Wheel Question

[Steve's Soarer]

My SC300 is undergoing a major overhaul after a nasty fender-bender (local drivers and rain do not mix well, apparently). Two of the semi-decent aftermarket wheels I had on the car were bent beyond repair after kissing the curb (it could've been much worse). So, no better time to upgrade my rolling gear. I've sourced the perfect set of wheels, for which I'm now saving... no details, someone else might go after them. Anywho, I'm going to do things the smart way this time and upgrade my suspension and whatnot before getting carried away in the power department. The new wheels will fit nicely over MKIV Supra TT brakes, and I can move my old front calipers to the back.

Eventually I plan on using this car as my drift sled. I had gotten somewhat decent at it (emphasis on the somewhat) before circumstances forced me to quit, and now that my situation has improved I can once again pursue such occupations. I am well aware that one should have a second set of wheels to put on (at least on the rear) for drift, and I've put out a want ad for a cheap set... but if I could just use the two I have remaining, that would save me a lot of money and headache. Problem is, they're smaller than what will be up front. Is anyone aware of any significant problems that might be caused by having a track setup of something along the lines of 19f/17r? I know it would effect the spedometer, but that's not really an issue on-track anyway. [Remember children, we at DRIFTING.com do not in any way endorse illegal street racing... my lawyer made me say that.]

[caseyman4285]

why dont you put the 17's up front instead they do that kind of thing on mercedes and what not and it look okay not sure how it would look with 2"smaller wheels though...

[Steve's Soarer]

They're gonna be my "beat the hell out of 'em at the track" wheels. As such, I really don't care about appearances too much. I just need to make sure this isn't going to cause some unforeseen performance issues.

[Piner]

well I would just use 17"s for the track and leave the 19"s at home.

If you run the 19's on the front you run the risk of bending those at the track. depends on the track but not all of them have a smooth transistion to the grass when you go off track usually there is a small ditch or curbing that at speed can easily bend a wheel.

performance differences would be negligible except the 17"s might be quite a bit lighter (depends on the wheels) and would give you better feedback plus better road holding on the front with less rotating mass.

so I would buy a full set of really cheap 17's that fit good and use the current 17's combined with the cheap set (as in having 4 for the rears) then use the 19's as your daily wheels

[Steve's Soarer]

Thanks. I kinda figured that would be the way to go, but it's never a bad idea to get a little guidance anyway.

[5spd-SC300]

Originally Posted by Steve's Soarer

My SC300 is undergoing a major overhaul after a nasty fender-bender (local drivers and rain do not mix well, apparently). Two of the semi-decent aftermarket wheels I had on the car were bent beyond repair after kissing the curb (it could've been much worse). So, no better time to upgrade my rolling gear. I've sourced the perfect set of wheels, for which I'm now saving... no details, someone else might go after them. Anywho, I'm going to do things the smart way this time and upgrade my suspension and whatnot before getting carried away in the power department. The new wheels will fit nicely over MKIV Supra TT brakes, and I can move my old front calipers to the back.

Eventually I plan on using this car as my drift sled. I had gotten somewhat decent at it (emphasis on the somewhat) before circumstances forced me to quit, and now that my situation has improved I can once again pursue such occupations. I am well aware that one should have a second set of wheels to put on (at least on the rear) for drift, and I've put out a want ad for a cheap set... but if I could just use the two I have remaining, that would save me a lot of money and headache. Problem is, they're smaller than what will be up front. Is anyone aware of any significant problems that might be caused by having a track setup of something along the lines of 19f/17r? I know it would effect the spedometer, but that's not really an issue on-track anyway. [Remember children, we at DRIFTING.com do not in any way endorse illegal street racing... my lawyer made me say that.]

A few things, as far as drifting, our cars are extremly heavy so with the smaller whells in the back, it will be more difficult to get the proper weight shift at the entry. Also, the front calipers won't fit the rear, even if they did, your break bias would be completely screwed, and lastly, you should use 1995-2000 LS400 front calipers because they only have 6% less stopping power than the TT's but they weight about 5Lbs less. Plus the cost HALF of what TT calipers woud cost.