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Does an inch make that much of a difference?

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remmargorp

15+ Year Contributor
127
0
Jan 17, 2005
Somewhere, Maryland
I have a 1991 Laser, I am going to be ordering wheels for it.

I came across a style I really like (probably going to buy these), however I noticed that the place I'm buying them from has them in 17 inch and 18 inch models

17" - 17 Inch Link

18" - 18 Inch Link

However the 18's are $116 and Silver (the finish that I want), they have 17's for $148 but the finish is hyper black (I don't want that). They don't have the 17's in a Silver finish, and I can't find a "reliable" website that sells the 17's with the silver finish.

My question is, what are you sacrificing when you go with the larger wheel of 18 inches. I live pretty much in the middle of no where so rough roads (gravel/dirt) and pot holes are common (but not toooo common, also avoidable in some places) in my trips. Would the 18 inch rim hold up (on stock suspension) or would I just be better off finding the 17's somewhere?

I am just worried about the thin side wall on the tires for the 18's, being so small I would imagine hitting a pothole would be pretty scary/costly/damaging.
 
remmargorp said:
I have a 1991 Laser, I am going to be ordering wheels for it.

I came across a style I really like (probably going to buy these), however I noticed that the place I'm buying them from has them in 17 inch and 18 inch models

17" - 17 Inch Link

18" - 18 Inch Link

However the 18's are $116 and Silver (the finish that I want), they have 17's for $148 but the finish is hyper black (I don't want that). They don't have the 17's in a Silver finish, and I can't find a "reliable" website that sells the 17's with the silver finish.

My question is, what are you sacrificing when you go with the larger wheel of 18 inches. I live pretty much in the middle of no where so rough roads (gravel/dirt) and pot holes are common (but not toooo common, also avoidable in some places) in my trips. Would the 18 inch rim hold up (on stock suspension) or would I just be better off finding the 17's somewhere?

I am just worried about the thin side wall on the tires for the 18's, being so small I would imagine hitting a pothole would be pretty scary/costly/damaging.


the biggest disadvantage to a wheel that is 18" or bigger is the fact that you will have more rotational mass and more weight which will slow you down :dsm:
 
I am not too worried at this point about speed or going fast, in fact I want to install a MBC to lower my boost. Haha, at this point in time I just want the car to ride fine, maintain it's great condition, and have fun with it. No racing/excessibe boots/fast cornering..etc..

Now with rotational mass would that mean harder braking? or slower braking? or something else? (in terms of slowing the car down via braking, more wear on the brakes.. etc)
 
You seem to want 18s for cosmetic reasons, even though you're aware of the costs in terms of performance and potential damage from potholes. Given that, I'm not sure what you want from us. If you want us to say that the cosmetic benefits of 18s out-weigh the performance costs, then you're not going to get that answer here. This is a performance forum and we have no idea how weight you put on cosmetics. I weight it close to zero - at least when posting here - so I'd say get 17s.

- Jtoby
 
consider the cost of tires too! 18's are usually more expensive than 17's. if you want to run lower you boost, bypass the factory boost controller and the hook up the wastegate to the nipple on the outlet tube of the turbo. that will make your turbo run at 7 psi with the factory setup.
 
I am pretty much set now on 17's, the only problem is that the 5Zigen RX6 only appears to come in the hyper black finish for 17's, which is what I don't want, I am trying to find the silver finish (like the 18's). I was wondering if it would be worth it to get the 18's for the Silver finish, but I don't think it is (and from your posts which convince me more). The only trouble I am having now is finding the RX6 in 17inch with the Silver Finish. It almost seems like 5Zigen doesn't produce them anymore as they are no longer on the 5zigen website (that I can find).
 
jtmcinder said:
You seem to want 18s for cosmetic reasons, even though you're aware of the costs in terms of performance and potential damage from potholes. Given that, I'm not sure what you want from us. If you want us to say that the cosmetic benefits of 18s out-weigh the performance costs, then you're not going to get that answer here. This is a performance forum and we have no idea how weight you put on cosmetics. I weight it close to zero - at least when posting here - so I'd say get 17s.

- Jtoby


I guess I want to know, is it safe to drive around on 18's or do you really have to watch where you go and be cautious of everything. Is it really as bad as a lot of people I know say it is?
 
Well according to your first post the 18's are the color you want and are $30 cheaper. Get them. You really won't have any problems at all if you get a 225/40zr18 size tire. Your ride will not be quite as smooth though because of the reduction in the size of the sidewall of the tire.
 
Now with the 18's the spec's are as follows.

18X7.5 5-114.3 35S
18X7.5 5-114.3 43S

I see there is an offset difference of 8 millimeters. Does 8mm really make a difference? Which is preferred (will there even be enough room to accomodate the 18inch rim+wheel? I havent really taken a look/measured).

Would you go with the larger offset to pull it closer to the wheel well, or leave it out a little. Which offset would be best for our style cars?
 
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