painted" finish, at least in this size.

By the way, I hate to sound like a commercial. I have no affiliation to tirerack.com.

 

[Hirudin]

...
I was wondering if they are better or worse than Volk forged wheels, I am guessing they are worse. Have you checked out the Enkei RPF1s because I am guessing that the Enkeis are better and cheaper.

I'd imagine the Enkies are not as strong, but they certainly are cheaper... 1/2 price in fact!

Conversely it looks like the SSRs aren't likely to be as strong as the Rays. Also the 2 piece construction probably adds some unneeded weight to the rim of the wheel.

The big thing I don't like about the Enkie is the wheel-width of 7" on the 17" rim. I'd like to put 245/45 17s on to replace the stock 215/45 18s (which is within 1/4 of a percent of the same overall size as the original) and with that size tire they recommend at least a 7.5" width. I'm not thrilled with the 42mm offset either.

Original tire (215/45 18)
Sidewall: 3.81 in
Radius: 12.81 in
Diameter: 25.62 in
Circumf: 80.48 in
Revs/mile: 787.26
New Tire (245/45 17)
Sidewall: 4.34 in
Radius: 12.84 in
Diameter: 25.68 in
Circumf: 80.68 in
Revs/mile: 785.33

Speedometer reading with new tire is 0.25% too slow.
When your speedometer is reading 60mph you are actually traveling 60.15mph.

 

[Young Roids]

^I wish tire rack would list all possible rim widths. Because I think there are more widths of the enkei that would fit the MS3. As for the SSR being stronger I am not sure about that the Enkei uses their M.A.T. process wich is supposed to be very good. While tha SSR is semi solid forged, I don't know if that is the same as a regular forged rim or not. HEre is the list of the sizes. http://www.enkei.com/RacingSeriesSpecs/RPF1.html so it looks like they got a 17x8 in a 35 offset and a 17x 7.5 in a 48 offset.
Onother thing is I don't know of anyone who has successfully fit 245s on a MS3. The widest size I have seen fit is 235. I would also reccomend at least an 8 inch rim for a 245 tire as 7.5 will be cutting it close. And you could even use an 8.5 rim with that size tire wich would be ideal.

 

[stageup]

ssr, work, rays, volk racing are all top quality rims. you can't go wrong with any of those. if you can find some original racing harts, those are great too. just don't get the racing hart EVO line, those are utter s***.

 

[Young Roids]

^ so your saying the new racing harts are garbage? What happened to this company?

 

[Hirudin]

^I wish tire rack would list all possible rim widths. Because I think there are more widths of the enkei that would fit the MS3.
...
Here is the list of the sizes. http://www.enkei.com/RacingSeriesSpecs/RPF1.html so it looks like they got a 17x8 in a 35 offset and a 17x 7.5 in a 48 offset.
...

I had a feeling there were other sizes available but that tirerack may not have been displaying them. I think they're trying to "protect us from ourselves" by not giving too many options.
If you enter that you have a MS3 then it'll only give you 18" or larger wheels as options but if you say you're shopping for an MZ3 then it'll give you 17"s as well. Maybe a third car would be the better to shop with, a miatta or something?

...
As for the SSR being stronger I am not sure about that the Enkei uses their M.A.T. process wich is supposed to be very good. While tha SSR is semi solid forged, I don't know if that is the same as a regular forged rim or not.
...

I bet you're right. I just think "cheap" and "weak" when I see something is cast. Also, being half price you could replace an entire set of bent rims and still break-even compared to the stronger wheels. It's a tough call. Oh, I suppose they'd be less desirable to steal and less to replace if they were stolen... definitely a plus.

...
Onother thing is I don't know of anyone who has successfully fit 245s on a MS3. The widest size I have seen fit is 235. I would also reccomend at least an 8 inch rim for a 245 tire as 7.5 will be cutting it close. And you could even use an 8.5 rim with that size tire wich would be ideal.

I was wondering about that. I did a quick search but one way or another I didn't find anything conclusive that said 245s wouldn't work. Have you seen people who said they tried 245s but they rubbed?

Thanks for the recommendation about 7.5" being too small.
245mm is 9.65in
235mm is 9.25in
So maybe 8" wide rims would be better for 235s also? [edit]Or, do you pretty much want as narrow as possible, to save weight?[/edit]

 

[Hirudin]

Here's the RPF1 17 x 7.5 114.3 48mm on tirerack. Found by searching for a Mazda5 Sport. 15.2 lbs, $235 each.
http://www.tirerack.com/wheels/Whee...=Enkei+Racing+Series&filterNew=All&sort=Brand

 

[ill_eagle94]

They look good. What happened to CRS meaning can't remember sh**? (lol)

 

[stageup]

^ so your saying the new racing harts are garbage? What happened to this company?

Racing Harts are made by Takechi corp in Japan (similar to Rays). They're forged, whether multi-piece or monoblock.

The name Racing Hart Evolution was sold to Dazz Motorsports. Dazz contracts the manufacturing of most RHE wheels to Prime wheels. And we all know how bad PRIME wheels are

 

[fourthmeal]

Many things to address here...

Cast metal being weak? I guess our engine is weak then. Everything is cast, just about. forging is better, but it also is far trickier and more expensive. You do want to at least cold-roll the rim, IMO.

The tires you'll be able to use depends a bit on the OFFSET, which needs to be quite high (48mm+) to achieve the right fit with the car. Wider tire means the wheel needs to be tucked in a bit more.

I'm all about using a 245 size tire, but you'll need a very high offset to pull this off. ALSO, you are COMPLETELY defeating the purpose of a wider tire by going to a lower quality tire. You mention that you'd like to swap to a goodyear allseason, but you must remember that your choice of tire needs to be a careful one. With a car pushing this much horsepower through 2 front wheels, my suggestion is to get the very best summer tire you can fit within your budget.

Our stock tire is very, VERY good. It is O.E. equipment on Porsches. Stepping down will result in a significant downgrade in performance, which you said is important to you. Also, swapping to a 17" wheel, while being lighter by a bit, will result in a much slower-to-react car, unless you also use a very stiff sidewalled tire (defeating your wish for a smoother ride.)

What I am saying, in essense, is that your wish to go to a 17" is not a bad idea, but it comes with penalties of its own. If you are drag racing, or just cruising, then you'll be fine provided you stick with (no pun intended) some high traction, summer rubber. But, you need to hunt down a tire that has some serious sidewall stiffness and a certain design criteria if you don't want to lose your transitional response agility, etc. Take a look on tirerack at the testing performance graphs. Try to look for a tire that shows excellent transitional reponse.

An 18" tire on this car is ideal because the suspension is tuned to accomodate it. If a harsh ride is your nemesis, then consider going to a progressive spring like the Mazdaspeed ones, so the first portion of travel is smoother, then it gets stiffer when the car needs it most. Our shocks are quite stiff as-is, and might be some of the issue. In this case, not much will help it except for you to get used to it.

Final thought: If you are not already aware, it is FAR better to have a high-traction, narrow tire then a wide low-traction tire.

 

[Sacrilicious]

actually, if you check tirerack, you'll see that the goodyear F1 numbers are REALLY competitive as compared to the top summer tires. it's made me seriously question why i'm using my RE050A's at all...

i posted somewhere in here with links to the performance tests, so i'll link it when i find it.

EDIT: here we go: http://www.mazdas247.com/forum/showthread.php?t=123684160

 

[fourthmeal]

LOL,. just when I want to go into TIRERACK, their DNS server is messed up or something like that.

I'll check it out later. Great find, BTW. I've had horrible luck with Goodyear tires, but they do spend the research and development money well, so maybe things have changed. I've always been happy with Bridgestone, BFG, and - wait for it - Hankook.

 

[Sacrilicious]

haha...ya, i did a double-take when i saw the numbers too, but the two tests were run with the same car on the same track, so i'm really at a loss...=/ unless i find out otherwise, i think i might have to go with F1's when my RE050A's die on me...

 

[MS3]

Goodyear GSD3 F1 tires are excellent on the street in both dry and wet weather. I have them on another car. They don't hold up well on the track though, i.e. one or two good track days and they will probably be damaged. The other small complaint is that they're a little heavier than many of the high performance tires you might cross shop them with. For my MS3 I decided to go with 225/40/18 Michelin PS2's which are ~3 lbs lighter per tire than GSD3's, if I remember correctly.

 

[Sacrilicious]

the thing that annoys me about the michelins is that they always cost way more than any of the other brands cause they use two different compounds on their tires...it really starts adding up when you have to get 4x of them!