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I was thoroughly impressed with my Spyder (above) with stock suspension. The ADVAN A052 are pretty sticky, but I think the light weight of the RFP1s makes a big difference too.
I´ve been doing the modifications to mine step by step with as equal conditions ´testing´ before/after. Between brackets because performance apps are not all that accurate nor is the bum and the feel is totally subjective. Ultimately though that feel is the supreme judge; YOÚR feeling rules.

As I deleted the pas early, all feedback from the car has been more direct.

I found the lighter rims to be a noticeable difference in just about every aspect. A very good value for money improvement equalling that of better tyres.
Imo the best rubber for the use and lighter wheels are the two top vfm mods for roadholding.

As to the OEM shocks/springs I think they are the best compromise for real world roads with speed bumps, parking lots et al.
I went Sportivo kit and yes that is a serious improvement in cornering speed but at the price of ground clearance and compliance on rough roads. Unless one pushes the limits, a fresh OEM set is most likely best.
 
I would personally do 17s. wheels size is more about tire selection than anything else. and as 15 and 16in tires seem to be disappearing, 17 are the obvious choice. Even at that, it seems everything is switching to 18 now
 
I don't know that centering rings are required at all, they're just an aid to help you get them... centered.

17 x 7.5 wheels (42 offset) were my choice, after about 2 years of struggling with the decision. After I actually saw them on another member's car at SADAS, the decision was a no-brainer.

Here's the car that inspired me

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And here's where I landed

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As observed the centering rings are just an aid to hop the wheel on the hub.

As to size, it does count but in an inverse relation; The larger the diameter the heavier the wheel. The tyre gets hardly lighter if at all* and the rim gets heavier.
* the steel heel times two gets larger diameter too and is significantly heavier than the sidewall

Also a larger diameter means a lower sidewall and that affects the tyre stability.
Lastly the tyre gets less air volume as rim size increases and that ís an integral part of the suspension.

Luckily there still is a selection of stickies even if they get a bit more expensive, but then they are generally still cheaper than lower section ones for larger rims.

Over here there is even a surprising choice in competition to winter tyres in MR2 sizes. There are two suppliers with FOÚR compound choices even,

I was só tempted to go fringe legal (júst the minimum profile) stickies but they have nóóó grip on either chilly or wet mornings :-(
No use giving links as it EU only.

Bottom line; larger is heavier.
 
I see several folks here have the RPF1 wheels. Do they require centering rings for the Spyder?
Yes the hub hole on RPF1 is 73mm
The hub on MR-S is 54mm
Try KyoEI U7354 centering rings
You cant fit hub caps

MR-S wheel tire weight data
OEM 15x6 185/55 Toyo T1R 14.4kg (31.7lb)
OEM 15x6.5 205/50 Toyo T1R 15.8 kg (34.8lb)

Enkei RPF1 15x7 with 195/50 Toyo R1R 13.1kg (28.9lb)
(15x7 listed as 〜4.6kg bare wheel 10.1lb)

So 7" is ~2.7kg lighter than OEM 6.5"
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Front from above
80306


Even standard wheels can rub liners on high speed bumpy roads (full bump), especially carrying a passenger

Benefit of 7" all atound is being able to swap backs for fronts to even out tyre wear

17" bare wheels are nearly DOUBLE the weight. You will always be able to buy sticky Jap rubber in 15" size because of track/race demand for it
 
Even standard wheels can rub liners on high speed bumpy roads (full bump), especially carrying a passenger
Yup, had that too.
Bumps were not the issue though as they keep speed down a bit; corner speed was the thing; cambered corners and corners in the lower part of an undulating route = centrifugal force and gravity working together, gave the most rubbing.
There is a corner just outside the village combining dip and camber, making it my rub test corner.
I guess most drivers simply don´t flog it through corners fast enough.

17" bare wheels are nearly DOUBLE the weight. You will always be able to buy sticky Jap rubber in 15" size because of track/race demand for it
(y) Quite
 
I'm on Tein springs with Koni's and I found that RPF1's with 15x7 et35 up front with a 205/50 and 15x8et28 with a 225/45 is optimum. (you could also use the 15x7 et41's)
I am also using 2 dot crash bolts in the front and have -2.1deg of camber dialed in.
Handling was amazing on the dragon.
80439
 
Yes the hub hole on RPF1 is 73mm
The hub on MR-S is 54mm
Try KyoEI U7354 centering rings
You cant fit hub caps

MR-S wheel tire weight data
OEM 15x6 185/55 Toyo T1R 14.4kg (31.7lb)
OEM 15x6.5 205/50 Toyo T1R 15.8 kg (34.8lb)

Enkei RPF1 15x7 with 195/50 Toyo R1R 13.1kg (28.9lb)
(15x7 listed as 〜4.6kg bare wheel 10.1lb)

So 7" is ~2.7kg lighter than OEM 6.5"
View attachment 80313

View attachment 80312

Front from above
View attachment 80306

Even standard wheels can rub liners on high speed bumpy roads (full bump), especially carrying a passenger

Benefit of 7" all atound is being able to swap backs for fronts to even out tyre wear

17" bare wheels are nearly DOUBLE the weight. You will always be able to buy sticky Jap rubber in 15" size because of track/race demand for it
What lugnuts are those? Looks nice
Also, are those project kics hub rings? Im trying to figure out if their 54mm rings will fit our 54.1mm hub lol
 
To see how it shifts:

I have RPF1s 15x7 41 offset.
Front 195/55 (will go 185 or 195/50 next time)
-2 camber.
Sportivo kit sits about 1" lower at the front.

Júst rubs when combo cornering HÁRD and undulation,
The liner has a small ´protrusion´ at 11 o´clock when looking at the wheel from the lhs, at 1 o´clock whe looking at it from
the rhs

This is the best photo I have.illustrating the fit (that has no nude girl in it); they are júst inside the car´s outer dimensions.

Show the naked girl, show the naked girl!:p
 
I'm on Tein springs with Koni's and I found that RPF1's with 15x7 et35 up front with a 205/50 and 15x8et28 with a 225/45 is optimum. (you could also use the 15x7 et41's)
I am also using 2 dot crash bolts in the front and have -2.1deg of camber dialed in.
Handling was amazing on the dragon.
Whats the rear camber set at?
 
Uh huh... Those are three different wheels.

How much does a 17 inch RPF1 weigh? About 15 lbs IIRC.

Not double is my point.
17x7 RPF1 43 ET weighs 15.15 lbs, 5.5 pounds more. IMHO this is the best value weight wise wheel for the spyder. Unfortunately they don't meet my taste :(
 
Enkei M52 17x7 weighs 21 lb, more than double the weight of a Enkei 15" RPF1 and almost 6 lbs more than an OEM 15x6.5 rear
Sure does, but I didn't know we were talking about my wheels - which certainly are not double the weight over the stock 16 inch wheel my car came with.

When comparing weight vs. sizes, it's disingenuous at best to compare one model vs. another when it comes to what the end user is actually looking for in a wheel. I like the looks of my wheels, which is why I chose them. Yes, they're a little heavier than stock, but not anywhere near double. Quite frankly, I'm not worried about the weight of my car at all.

I keep hearing about how detrimental all this extra weight is but the fact is my car weighs right at 2250 pounds with all my modifications - roll bar, chassis braces, Battle Version suspension, coilovers, wheels, brakes, intake, mid pipe, exhaust, etc etc etc... I still manage to keep much "faster" and more expensive cars in my rear view mirror though... so there's that. Maybe it's just the quality of the individuals operating those other vehicles, but who knows... or even cares?

I looked at RPF1's during the painstakingly long shopping process... but there are so many of them on so many cars, I just wanted my car to look different. To date, I've not seen another set of M52's mounted on a car.
 
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