emerilnut

Greetings, everyone, long time lurker and this is one of my first posts.

2010 Journey Sedan RWD, not S and not X. Have stock 17x7.5 triple spoke wheels on stock suspension.

Researching new wheels for my baby, and looking to 18x8.5 +35 Enkei Raijins with 245/45/18's on them. In all the reading I've been doing the last couple of days, I know that they're a safe set to get.....

But my question is this... I swear that the front tires are tucked further under the front fender than the rears are under the rear quarter panel. Is it just me or is the 'native' tuck different from front to rear?

r2dmax

What you're referring to is the offset of the wheels. If the front and rear are the same width and offset they will look a little "sunken" in the front. You can always use a 5-10mm spacer to alleviate this. I believe BLNEWT has the perfect 18" setup and is very knowledgeable. Look him up or he may chime in soon

emerilnut

Oh yeah, I totally get what offset is and what effect it has on the look of the car.

I'm commenting on the fact that with the +45 offset of the stock wheels, the fronts look more tucked under the fender than the rears do.

But I went ahead and did it. I'm getting the Enkei Raijins installed on Saturday morning. Looking forward to it.

The next question is... to lower or not to lower?

blnewt

iTrader: (13)

You'll like those Enkeis, 8.5 +35 on 245s is a good setup, you may want spacers to flush them out toward the fenders but at stock height you should be good to go. If you lower your G a flush fit looks more in line. Look forward to the installed pics.

emerilnut

Completely stoked with how these turned out! Just gorgeous. I can't take my eyes off the car. ☺️

blnewt

iTrader: (13)

I told you that you'd like 'em

Looking good, especially on the silver/gray body color.

emerilnut

Funny thing, too. The tires I chose are the Barum Bravuris 3HM. Didn't know anything about the tire. But the wheels and tires are balanced so well that the ride is actually smoother than the stock wheels with Michelin Primacy tires that were on before... and quieter!

Don't really know much about the performance characteristic of the tire yet, as they market it as a high performance summer tire. I'll test that out as the months roll by.

blnewt

iTrader: (13)

They look to be an all season tire according to Discount tire here~
https://www.discounttire.com/buy-tir...#/read-reviews
Should expect decent tread life and a quieter, more comfort oriented tire, just be careful if you plan to push this tire as that's probably not it's strong suit.

emerilnut

Oh yeah, woops. All-season.

I tried a bit of spirited cornering yesterday on the way home, and yes, definitely not it's strong suit. Turn in response is a bit delayed as I'm sure the sidewalls are squirming. Once in the corner they plant pretty well, but it's the steering response that kills it.

I'm not planning on pushing these at all. This is my daily driver. I already have a plaything to thrash around if I want to play. Just have to wait until the weather cools down since the Miata doesn't have A/C.