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17's or 18's
I keep going back and fourth, I need some help.
I like 17's because of weight and ability to fit more sidewall. I like 18's because they look freaking sexy and there's more available in +38 offsets. Car is a daily driver/road tripper/weekend AutoX'er. Help me decide- vote and comment why you voted for that one! |
No 16s? Is it lowered at all?
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17s provide better performance, they are also cheaper.
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Wheel style plays a major part in how large they appear on the car. Some in 18 with thin lips and spokes, like Ultralegerra's, make the wheels look too large and expose our small brakes which isn't terribly desirable. Some in 17 perhaps with lots of spokes and a fat lip look too compacted and busy like BBS LM's.
If size appearance makes a difference to you (and let's be honest, it does to most of us) check out the Wheel Gallery thread to see what styles of 17's look nice and proportional. Overall 17's have several advantages over 18's. They're lighter and cheaper. Also they have a good sweet spot in the amount of sidewall for a daily driver while not negatively impacting your gearing or placing more mass further from the hubs. 17's still have a great selection of wheels and tires, they still look good, and won't have any issues clearing most brake kits, all of which could be a concern with 16's. If you want an autocross only setup in the future however, a dedicated set of 16's isn't a bad idea. In addition before you pull the trigger I encourage you to take a look at the prices of popular performance tires in comparable 17 and 18 variants. I think you'll be shocked to see how much more expensive the 18" versions are for several models. Not gonna lie, certain wheels styles in 18 are dead sexy. I lust for a set of 18" LM replicas, but 23 pounds per wheel is kinda brutal. I may settle for 17" silver RPF1's and get the lips polished. Not quite as nice but a similar effect and a hell of a lot lighter. |
18s look sick. I was going to pick up some 18x9.5 TE37SLs last weekend but I decided not to. I'm actually selling/changing a bunch of stuff around because I was setting my car up for 18s and I ultimately decided to stay with 17s.
It's just easier to deal with, lot more flexibility in sizes and price, and it doesn't overpower the car. The key is to make the car flow. 17s with a good drop, subtle lip kit, and maybe a small rear wing is all you need. |
18 X 9.5 Enkei RP03's in SBC. I won't go back to 17's. Look incredible dropped on my V3's.
I do car shows, occasional spirited drives, no auto X. 18's are for me. Plus they look very aggressive. |
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The offset is the only reason I'd choose an 18 over a 17. The car on size 17 shoes looks just fine in my opinion.
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18-9.5 Rota T2R's wrapped in 265/35ZR18 BF Goodrich tires and I wont go back. Low profile tires and the car sat lower than stock tires and rims.. and the grip.. oh the grip in the corners
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I don't like the look of a Twin on 16's...17+ is a must IMO And it looks like 17 it is... 17x9 +45 RPF1 in SBC w/5mm spacers |
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If you like the look of 18s more, then you have you have to weigh that against the performance, cost of the wheels, and cost of the tires for 17s. That's a decision only you can make. Just the monetary difference if you keep those wheels for a while is going to be very substantial.
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I'm going 17 as well, for all the same reasons. It is a little frustrating to look at the wheels available for purchase by all the vendor companies and just see a million 18x9.5 wheels everywhere- seems like everyone just wants to go supermassive flush 255s at 22 pounds per wheel. I would rather see a ton more 17x8 and 17x8.5s for people that would rather spend less money and buy high quality 225 or 245 track rubber and still be at 17 or less lbs per wheel. Seems like no one is really going that direction- most wheels aren't even available in those offsets and sizes anymore. Everyone is focused on "Is it concave OMGWTFBBQ?!" instead of weight.
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subscribed...bc i find this thread interesting and helpful
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17" is my choice... best tire selection and best low weight wheel selection... dropping ~5lbs a corner of unsprung weight makes a very noticeable difference in how the car rides and balances...much better than stock. I'm running 17x8 Kosei K4R's (+36mm offset, 15.6lbs measured) with 215/45-17 Kumho Ecsta XS tires (21lbs)...and would never want to go back to the stock weight setup. |
18's for the street, 17/16's for autox/track ;) Your track wheels don;t need to be sexy, and there are lots of inexpensive solutions out there that are light weight and race proven (Mach V comes to mind).. and they're sexy to boot.
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What width do you want. Not much in 8.5 for 17s... :(
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Well there's my list of things to consider when buying a street wheel/tire package. These are fairly general observations in my 20+ years of import tuning on the Miata and BMW side of things.
1. Future power upgrades If you plan on staying stockish, I suggest staying as close to the 215 width as possible. A wider tire WILL slow the car down, sometimes dramatically. It's called rolling resistance. BUT, if you plan on 50+,100+ hp upgrades, you are gonna need a wider tire to handle the power to the back end and the extra speed. 2. Handling Generally, a thinner tire patch (width) will give you a crisper/sharper turn-in feel. A larger contact patch (width) gives you more grip. There's a balance in the middle somewhere. This relates a LOT to #1 above a bit too. But race cars that drive at the limit will trade-up to width because they need the contact patch for the speed and power they carry. 3. Weight Cheap wheels tend to be heavy. Thus the larger the wheel the more weight. More weight for a rim is bad. If you figure the stock wheel is around 20 lbs going to an 24lb rim will do a bunch of things - carry too much inertia into a turn, slow down suspension response, slow down your acceleration, etc. On my old E36 M3, I went from the stock 24lbs OEM rim to a 16lbs aftermarket rim. Yes, that's 32lbs off all four wheels. It's a dramatic handling and braking difference. You can attack the corners with more speed and accelerate faster. It was a pretty awesome handling difference. 4. Cost Relating to #3 above. Cheap wheels tend to be heavy. The low-end name brands and the non-bands use a (weak) cast aluminum process - similar to how they make toy cars. Personally, anything over 18lbs is WAY to heavy for the FRS/BRZ. You'll commonly see these type of wheels for around $100-$250. I lean more toward the flow-formed rims which price point around $300-$500 a rim. I know they aren't cheap, but you can get 17s around 15-16lbs and 18s in the 16-17lbs. BBS, OZ, Enkei make some nice rims in the price range. Above that you get into Forged rims which, unless you are running a high-hp race car - will tend to be heavier and much much much more expensive. But the race cars are also running some massive horsepower and braking systems so they need a stronger rim. Hope that helps? :) |
The stock 17x7 alloys for the FRS/BRZ are nearly 21 lbs... I weighed mine at 20.8 lbs each...
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Well-written and informative post. Thanks! I think I decided... Looking into a 17x9 +45 RPF1 with a 245/40R17 Considering a 10mm spacer out back so it's not so tucked. I'd like to keep the wheel/tire size square so they can be rotated regularly. |
easy. 18s w/o drop. 17s w drop.
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idk where you got 17.75 #/wheel when they are listed at 20.9 pounds per wheel. |
I'm happy with my 17X8.5 +38's @ 16.2lb each.
http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=58507 If you go this route, you have a number of choices for offset and width. |
17" wheels
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18's will look better but you'll be paying more to get the same weight savings. I personally want a square setup (so I can rotate my tires) of 17x8's running 225/45's. |
Thanks @Vracer111 - corrected my post. :)
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Corrected my post. Thank you!
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You really can't go wrong with any RPF1, though. They look incredible and weigh nothing. |
I run 18's and I also autocross on them. I got them because they look fucking sexy.
Anyone who claims they can notice a performance difference is living in a fantasy world, I still run the stock wheels in the winter and there is literally no difference. Work Kiwami CR, 18x8.5 +38 front 18x9.5 +38 rear with 225/40/18 & 245/35/18 Pilot Super Sports. http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g8...ps0cade9b7.jpg |
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Keep in mind, though, I'm not a tire scientist and really have no idea of what I'm talking about haha. |
Not a perfect test but it offers some insight.
http://www.caranddriver.com/features...d-tires-tested http://media.caranddriver.com/images...s-original.jpg |
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Not saying you don't know what you're talking about but it's a bit like 6/half-dozen |
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Traction and cornering speeds may not be much different between the two if on similar level of tire compound and a smooth surface, but the ride quality of the car will be noticeably worse on the 45-46lb/corner set than the 36-37lb/corner set, especially the less smooth the surface is. The result in a much harsher and unsettled ride. Switch to the set that weighs ~10lbs less a corner and the ride will very noticeably smooth out and the chassis will seem to glide much easier over the surface in comparison, feeling more planted. At the same time the chassis is more responsive and playful with less mass to upset it. I can feel a noticeable difference between stock and my nearly 5lb less a corner setup. I can also feel the slight difference between my street set and track set, street set is ~ 2lb heavier a corner. |
17's= Performance
18's= Everything else minus a little performance /thread |
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