Help choosing offset, width etc.
 

I'm buying a set of the Enkei RPF1 rims. Incredible deal really for such a lightweight rim, and since the SF-Winning forged that I dream of are out of my price range now, these are my best bet. I'm for sure going with 17's for several reasons, one big one being cost. Here are my options...

Either 8 or 8.5 width.

30 or 40 offset.

Tire will for sure be a 245/45-17 as this almost exactly works out to stock. With stock being 60mph these will be 60.1mph and only a .2 diameter difference. This is definitely the tire I'm going with (unless a 255 could work out? probably not so on with these...).

I will also be buying the lowered springs set which is 1.3mm front and 1.2mm back drop if I can make these fit on the stock setup. Otherwise I might just get the official Mazdaspeed lowered springs which are very conservative drop at something like .5".

I'm not keen on stretching the tire at all, I want the tire at least flush to the rim or even a bit sticking over the rim wouldn't bother me (old old-school, lol). So, with this in mind, do I want the 8" wide rim then? Or are 245's wide enough to flush an 8.5" rim?

I ***REAAALLY*** want the 30mm offset to work. But the place I'm buying from has a 40mm weaksauce offset option too. I do not know how to roll fenders etc and would really hope to make it fit... even if it means going to a less drop.

So I guess my tire size is pretty much fixed. So the questions are... Rim width: 8 or 8.5? What offset: 30mm or 40mm? Which spring set: the 1.2/3mm or the official mazdaspeed .5" springs?

So far my thought line is 17x8 rim with a 30mm offset on 245x45-17 tires implementing a 1.2mm front and 1.3mm rear drop. Will this work? If not, what do I need to change? The offset or drop?

Thanks for any help. Sorry for a bad pick here on a scoobie, but for reference (the below are 245/40-17x8.5 with 30mm offset)...

http://www.vividracing.com/catalog/w...f1_08STi_1.jpg

Well for one, I wouldn't even consider lowering it unless you're prepared to replace the craptastic OEM dampers...

That said, you're going to be hard-pressed to fit any of those options without some fender massaging.

17x8 et40 is your best bet for ease of fitment, of course.

yeah i would stay with 40 offset. And i would not go any lower then 35.

Ok thanks. I'll get the 8" rim and a 40 offset. I may just skip dropping it altogether for now until I can afford CO's to avoid potential issues.