16" Wheel Performance
 

What's the consensus on 16" wheels? A half hour perusing the thread "Anybody got 16"..." didn't yield a ton of solid info. It seems like they can provide a more nimble feel and better comfort but does this hurt the performance significantly?

Is it simply a better DD setup? What do people think?

Thanks.

Speaking for myself...the extra comfort and quiet are well worth it on my freeway commutes. The car doesn't instantly turn into a Mercedes Sprinter van...

The small increase in sidewall will not hurt the responsiveness and feedback if you shop wisely for tires. It's not going to be difficult to find a more performance-oriented tire than the ones which come with the car.

I'm looking at Dunlop Direzzas for summer. Do you think that would provide improved performance in a 16 inch setup overall?

I have no firsthand experience with Direzzas, so I can't say for sure. However, I'm running Kumho Ecsta XS, 225/50-16 on 16x7 ET40 wheels, and there's no shortage of feedback or feel. I'm running a pretty conservative alignment as well... ~.5 deg neg camber up front, front and rear toe set as close to 0 as possible, stock camber in back (I think it was around 1.75 neg?), and stock ride height.

Thanks! I think I'll make a separate post about the best 16" tire option as they seem pretty limited.