17's or 18's....that is the question

[sential]

thanks for your input guys, any more opinions are appreciated. My opinion changes daily. It's so hard to decide. 17's lightweight and look good...18's look super good, but heavy. One things for sure... i'll never put 19's on.

98eclipseRS...that's a good idea getting some smaller rims and tires for track days.

 

[Spidey]

There are lightweight 18s, like the 5zigen I posted, just expect to pay more with other brands. I see myself switching to 17x8s eventually, for the added grip and ride comfort.

 

[99gst_racer]

Originally posted by sential
225/35's...isn't that smaller than the overall factory diameter? I already dont want to ride on 40's cause of the ride, but 35's. Do you feel every single bump or what?

Yeah, I feel most bumps, but I did have 40's on a diff. set of rims, and there's absolutely no difference in ride quality. The way I see it, sports cars aren't made to ride like Bentleys, so I dont aim for good ride quality. It's a tad smalled than factory diameter, but not much at all. Like I said, my speedo is only off by 4 mph.

We also do what 98eclipseRS said. We all use 18's for the street and and the shows and we have 15's with slicks for the the track.......

 

[ckozlgod]

I think anything over 18lbs is too much...I would and am going to go with 17's...18's just aren't worth it in the long run.

More weight & more $$$...not a hard decision...for me anyways

 

[trig21turbo]

Man its up to you, I wouldn't get anything less than 18's but thats me. You can get an 18" rim that weighs as much as a 17" rim. Also if your going for show you might wanna get 18's or 19's as for me I going for show and go I getting 19's and my goal is atleast 500hp to the engine

 

[leet]

Originally posted by trig21turbo
Don't listen to the guy above he has no idea what could fit on your car or his, he's obviously broke. You have a choice of 17's 18's or 19's you choose. 17's are too small 18's are good 19's are perfect!!

WTF?

You want pretty, get whatever you want. You want performance, get a lightweight 17" wheel.

Carry on.

 

[gigahz95]

most 17's on 2gs i see do not look right.(dsmjim and a few other exceptions look good) 2nd gen has too "fat" of a body style to go w/ small wheels etc. 1st gens can look good w/ 16's and 17's though.

 

[98eclipseRS]

Originally posted by gigahz95
most 17's on 2gs i see do not look right.(dsmjim and a few other exceptions look good) 2nd gen has too "fat" of a body style to go w/ small wheels etc. 1st gens can look good w/ 16's and 17's though.

I think my car looks fine with 17's if you don't have side skirts then your wheels are going to look funny becuase of the way the body ends right under the door, 17's are plenty enough for the 2g body style

 

[ckozlgod]

Well 17's do not look good if the car hasn't been lowered. But once you lower it, it will look damn fine!

 

[PaulPDX]

Just about any car looks good lowered.

It's funny how many people only think in terms of what looks good and what doesn't. Unless the car is a trailer b*tch, you better think about real world practicality.

Perhaps the road you drive on are glassy smooth and don't foresee yourself driving on bad roads ever... and that you never have the need to parrallel park where you'd have to be extra careful of curb rashes etc. "Never" is a huge assumption.

Alright so you can curb 17s too, but the point is 17s would give you more rubber and more tire choices. This will improve the ride quality. And this isn't just a benefit in comfort. If you are driving hard, the suspension and the tire's ability to soak up bumps is crucial because they lessen the effect of these bumps from upsetting the balance of the car. On the road course, perfection and disaster is separated by a fraction of a second.

The increased weight can also retard your steering response. Rotation weight increases exponentially with speed. That's exponentially not linearly! This increased unsprung weight will also retard your suspensions abilitly to react to the road surface.

Recently in another thread on the same topic, assuming same wheel construction and style in 17 and 18, someone argued with me saying 18s aren't that much heavier than 17s because there is more rubber on the 17s and 17" tires probably hold more air. Well, let's see, 18s have more metal and metal has a greater density per volume than rubber or air.... DUH, which tire and wheel is going weigh more? The answer is obvious.

I've gone down this road before with other cars I've owned, and as a rule, I will never go +2 sizing ever again. I know it is tempting to want to make the car look as good as possible. But, if it is a car you drive and interact with every single day, all the real world considerations points to the smaller size. Good looking wheels come in all sizes, so looks shouldn't even be an issue for consideration in deciding the size.

Besides, which is more important? you loving the way your car drives, or the way you "think" your car looks (since you never get to see it unless it is parked)? If your motivation is how the car looks to others... well, don't bother. Whatever you get, some will like, some will hate. You can't please everyone, so why bother? It's far more imprant to please yourself because it's your car and your money. Vanity.

BTW, you can get a set of 17x7.5 Volk/Rays GramLights 57c with Kumho 712s for $1500.

Bigger isn't always better... Unless you prefer a large obese woman over playboy centerfold. Not a flame, just making a point.

These are just my opinions. Like it or not... thank you, please drive through.

 

[98eclipseRS]

^^^amen

 

[teme]

BTW, you can get a set of 17x7.5 Volk/Rays GramLights 57c with Kumho 712s for $1500.

pheeww.... here those kind of set costs maybe double as much

 

[redturbo66]

If I were you, I'd throw my stock rims and tires back on!

 

[sential]

Originally posted by redturbo66
If I were you, I'd throw my stock rims and tires back on!

If I had a 97-99 gsx i'd definately roll the stock rims. If i had even the 97-99 gst i'd probably roll the stock rims. But unfortunately I own a 95 gst, and they came with those nasty swirly rims. So if I were you, and you were me, I would not be rolling on those things.

paulpdx...thanks for the constructive thoughts...

I'm probably going to go with 17's...again. Just for practical reasons...lighter, cheaper, and they ride better. But still i'm thinking about it, you can get a set of 18's cheaper than some 17's. They aren't volks or anything, but these days the cheaper brands aren't looking that bad, and aren't weighing that much either

Its interesting getting everyone's thoughts on this...