Fitted 17x9 +35mm offset Enkei RPF1's with 245/45/17 Bridgestone RE71R's

Ok, as the title says. Got these last year about this time, but finally getting around to sharing some pics/thoughts. I have a $25 camber kit on the front also set to max neg camber with the toe set to 0 (exactly 2 full turns on the toe adjusting rods per side for you DIY peeps). I did my own alignment, but estimate approx -2.0 camber or so up front with the rear stock. You will get some noticeable "poke" if you do not use a camber kit and I did a hand fender pull up front also to help with making sure things were flush. There is no need to roll the fenders at all.

Ok, so the handling is amazing! The car grips HARD in the corners. Almost mind bending. If you know anything about these specific tires, you are not surprised. For those that don't know, in autocross around the nation, THESE RE71R's are THE tires to use and grip better than any other 200 treadwear tire out there. With a 620lb battery pack in the floor, this car has a low center of gravity and it likes to stick really well with some decent wheels/tires. It really could use a stiffer rear end however and unfortunately, suspension options are non existent through most normal channels. Of course a limited slip diff would be nice too, but oh well. Pressures are currently set at 43F and 40R. THis setup weighs about a 1/2 lb less than stock. However, some range is given up due to wider contact patch, stickier compound, and tires being pushed towards the corners and out into the airflow somewhat. But hard to get a direct comparison as when I drive with these tires, I am driving more aggressively. Lol. But in some of my experimentation, it actually wasn't that much worse than stock.

If anyone has fitment questions, PLEASE PM me or comment here. I'm a former tire shop manager and have had 3 different aftermarket sets of wheels on this car so far. I'd be happy to consult with you on ideal offset/width for the size wheel/tire you're considering. I'm also happy to help anyone in person in the San Diego area, or meet up so you can see the car in person. =)

Ok, on with the pics, but just before that...Enkei makes a +45 offset wheel in the 17x9, but it would have not cleared the front brake caliper. Even the +35mm offset only cleared by 2-3mm. Other wheels will fit with less aggressive offsets due to differing spoke profiles. Any narrower size RPF1 will look funny as the spoke profile makes the wheel look much different.

I've run 17x7 wheels with 205/50/17's with a decent ultra high performance tire and saw a nice improvement in grip.
I also mounted some 17x9's on 235/45/17's while still on stock camber and saw even more grip.
Added camber bolts up front with max neg camber and saw even more grip before changing to the current wheel/tire setup.

For anyone interested in ANY set of wheels/tires, http://www.discounttiredirect.com does about 4 BIG sales a year or so (next one next week or so so keep an eye out), and does some pretty hefty rebates. This setup after rebates cost me about $1150 thru them, and came mounted, balanced, shipped tax free. They don't actually list either these wheels or tires on their site, so you do have to call for this specific setup.

Again, if you need help choosing any setup, shoot me a PM and I'll be happy to help.

what year leaf is that?

I was looking on tirerack.com and they show 2011, 2012, 2013 can take 15" but 2014, 2015 can't. I'm wondering if the calipers are larger or the supsension changed for the 2014 model year.

It is a 2013. =)

Sometimes they don't have their info updated, so it may fit, but they won't "guarantee" fitment by putting the option there.

BTW, Discount Tire Direct is going to be doing a sale this week or next with lots of rebates, especially if you get their "Car Care One" credit card which saves you an additional $120 during this event, and can save you with them in the future. That is who I got my setup from. They can get more wheels and tires than what is avail on their site. The setup I got was around $1,150 last August after all rebates. That is mounted, balanced, shipped tax-free. =)

I've also ordered from Tire Rack in the past. I usually check both and buy from wherever is cheaper. You can't beat www.discounttiredirect.com sale prices tho...from my experience (when they do the crazy rebates).

Your 3rd picture appears to be the front left tire on the car but the rotation arrow is pointing the wrong way. Maybe I'm wrong but just a friendly heads up to double check.
Looks really good, I've always wanted to do this with some coilovers

SLCSlugger said:

Your 3rd picture appears to be the front left tire on the car but the rotation arrow is pointing the wrong way. Maybe I'm wrong but just a friendly heads up to double check.
Looks really good, I've always wanted to do this with some coilovers

Click to expand...

Hah! It's all good. Pics were taken the day I got the wheels. Just bolted one up to check for fitment for rubbing and caliper clearance and snapped a pic but took it right off. Mounted all 4 up properly the next day. Good eye though!

Your Leaf looks really "Beefy" with the wheels/tire combo! ;P

Do you know how much your Odometer reading will be off with that wheel/tire combo? I know that there are some web apps out there in calculating Odometer variance wrt wheel size/tire combos but you didn't mention if you ran the numbers at all.....

pointlomadave said:

For anyone interested in ANY set of wheels/tires, http://www.discounttiredirect.com does about 4 BIG sales a year or so (next one next week or so so keep an eye out), and does some pretty hefty rebates. This setup after rebates cost me about $1150 thru them, and came mounted, balanced, shipped tax free. They don't actually list either these wheels or tires on their site, so you do have to call for this specific setup.

Again, if you need help choosing any setup, shoot me a PM and I'll be happy to help.

Click to expand...

Compared to the OEM 17" tires on the top model Leaf, they are off by 1% on the speedo (1/2 mph @ 50MPH)
COmpared to the OEM 16" tires on the base and mid-level Leaf, off by 3% on the speedo (1.5mph @ 50MPH)

However, I found the OEM speedo to read a bit faster than stated according to radar signs on the streets around here. With the 245/45/17's, the radar is spot on. =)

The other benefit is that compared to my OEM rubber, I will have show 60k miles on 245/45/17 vs 6180k miles on OEM rubber (if put on when car is new) meaning I will have more charges and more chance to activate the battery warranty.

THis is the calculator I use:

https://www.tacomaworld.com/tirecalc?tires=245-45r17-215-50r17

Man relly like those rims!!! Just bougt new rims n tires for my leaf yesterday. I bougth a set of 4 Kt racing 18x9 ET30 whit 225-40-18 Imperial eco sport (Budget tire) but ime surprized i had a sett of 17" tekna rims on before. the strange thing is that the 18" rides smother then the stock ones. and it looks like i get the same range And the best part no rubbing in the fenders i run the tein35/35mm springs.

I have had 17x7 RFP1 on my 2012 for almost 2 years, running your run of the mill tire right now. I wanted to lower the car and put on better tires when these wear out. I'll be in LA soon with a fresh pack, maybe you can lend a hand with the upgrade.

I can't comment on the lowering since I haven't done that. Just the camber kit and the wheel fitment. I couldn't find a proper suspension for the car other than the JDM Nismo stuff they make for it which was pricey and only avail in Japan on a Japanese website with very poor english translation on auto-translate. Didn't give me a lot of confidence. =(

But, have no fear, the car handles the extra grip quite well, although a rear sway bar would REALLY help, but I doubt the aftermarket will ever make one because the demand is too low given the demographic of most Leaf buyers.

anyone installed a 17x8 RPF1 +35 ? I'm looking at a used set and I'm not sure if the spoke profile will clear on my 13 SV since others have used different widths or offsets.. Unless I overlooked it, I didn't see this exact setup. considering a 225 / 45 / 17 tire. thoughts?

Hi OP, i love the set up. these wheels were lighter than stock, how did it affect range? Thanks