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Rota Titan?

felopr

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Hey guys, have anyone of you ran a 214/45 with this wheels (7x7.5) or any wheel for that matter fit on stock height?
 


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So over a year after I posted in this thread that I was going to get a set of these I finally did it. I ended up going with the 17x8" with the 40 offset. The tires are S.Drives 225/35r17's. I really wanted to get more tread to the ground. I know most everyone goes with the 215/40r17's but I preferred the slightly lower overall diameter as opposed to going larger. Even though they are only a 35 series tire because of the width the sidewall is only .1" smaller than the stockers. I love the overall wider stance now. Super happy with it so far. I have one more winter to go through here in Michigan with the FiST as my DD so next spring I will be looking at coilovers to drop it slightly and adding some aero. [tongue]
 


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RAAMaudio

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Pretty good fit as the sidewall specs versus the actual measurements and real world fitment on an 8" wheel, actually 9" rim flange to flange worked out for a little stretch and with a relatively short sidewall they should have pretty good turn in and feedback.

I almost always recommend a 205 and at max a 215 on an 8" wheel but also to go by the real specs and this worked out pretty well for you even if not doing so.

Let us know how they ride, road noise, etc compared to the stock tires.

Rick
 


jeff

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I almost always recommend a 205 and at max a 215 on an 8" wheel but also to go by the real specs and this worked out pretty well for you even if not doing so.

Rick
Tell me the science behind this. I just ordered a set of Rota Grids which are the same 40 offset, 17x8 as the Titans we're discussing. I have 215/40/17 tires, I hoped to find 17x7.5 but it's not possible without ordering from overseas so I'm content with the 17x8. Curious to your preference of 215 over 225 as I was thinking of going 225 for my next set so that I have less rim protruding. It's not bad with the 215s, but it does look a little stretched and my main concern is rock chips damaging the exterior rim of the wheel since the tires aren't protecting it.

Thanks Rick!!!
 


RAAMaudio

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Many of the tires we would look at for this car are on Tirerack but sometimes have to go to the manf website or other sources to get the real specs.

Sidewall markings which are listed on most sites are not the rear specs other that rim diameter, the actual tread width and section width and less so but sometimes diameter can be far off from those numbers. I have ran 205s that are wider than some 225s and the 195 BFG Comp II is even as wide as most and wider than many 205's, might be as wide as some 225's.

On few occasions a particular tire might work well on a rather narrow rim but one has to really dig in to find out and usually they have a stiffer sidewall which will result in a firmer ride so that needs to be taken into consideration.

I found 17's just to tall for this car as all the tires ride pretty harshly so prefer 16 or 15" wheels which picking the right ones will save some weight but for those that just have to run 17's due to stock wheels or just prefer them then finding the best fitment and ride can be quite a challenge.

When picking tires and more so wheels because of the drastic differences in weight one can find I go for what does the job the best and keep the weight as low as possible.

Look at these specs when picking tires.

-Wheel size of course in diameter but width, always run the widest you can fit under this car which is going to be 8" in nearly all cases.

-Actual tread width, keep it slightly under or at the rim width as measured inside the bead so and 8" listed wheel, which is really 9" wide in total width, go by the 8" measurement when picking tires.

-Actual section width, some have really wide section width, some narrower, this can effect how they look on the wheel, how the tread is supported, etc, less important in most cases than tread width.

-Actual diameter to match speedo or a bit taller, shorter, etc for ones particular needs.

-Weight, go as light as you can in tires that fit your needs, as in wheel weight tire weight is a huge factor in all aspects of performance including braking, ride quality and wear on the chassis.


------

There are exceptions for extreme cases like in many autocross setups one can be faster on wider than what would be optimal for the rim width but it will most likely result in less precise handling on the road at higher speeds and more so on a race track.
 


jeff

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Thanks. The 205s are way too stretched for a 17x8 for my liking. Any that I’ve seen anyway.

I hear you about the 16s, just not a fan of that look, makes the car look like a 2005 ford rally car. The 17s fill the fender well very nicely.

Iirc both the rota grid and titan 17x8 are 17.8 lbs.

Many of the tires we would look at for this car are on Tirerack but sometimes have to go to the manf website or other sources to get the real specs.

Sidewall markings which are listed on most sites are not the rear specs other that rim diameter, the actual tread width and section width and less so but sometimes diameter can be far off from those numbers. I have ran 205s that are wider than some 225s and the 195 BFG Comp II is even as wide as most and wider than many 205's, might be as wide as some 225's.

On few occasions a particular tire might work well on a rather narrow rim but one has to really dig in to find out and usually they have a stiffer sidewall which will result in a firmer ride so that needs to be taken into consideration.

I found 17's just to tall for this car as all the tires ride pretty harshly so prefer 16 or 15" wheels which picking the right ones will save some weight but for those that just have to run 17's due to stock wheels or just prefer them then finding the best fitment and ride can be quite a challenge.

When picking tires and more so wheels because of the drastic differences in weight one can find I go for what does the job the best and keep the weight as low as possible.

Look at these specs when picking tires.

-Wheel size of course in diameter but width, always run the widest you can fit under this car which is going to be 8" in nearly all cases.

-Actual tread width, keep it slightly under or at the rim width as measured inside the bead so and 8" listed wheel, which is really 9" wide in total width, go by the 8" measurement when picking tires.

-Actual section width, some have really wide section width, some narrower, this can effect how they look on the wheel, how the tread is supported, etc, less important in most cases than tread width.

-Actual diameter to match speedo or a bit taller, shorter, etc for ones particular needs.

-Weight, go as light as you can in tires that fit your needs, as in wheel weight tire weight is a huge factor in all aspects of performance including braking, ride quality and wear on the chassis.


------

There are exceptions for extreme cases like in many autocross setups one can be faster on wider than what would be optimal for the rim width but it will most likely result in less precise handling on the road at higher speeds and more so on a race track.
 


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I spent countless hours trying to find exactly what I wanted over the last two years. I didn't get it done last spring and the Potenzas were done so I got a set of cheap Riken Raptors in the stock size on the stock wheels. Only ran them last summer and the last couple of weeks this year. Ok for the money. What I wanted to get with the new setup is the widest stance possible without having to modify the fenders along with the largest contact patch (tread width) while still being as light as possible and staying as close to stock diameter as possible. This was literally the only setup to get what I wanted. The 40 offset of the wheels allows the much wider width to fit. They are about 6mm closer to the suspension on the inside and about 18mm further out compared to stock. As for weight I am about 5-6 lbs lighter per corner than stock. Oh, and I think they look great too. [biggrin]
As for impressions so far, I had it on the highway yesterday and it tracks beautifully. The turn in actually scarred me at first. The Rikens definitely lost some there compared to the Potenzas. Even more like a go kart now. Road noise is about par with the Potenzas, maybe a hair more. Yes it is firm, again maybe a little more than stock. You pay for it on rough roads but it's glorious on good roads. It's exactly what I expected and wanted. I have yet to drive it on any good twisty roads but I expect great things. [wiggle]
 


M-Sport fan

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^^^Yes, you would have a higher overall diameter (by about the same amount as you went lower than the factory O.D.), and yes they are ALL only 200 tread wear and less, AND much more co$tly tires than what you may have wanted to spend on them, and to deal with the accelerated wear for street use, but there ARE 215/40s out there which ARE the same tread width, or slightly wider than those s.Drives. ;) (Star Spec 2s/3s, etc.)
 


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^^^Yes, you would have a higher overall diameter (by about the same amount as you went lower than the factory O.D.), and yes they are ALL only 200 tread wear and less, AND much more co$tly tires than what you may have wanted to spend on them, and to deal with the accelerated wear for street use, but there ARE 215/40s out there which ARE the same tread width, or slightly wider than those s.Drives. ;) (Star Spec 2s/3s, etc.)
Absolutely. By the time these S.Drives wear out the FiST will be just a weekend summer toy and not my DD anymore. At that time I will definitely be looking at a higher end summer/track tire.

A question to all, do you guys think I should get my alignment checked? It tracked fine on the highway but I know that doesn't necessarily mean anything. I am over 64K and have never had it checked since buying it. The Potenzas and my winter setup have even wear but I noticed slightly uneven wear on the Raptors. Thanks for the input [cool]
 


RAAMaudio

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Again the actual measurements mean far more than the sidewall/listed sizes of many tires, I have 205/50/15 NeoGen on 15x8 for my AS setup and they look just as wide as most 225's because they are. I have had 235/40/17 on 17x8 that fit perfectly, just a slight bit of stretch, obviously a rather narrow 235. I had 225 Hoosier slicks on 15x9 that looked like they needed a 15x10 to fit right, super wide, could not get them under the rear of the car with rolled and pulled fenders and added camber but the 225 Rival S and RA1 tires fit just fine. Just a few examples of the differences in real measurements versus sidewall numbers.

I always want the widest contact patch I can get but that does not mean I will pick the widest sidewall number tire for the application.

----------

Want bronze?
Flow formed and stronger than heat treated cast?
Even less weight?
Very reasonable cost?

Does require 4x100 conversion but that can be done with a bit of elbow grease and a bit of money but opens up many more wheel choices as well.



http://www.good-win-racing.com/Mazda-Performance-Part/61-2072.html

I personally think 17's just look to big on the car, to much like the big wheel fad to me and technically they are the wrong wheel size when one looks at all aspects of proper wheel and tire fitment, 16's are just better in many ways. The only merit of the 17's on this car is the style which is less important to me than actual performance of the vehicle in all aspects.

That is cool if you want to run them of course, it is your car, do as you will, I will just continue posting the reality of the situation for those that might not of considered everything involved in setting up a car for the best overall results:)

AND, I will post up info on where to find really good 17's when I find it for those that want them:):)
 


M-Sport fan

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Thinking that 17s look too big for this car is FINE, but again, it IS an opinion.
(That one cannot find the zero gravity feathers you DEMAND in that diameter is a whole 'nother 'kettle o' fish' ;) ).

Yup, it IS on an all out racing/rally vehicle, and yes, it IS mainly because it is the ONLY way which they can fit brakes big enough for their needs under them, but the WRC cars use 18s for their tarmac spec setups, and they look just FINE to me. [thumb] [wink] [driving]

(BTW; some of those tarmac special stages are on some of the roughest, most broken up roads anywhere, so despite the adjustments they can make to their dampers/suspensions, the anti-short sidewall argument goes out the window!)
 


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alexrex20

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Those S-drives look perfect on your 17x8s. Yokohama approves 7.5-9in for that tire so it doesn't really matter what anyone says on the Internet, no matter how redundant and long-winded.

Let us know how they perform compared to your previous tires. Were they the stock Potenzas?

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk
 


RAAMaudio

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Some are so clueless it is not even funny:(

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Look at how many years it has taken to get decent wheels and tires for most uses in 17 that fit under the car.
16's would give more options(not as many as I wish there were of course) save some weight and still look good and fit over the off the shelf BBKs.
IF the car had a bit more wheel well area, wider fender flares and a more universal bolt pattern, etc then 17's would of been an easier option but there really was no need for 17's other than marketing.

I have had two sets of 17's, one 16 and 7 or 8 sets of 15's though would of preferred 16's if the right ones were available when I built the car at 273 miles starting 4+ years ago.

There is simply far to much logic, reason and physics involved to counter any reason for 17's over 16's except style, unfortunately still not a great deal of good 16" tires to pick from either.
 


M-Sport fan

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^^^There is exactly ONE 16x8 option right now for these cars for those who do NOT want to do your "requisite/cannot live without it" hub conversion, and if someone by some odd chance does NOT love that style (I do love it, BTW), they are S.O.L. for that option. :(

Truthfully, IF I am going to ever do a hub conversion to this car, it will be a 5 BOLT setup from Tim O'Neil Motorsports so that I can use those bombproof (but of course, 3+ times way too heavy for YOU, and others on here) 'disc' style M-Sport OZed rally spec wheels they bring in/carry to handle cratered winter roads and rally stage roads when working them. ;)
 


RAAMaudio

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I know, I tried to get 16x8 and though not liked by me 17x8 flow formed wheels made for this car way back in 2014, 2015, 2016...even though I had already gone to the 4x100 and many sets of wheels and tires in 15's so others could get what they wanted and as mentioned fit over BBK's.

Since I "had" to have BBKS, light wheels, wider tires.....I spent a considerable amount of money and a couple hundred hours of work to make it happen so I might not of switched to 16's unless a 9" wide one came out as I had already done the work to make that happen in 15's as well.

I have done some rally stuff, not big time but hard enough to break the bead off, nearly T boned trees at 100 MPH, etc....real rally tough wheels are a good thing:)

Full time RV now but building a mini shop, 8x12, I can have moved or tow to the next spot myself I no longer can do so many fun mods so have to live with what I have. Since the car did not sell, parked for months with a blown head gasket, I am going to swap in a good used 2015 engine soon and might detune it a bit as in hybrid type turbo, smaller IC, delete the WMI, maybe sell the whole suspension/rear axle mod/BBKS and last set of 15x9s....

Where else can I sell a few things and own a still nicely modded little high MPG fun to drive car with 21000 miles on it and perfect maintenance and well as only tracked twice and never abused stupidly with so little work to do and no car payments, etc.? :)
 


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Those S-drives look perfect on your 17x8s. Yokohama approves 7.5-9in for that tire so it doesn't really matter what anyone says on the Internet, no matter how redundant and long-winded.

Let us know how they perform compared to your previous tires. Were they the stock Potenzas?

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk
I replaced the Potenzas with Riken Raptors last summer. Ran the stock wheels with the Raptors for a couple of weeks this year before the new setup. Day and night difference from the Raptors. Turn in is go-kart like now. Starting to get used to it. Much better traction. No real enthusiastic driving yet. Very firm of coarse which I was expecting and don't mind. Noise is about the same or slightly less than the Potenzas, definitely less than the Raptors. All in all exacting what I wanted in terms of performance and aesthetics.

I considered 16's but there was nothing I liked that fit the bill. I personally don't like the look of 15's on our car. I was absolutely looking at actual tire dimensions to get exactly what I wanted. While there are a few 215/40r17 tires with a wide contact patch I prefer the slightly smaller overall diameter of my setup. [raceflag]
 


alexrex20

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Some are so clueless it is not even funny:(

--------

Look at how many years it has taken to get decent wheels and tires for most uses in 17 that fit under the car.
16's would give more options(not as many as I wish there were of course) save some weight and still look good and fit over the off the shelf BBKs.
IF the car had a bit more wheel well area, wider fender flares and a more universal bolt pattern, etc then 17's would of been an easier option but there really was no need for 17's other than marketing.

I have had two sets of 17's, one 16 and 7 or 8 sets of 15's though would of preferred 16's if the right ones were available when I built the car at 273 miles starting 4+ years ago.

There is simply far to much logic, reason and physics involved to counter any reason for 17's over 16's except style, unfortunately still not a great deal of good 16" tires to pick from either.
I believe that you believe you're right.

Nevermind that we were discussing rim width and "recommended" tire width. Who brought up diameter? Get over yourself.
 


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