A few shots of each.
ARC-8s on Imola Red
8.5 x 18 ET 38 with Pss 245/40/18s, and 9.5 x 18 ET ET 22 275/35/18s. Front is running 2 camber washers, which pushes the bottom of the strut out. But ET 38 works, with about 10-11mm space between rim/tire and strut. I didn't want to deal with potential tire rubbing rear (if we moved up to a square shouldered 275/35 tire), and the 9.5 width, is the measured rim size for 275/35, so the upgrade path is clear. The PSS tires are much better on these size wheels than stock; more lateral stability, and I don't feel them moving now, better traction too. None of the issues I observed running these tires on the stock sized wheels. The lighter wheels seem to make the car a bit more nimble as well (Krissi agrees).
I really like the red/black contrast, I think it looks great! Striking in fact.
Light was halfway decent for these shots, but not the greatest pictures. Krissi is very happy with the look, and is planning to "de-chrome the car and go with a black CF/white badge and roundel theme. At least that's the plan at the moment!
EC-7s on Sapphire Black Metallic
9 x 18 ET 42 (5mm spacer) with NT05 235/40/18s, and 9.5 x 18 ET ET 22 265/35/18s. Just as with Krissi's car, I didn't want to deal with potential tire rubbing rear, and the 9.5 width is the measured rim size for 265/35 and 275/35. ET 22 looks pretty darn good. Front is coming in about ET 37 with the spacer (I could probably have gotten away with 3mm), and I added hub extenders just to be on the safe side with this "micro spacer". ET 42 would probably fit a stock setup, but the shimsI'm using push the strut towards the wheel (~ -5mm clearance), so it was a no go. If I go with camber plates next year, and ditch the camber washers, in which case I can probably run the wheels w/o spacers if I wanted to.
Car feels more nimble with these lighter wheels, and I think I'm a fan of the 235/265 over the 245/275 combo. Front, on a 9" wheel, has practically the same tread width as the 245 on an 8.5" rim, rear loses some width, but engine is stock, so I'm not really going to use the wider tread width. The 235/265 combo isn't as tall as the 245/275, and that makes the ride a bit more harsh, but also helps turn-in and makes the car seem a bit more planted to me. Might be all in my head. In any case, I can run either size easily on these wheels, even a 255 tire in front and stay at the measured rim width.
I decided on the EC-7s because there's more room with this design for a BBK. Gobs of room in fact.
Light was horrible for these shots, and I really need to do a full detail and paint correction on this car. (Need to clean up the tires too--just mounted--ran out of time.) I really like the wheels though! I think I may follow the "de-chrome" path, and may debadge as well.
I really like the look of both wheels (IR/Black is more striking IMO), they're light, and they offer a lot of flexibility. The guys at APEX are great to work with too!