Trying to figure out what wheels/tires what I should be looking out for. Car is a gutted 96 VW Jetta 2L with $300 total invested thus far. The stock 14" alloys have beefy snows on them so I figure I'm all set for rallycross if I can find some events. For autocross and street driving though I am a bit unsure. Should I try to find some 16" plus lightweight wheels with wider tires or am I better off spending the money on race tires, and no seasons on two sets of cheap 14" alloys?
haven't you heard? the cool thing to do these days is get some 16x10s and stretch some 185s onto them....
Honestly, I'd find some 15s and put some Star Specs on them....good for street, good for track, good for autocross (and surprisingly quiet and smooth-riding when just cruising), and pretty inexpensive in 15" sizes.
TR Motorsport C1
http://www.tirerack.com/wheels/WheelCloseUpServlet?target=wheelCloseUp&wheelMake=TRMotorsport&wheelModel=C1&wheelFinish=Light+Grey+Painted
The E30 15x7 fitment gives you a nice, hubcentric, inexpensive, relatively light wheel (13lbs) with a nice but overly agressive offset.
Best wheel I ever ran on my Scirocco, I liked them so much I found C3's for my Miata when it came time for the new ride.
205/50/15 gives you a good number of options, Dunlops ZII do seem to be the hot ticket, but the new BFG Rival seems to be raising some eyebrows too.
Yes, you are lucky because you're 4x100. Depending on how serious you want to get (id suggest on the less serious side with a stockish car) id either go for 15x7s w/ 205/50 or 15x9 w/ 225/45.
The 15x7s option you could EASILY find used and cheaper than new. The 15x9s you'd definitely be looking at spending 450+ just on wheels for your $300 car, not counting tires. I say get the cheapest wheels first and the lightest wheels second, and then spend real money on good tires.
Vigos right look at used 15x7s before you decide to buy anything new. Comb the classifieds of the honda, and nissan communities (probably some others too), you can get the wheels and tires for the price of the tires.
That said I have an irrational want for some 15x9s for my own car 
I see nobody has mentioned the possibility of running 205/50 15s yet, so I'll mention that you can find lots of good used 15x7 wheels, and there are a ton of tires available in that size.
I did work in G Stock with 225/40/17s Hankook Ventus RS-3s on my Si. Crap I was even competing for top PAX times. Those tires rocked and the extra bit of size helped over stock. I know they offer them in a 16 so maybe that?
That said I have an irrational want for some 15x9s for my own car
Why is this irrational?
I'd like some for the front of my FWD car too!
I see nobody has mentioned the possibility of running 205/50 15s yet, so I'll mention that you can find lots of good used 15x7 wheels, and there are a ton of tires available in that size.
I actually mentioned that exact thing 6 hours earlier but i do the same thing to other people all the time, so youre automatically forgiven.
+1 for 15s or 16s with Z2s, RS3s or BFG Rivals. The RS3 is really more of a track tire (heats up slower, handles high heat better) than the other two.
Vigo wrote:I see nobody has mentioned the possibility of running 205/50 15s yet, so I'll mention that you can find lots of good used 15x7 wheels, and there are a ton of tires available in that size.I actually mentioned that exact thing 6 hours earlier but i do the same thing to other people all the time, so youre automatically forgiven.
I thought he was being facetious.
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