Anyone running 17s on thier MS3? Opinions?

[PeterC]

I am thinking when it comes time to get new wheels to get 17s instead of 18s. Lower unsprung weight for better performance, and better ride quality. Going from the 24.5 lb stock wheel to a ~16 lb aftermarket 17" wheel would drop the unsprung weight by about 38 lbs...that seems pretty significant. I am wondering if anyone has gone "-1" and what their opinion is of the car before and after the change. Any noticeable difference in acceleration or ride quality?

Thanks,
Pete

 

[SHAGwagn]

Jam_Asian is....17x8 rotas...look him up

 

[D_Roc7822]

I have 17x7.5 on my MS3.. I got them just for the sheer fact that I didnt feel like paying a ton for 18" rims & tires. I think they look better in my opinion. I can get pics if youd like. Rims I have weigh 19 lbs each and with the tires I have + the MM I hook up a hell of a lot better.

 

[tubebrner]

My winter setup is 17x7.5 Mazda 6 stock rims with Dunlop Winter Sport M3s. Just swapped them out for the stock rims and Potenzas last night. The ride is noticably more comfortable with the 17s. The extra sidewall really helps. I don't really care becuase I didn't buy the car for comfort, but I noticed my first drive on the stock setup in 6 months this morning that the ride is much rougher than I've been accomstomed to. Performance was pretty much the same with both for street driving, obviously the Winter Sports can't hang quite as well as the Potenzas but overall I liked them a lot and would consider running 17s year round once my Potenzas are shot.

 

[crossbow]

17x8 Kosei K1-TS, 225/45/17 RT615 Falken's.

Roughly 10 lbs less per wheel. Easy 40 lbs off the unsprung weight.

 

[PeterC]

17x8 Kosei K1-TS, 225/45/17 RT615 Falken's.

So with that is your odometer calibration off since you kept the 45 series tire?

 

[crossbow]

Ya, by 2.2%, which is acceptable. Neither the hankook r212 or rt615 falkens were avail in 235/45/17 which was what I wanted, which would have put the calibration closer to 1.1%. Still its alot better then the 3.1% off I used to have on the 6!