17's or 18's? info. please

SilverSpec175 · Mar 31st, 2003, 02:32 PM

So I'm driving down a country road last night after it had just finished raining. I'm going 39 mph roughly and the upcoming puddle happens to be a pothole, very large in size. I nailed it. Ending result, I probably have one possibly two bent rims on the passenger side.

What I want to know is what everyone recommends as far as staying with the stock rim size or moving up to 18's. For those of you who have 18's, whats your size (18x7, 18x7.5, etc.), what size tires do you have, and overall how do you like them. Especially if you have your car lowered with 18's I'd be curious to know if they rub at all, how they ride and the likes. I've heard from spec-v owners that they had to get low profile tires because of the small gap that existed once they got 18's.

Any information to help me would be much appreciated.

Thanks,
Brandon

cricket_pimp69 · Apr 2nd, 2003, 09:16 AM

i havent heard any problems with the 18's yet, and Greg in our club has them on his se-r.

basically when you decide between the two, you have to ask yourself:

1) Are you doing show, performance, or just a daily driver

2) Do you really want to spend that money once a year or so on the rubber for an 18" wheel. * If you drive high mileage like i do, low profiles tend to wear out after awhile. That's why i have stuck with my 16" Velox, the tires cost too much. *

3) Do you want the loss of 1-3hp from rotating that mass of the even an inch bigger diameter from the 18's. *Unless the Spec doesnt matter much...i know on my little qg18, i'll lose some power putting on 18's.

Overall opinion: i would say stick with 17's unless money is not a factor for you. They still look great on the size, and cost less on both rim and the rubber.

QR25SpecV · Apr 4th, 2003, 01:56 AM

18's are easier to bend than the 17's you did bend, soooo....there ya go, my 2 cents

just get 17's and drop it!

sr20dem0n · Apr 4th, 2003, 11:31 AM

Most aftermarket 18's will not bend as easily as the spec wheels, especially if you get forged. The stock wheels are soft, and some people have gotten the entire wheel to split in 2 just by hitting a curb. Also, if you get some light wheels, 17" or 18" they will both give you more power than the stock wheels (stock is 24lb for 17")

QR25SpecV · Apr 4th, 2003, 01:33 PM

your also going to a lower profile tire too....but I do know what ya mean about some rims being stronger....I just wont get bigger rims again after i bent 2 on my last car....

Xclu21Sive · Apr 10th, 2003, 10:32 AM

I agree with the other people, i bent my stock 17s with a pothole also and no way decided to go with 18s, their heavier, more expensive, and more $$$ to maintain them... im not really going for an all out show car anyways, i just stuck with my nice lighter tenzos

sr20dem0n · Apr 10th, 2003, 05:09 PM

Actually most 18's are lighter than the stock rims and stronger. The downside is they're more expensive and tires are more expensive too.

Silvspec86 · Apr 10th, 2003, 06:42 PM

i'd stick with the 17's with same size tires. main reason being that if you get 18's you'd need to get lower profile tires and those transfer more bumps than stock ones. because where i ive the roads are as smooth as sand paper with gravel and potholes and the stock springs/tire combination are stiff enough and my ass has gotten used to it, but i dont want to make it any worse. and the anual tire purchase is a real turn off also. i want to get Exel TZ-5's with yokohama EVS100's to replace my stock ones soon.

SR20DE_MAN · Apr 13th, 2003, 02:36 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by QR25SpecV
18's are easier to bend than the 17's you did bend, soooo....there ya go, my 2 cents just get 17's and drop it!

Yup. The 18's will bend or bust easier. Stick with the 17's.

17" x 7.5" wheels with a 45 mm offset & 225/45-17 tires for some really good cornering action on the SE, SE-R, & SPEC V cars! It'll throw of your speedometer slighty, but you'll end up saving lots of miles on your odometer.

SilverSpec175 · Apr 16th, 2003, 05:26 PM

Alright, I got a follow up question for you guys. By putting larger rims on a car, does that fowl up the speedometer? With the bigger rims and the axis turning less, is the car actually going faster than its telling you?

sr20dem0n · Apr 16th, 2003, 06:02 PM

well if you get the same profile tire then yes, but when you get larger rims you get tires with a shorter sidewall so it comes out to the same diameter

SR20DE_MAN · Apr 17th, 2003, 03:58 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by SilverSpec175
Alright, I got a follow up question for you guys. By putting larger rims on a car, does that fowl up the speedometer? With the bigger rims and the axis turning less, is the car actually going faster than its telling you?

What sr20dem0n said. Click on my b14nissan.org tire calculator below so you get an idea of what we're talking about.

OneFastStanza · Apr 20th, 2003, 01:13 AM

I have 18x7.5 wheels with 215/35/18 rubber on mine and I like them quite a bit. It does ride a bit rougher but it looks good as hell. And as for worrying about messing them up, if you just drive careful you will be fine (just like having a body kit on the car). You can't go driving around like you are on crack or of course crap will happen to them. The other think about having hardly any sidewall is that you can curb them rather easily if you are not careful.

But it really depends on what you are wanting to get out of the wheels. For everyday driving and looks, get the 18s. If you are an avid AutoXer or race quite a bit and don't have other rims to spare then go with either 16s or 17s.

I would personally go with the 18s myself though.

Apr 22nd, 2003, 11:25 PM

if in deed you do get aftermarket rims would you be willing to sell the other 2 (non bent) rims?

thanks Paul
03 spec-v