I’m 100% sure that homeade wheels will ride like shit, and some of it probably had to do with his susp setup.
Diamond Racing widened steelies are great but only for a purpose built auto-x/RR car. There is no point in having a huge wide wheel for a street car.
I highly doubt you’ll be running a 195 on a 8" wheel either. I run 205’s on a 7" wheel and I would prefer wider…215 probably.