Need opinions and advice on rims please!

[lanemccall_75]

Hello I'm new and this is my first post!
Anyways, I have a 2016 Subaru BRZ Hyper Blue and I'm wanting to get off the stock 17" rims and get something bigger.
But I'm curious to see some photo's of 18" vs 19" rims. I am also wondering if there are issues of tire rub or anything like that with the bigger rim sizes?
Thanks in advance, please post photos as well!

[churchx]

Just read sticky thread of tire/wheel directory. Find ones of needed size and follow links to threads with pics.

[headlikeahole]

You dont need bigger wheels. You need a lower car and more offset.

[Mr.Impreza]

Bigger wheels will make the car feel slow and heavy. I wouldn't get bigger wheels unless i went turbo and had like 300hp+

Even my subaru has 225/45/17 and it's 300hp. I don't see 18's going well on a 200hp car.

If you want looks and don't care about performance, biggest I'd go is 17x9 with 235/40/17 or 245/40/17

[Cmorris8848]

Originally Posted by Mr.Impreza

Bigger wheels will make the car feel slow and heavy. I wouldn't get bigger wheels unless i went turbo and had like 300hp+

Even my subaru has 225/45/17 and it's 300hp. I don't see 18's going well on a 200hp car.

If you want looks and don't care about performance, biggest I'd go is 17x9 with 235/40/17 or 245/40/17

There are several 18s that are lighter than the stock wheels, so it makes the car lighter and essentially faster

[Sarlacc]

Two good links for you:
http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=7535
http://www.frsproject.com/

Do they sell the BRZ in HyperBlue in Germany? I can't find that color on subaru.de.
Or is yours an import or respray?

[tyler_win_photo]

Originally Posted by Cmorris8848

There are several 18s that are lighter than the stock wheels, so it makes the car lighter and essentially faster

You also have to take into consideration that larger wheels will need larger (and consequently heavier) tires.

[Cmorris8848]

Originally Posted by tyler_win_photo

You also have to take into consideration that larger wheels will need larger (and consequently heavier) tires.

Correct, but if you go with a smaller sidewall, such as my 245/35 then it's still lighter than stock wheels and tires.

[Stang70Fastback]

Originally Posted by Cmorris8848

Correct, but if you go with a smaller sidewall, such as my 245/35 then it's still lighter than stock wheels and tires.

Untrue, for the most part. Looking at JUST the tires, and comparing a stock size (215/45R17) to the size you mentioned (245/35R18) you are still looking at an increase of 2-3 lb for the tire.

Having said that, 2-3 lb isn't the end of the world for a street car. I'm moving to 18x9 wheels and tires, and I'm gaining 4.5 lb per corner. Not an insignificant amount, but I'm OK with the weight gain for street use (I should mention I am gaining 4.5 lb as compared with the wheel/tire combo that came on my Series.Blue. It's actually only 2.5 lb heavier than the typical stock wheel/tire combo.)

This is because if you get a good 18" wheel, you can prevent it from weighing any more than a stock wheel (mine weigh about the same as normal stock wheels.) However, even if the weight is identical, there is still a penalty, because you are concentrating the mass further out, and it's weight towards the outside of the spinning body that contributes the majority of the centrifugal forces that manifest as "heavier" steering.

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TO THE OP:

Bigger "rims" won't decrease the gap between the fender and the wheel. At least, they SHOULDN'T unless you are doing it wrong. When you fit a larger wheel, you fit a lower-profile tire. The overall diameter stays the same. As others have mentioned, you need to physically LOWER the car if you want to reduce that gap. Having said that, it should be clear now that taller 18 or 19" wheels won't be any more likely to rub, since the overall diameter stays the same. It's wheel WIDTH that causes problems. A wider wheel and tire combo will start eating away at the clearance you have on the fenders and the clearance between the wheel and the strut/spring tower. The stock tire width is 7". You can do 8" or even 9" on stock suspension with the right offset (just Google wheel offset if you don't know what that means.) Generally, as you increase in size from 17" to 18 or 19", widths increase as well (because a super tall, skinny wheel looks dumb, and is dumb.) So it's not the diameter of the wheel that directly causes problems, but it's the fact that taller diameter wheels tend to be WIDER which is the issue. If you were put a 19x7 wheel on your car, with the proper tire, you'd have just as much clearance as the stock wheel/tire combo.

[lanemccall_75]

Originally Posted by Sarlacc

Two good links for you:
http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=7535
http://www.frsproject.com/

Do they sell the BRZ in HyperBlue in Germany? I can't find that color on subaru.de.
Or is yours an import or respray?

No they don't sell them here. I'm an American but the military has me stationed here in Germany so I shipped the car with me!

[lanemccall_75]

I'm actually wanting some really big wheels. 18 or 19 inch, fat tires, that's what I want.

[Leonardo]

I love my 18's! 18x8 +45 18x9 +42 245/35/18 all around. No rubbing, lowered on Eibach pro kit.

I had the stocks with 225/45. Then went to wider 17's with 245/40 mpss. Got tired of them. IMO 18 is perfect, no need for 19.

stock 17x7 @ 20.6lbs are heavy. Claimed weight on my wheels are 19.8 and 20.0lbs. (didn't get a chance vrify) The stock prius tire is 20lbs. My 245/35/18 weigh 23lbs.