|
17in vs 18in
Hello all,
Please leave your PROs and CONs of either size. Which size will you go with?? |
Wow, never been first before. Guess I'll comment.
Looking to get some lightweight 18s primarily for the look of them. I don't want anything super heavy but am not convinced I will notice a few extra pounds. |
I'm running 17x9's right now just for he simple fact that I could swap my stock tires over haha. However I'll be stepping up to 18's soon. Unless you're out tracking your car at it's full potential every week, I highly doubt you'll be able to notice a difference in performance so mainly it's going to come down to personal preference.
|
18's definitely look better, but 17's for
(1) less unsprung, rotational mass (2) better ride quality, and (3) cheaper tires No right or wrong answer though. |
It depends on the car, on this platform 17s look big enough to me, given that I prefer 17" because my goals are performance not looks.
Cheap rubber lower weight |
Quote:
Summary - it depends what you want from your car. If you are just doing it for looks and don't car about performance than go with 18s. But if you plan on keeping the same tire diameter as stock expect a harsher ride. If you plan on tracking/autocrossing your car you should go with 17s that are lighter than stock. This reduces your unsprung weight as well as your rotating inertia helping you accelerate faster. |
Quote:
My frs is a DD with a possibility of 2 track days in a year. So I'm going with lightweight wide 18s for Looks, if I was going for a fully dedicated Track car I would definitely go with 17s for the exact same reasons this guy posted above :thumbsup: |
I only went 18s to cover my upcoming brakes.
Otherwise I would have stuck with 17s. Though I did get very light 18s. |
It's too simple to say 17s are for performance and anything else is for looks ...
My 18x9 Volk TE37SL with Direzza Z11 255/35 has the same circumference as stock, and weighs CONSIDERABLY less than stock. I'm pretty sure pure race car FR-S (such as the Scion Racing FR-S) aren't kicking 17s ... yes - they may have superchargers and turbos - but again - that is why it is too simplistic to say 17s are for performance and 18s are for looks ... |
truth be told, most people on the forums will NEVER notice the difference between 17 and 18's...even on the track. You think you're so great at driving, that your 18's are holding you back and making you slower?
The people who do notice the weight between 17 and 18 are either really good drivers(with times to show), or are the people who notice how much power their car got with their drop-in filter or catback... Unless you're really into racing(and have the budget to support it) or making money at it, go with the wheel you like! Otherwise, IMO its pointless/dumb to dump a ton of money getting a "light" wheel so we can make our "slow" car marginally faster. Spend some time on the track and figure out what YOU want to upgrade/change...not just what everyone else says. |
Quote:
Also the tyres are substantially heavier for a 18x9 vs say tyres for a 17x7. My two rear tyres weigh more than three of my wheels. However, as @Shutter mentioned...I'd say very few of us would ever really notice the difference. I know I'm not good enough to notice 1kg unsprung weight at each corner, but when I consider the weight of the tyres, the wheels, the brakes, etc...it all adds up so that's the only reason I'm keeping as light as possible. Do it once, do it right for my goals. |
Quote:
Quote:
Quote:
|
I believe 18inch is the sweet spot/best compromise and gives the best of all possible worlds explained above. Definitely look better. IMHO
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk |
i think the only reason to ever go 18s are for looks or if your going forced induction and need to fit bigger brakes. other than that 17s are cheaper to buy and are lighter. Tires are also generally cheaper for 17s than for 18s...
|
18's look better, 17's are cheaper.
Spending an extra couple hundred dollars on an 18" setup rather than 17" was worth it to me. |
Quote:
Obviously being that I'm in Australia I get shafted with the costs, but if I'd stuck with 17x7 or 8 I was looking at like $200 per tyre easily... Going to 18s I was looking at only about $250...so not much more. But then I bought bigger rears (9.5) and slightly larger front (8.5) and the cost bumped up a little in the front ($300 ea) and exploded in the rear ($550 ea). Plus because I went staggered I can't ever take advantage of the "buy 3 get the 4th free" promotions. The point is that you CAN get decent prices on 18s depending on what size you want. If you are just starting out and expecting to go through tyres, you probably won't be getting top shelf right off the bat so if you really want the look of the 18s, then I would hop onto tyre sites, shops, etc....and just check our what the actual differences in cost would be. |
I like 18s
|
Question:
Are we picking wheels for you or are you picking wheels for you? Hope this helps... because everyone here has a different opinion. -alex |
Shoot, go big or go home. Roll on some dub'deuces *throws up random gang sign*
|
Quote:
saving 50 bucks a tire, or 100 buck a tire is still saving :thumbsup: Which is awesome if you ask me. Oh no Im not tracking the car more 3~ times a year if that, I was only saying IF I was too try to go serious in the track game I would go w/ 17s so it would be easier for multiple sets of tires I would need for the track and to still dd the car. I have purchased 18x9.5 w/ 255s all around for looks :thumbup: |
For a car this small 17 in wheels will do the job and for the same or less money will be lighter.
Fit the best tires you can afford and of course those will be cheaper in 17 in size so you can go right to the top level and still spend less than on 18. Larger wheels are just a fashion statement on these cars. 17 will do the job. |
Quote:
|
Quote:
|
Quote:
|
Quote:
|
Quote:
|
|
Quote:
|
A "little" stretched ... lol
|
Quote:
http://i522.photobucket.com/albums/w...psad43d48f.jpg Quote:
|
Best way to ruin rims .... stretching tires like this ^^^^
|
Just the rim or the whole wheel?
|
Quote:
|
Quote:
|
If I was doing it all again I'd be putting on 17's
|
I'm currently on 18" but if I change wheel again on this car I'll be going with a lightweight 17" like the Wedsport TC105N with meaty tire
|
Quote:
Matching tire section width to rim width is important to get the best out of your tires on corners. Wide rims aren't necessarily better handling rims unless you fit appropriate section tires. 8.5 x 17 is the largest wheel you should use for a 215 section tire, 7.5 inch is probably ideal. Go up to 225/45x17 and 9x17 would work but I'd still fit no more than 8x17 myself. |
Quote:
|
I autoX pretty regularly as well as DD my BRZ.
I chose 17x9 TC105N for their weight. The size tire I can use. With a 17" tire I can put on a larger sidewall and mitagate some of the negative affects of my suspension set up in terms of ride comfort. |
17s for performance, 18s for looks. Forged 18s are acceptable though.
|
| All times are GMT -4. The time now is 04:12 PM. |
Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2026, vBulletin Solutions Inc.
User Alert System provided by
Advanced User Tagging v3.3.0 (Lite) -
vBulletin Mods & Addons Copyright © 2026 DragonByte Technologies Ltd.