a conundrum... a riddle if you will! 17's or 18's?

[Airman Jack]

Here's my dilemma guys, my CrapYears have just about kicked the biscuit at 32000km. I've always wanted to get new rims. The question is, do I stay with 17's, get some nice light wheels, and get good high peformance tires with a good stiff sidewall? Or do I go +1 to 18's, where I'll have to spend a LOT more to get light rims (I want less than 20lbs) and a bit more for the 18" tires?

Is it worth the extra money? Appearance wise I know the 18's would look awesome, but I'm more concerned with performance.

So the questions:

1) are 18's worth the extra money (i.e. better performaing)?
2) suggestions for rims
3) suggestions for tires

 

[Pretzellogic]

17"= much better for performance. Ride will be stiffer, but managable. As long as you don't get rims that weigh a ton, you shouldn't notice a decrease in performance, and the handling will be improved with a good wheel-tire combo.

18" = even more rotating mass and a ride that will be on the unpleasent side of harsh. Most who get 18"s (sorry to stereotype) are going mostly for looks.

 

[RedRaptor]

I agree that going 18" is for looks and for performance, you should get a set of light 17"s. However one of the things that I thought about when going from stock 205/50/17 to 225/40/18 is the fact that I'm only losing 0.5" of my sidewall with the 18"s. I personally don't feel that 1/2" will make a difference in a "harsh ride" that wasn't there with the stock parameters to start with.

Even with the 18"s have the same weigh for rim/tire combo, there is still more rotational mass as someone mentioned so you will be hit with a peformance lost...how big I don't know.

 

[Airman Jack]

so performance wise, I'd get more benefit out of a light set of 17's with some stiff tires?

 

[Pretzellogic]

I personally don't feel that 1/2" will make a difference in a "harsh ride" that wasn't there with the stock parameters to start with.

Believe it or not, it makes a bigger difference that you'd think.

 

[FunkyBuddha]

I'd stick with 17's if you're going for a balance between lightweight and being within budget. Plus..you can get relatively light wheels nowadays and still have money left over for better performing tires.

18" rims will provide a harsher ride due to the fact that you're gonna be running tires with smaller sidewalls and they are heavier unless you go extremely high end racing wheels.

 

[tgv121281]

IMO, def. go w/ some light 17's....so you keep the performance, and if you want get some H&R springs and give it a drop...just my $.02

 

[Airman Jack]

i'm probably going to wait for the mazdaspeed coilovers to be available in canada, I've got 2 years of warranty left, and I also want the adjustability for winters up here.

 

[tgv121281]

Ok even then you're getting a drop....

 

[JCell]

i have 18's and to give u an idea of performance loss...

b4 teh rims, when i raced against a buddys 1.6, i would dust him every time, now, i still beat him, but he stays on my tail the whole time

 

[vindication]

if I'm not mistaken, the 3's wheels are bigger than the Protege sedan's. I am running 17's with a 40 series tire. You will do fine with 18's because the 3 will compensate better than the Protege(this is of course if the 3's wheels are bigger than the stock Protege sedan)

 

[tsunami]

stay with the 17's.... go light weight.... i have been looking at light weight wheels for a while now and kosei (sp??) seem like a decent bang for your buck but i know nothing about them. if you can swing the $$ ssr compititons are sick... like 14lbs for 17 by 7.5 and around 13.5 for 17 by 7 i believe.... now that is some drastic rotating mass loss, then toss in a 500$ light weight fly wheel from srmotorsports (you loose another 12lbs) and you should be getting hella closer to the factory 160 and 150ft lbs

 

[bazooka joe]

i run 18's in the summer only and it requires a tire with a smaller/shorter side wall...overall the ride is a lot harsher them with the mp3 17's i run in the off season. it was all about the look for me, i can deal with the ride...i just wait until all the pot holes are fixed before i put them on though!!

 

[RED SP23]

Here's my dilemma guys, my CrapYears have just about kicked the biscuit at 32000km. I've always wanted to get new rims. The question is, do I stay with 17's, get some nice light wheels, and get good high peformance tires with a good stiff sidewall? Or do I go +1 to 18's, where I'll have to spend a LOT more to get light rims (I want less than 20lbs) and a bit more for the 18" tires?

Is it worth the extra money? Appearance wise I know the 18's would look awesome, but I'm more concerned with performance.

So the questions:

1) are 18's worth the extra money (i.e. better performaing)?
2) suggestions for rims
3) suggestions for tires

Airman Jack. I loved the look of my Mazda SP23 with 18" s but I have put back the 17"s because the suspension is not reacting well to the bigger wheels. It maybe a wheel problem with the 18x7" TSW wheels but the car jigs up and down at 50mph on any road surface. I'm putting them back on my wife's Honda Accord Euro (your Acura TSX) asap. The Honda didn't suffer any ill effects with the 18"s but the Mazda does. Back to the noisy Bridgestones . RED SP23

 

[RED SP23]

17"= much better for performance. Ride will be stiffer, but managable. As long as you don't get rims that weigh a ton, you shouldn't notice a decrease in performance, and the handling will be improved with a good wheel-tire combo.

18" = even more rotating mass and a ride that will be on the unpleasent side of harsh. Most who get 18"s (sorry to stereotype) are going mostly for looks.

Dead right! My Sp23 with the 18"s looks just great..unfortunate about the problem with 50mph. The standard 17"s will have to do..I think i'll put 215/45x17 Sumitomos on it though as soon as possible. I'm taking the car to NO Speed Limit Day at Wakefield Park Raceway near Canberra and hope to wear out those noisy Bridgestones!!!RED SP23

 

[lasermp5]

You'll be happy w/ 17s trust me. A good overall 17" wheel is the 5zigen Fno1rc. They're about 16lbs and change, and they're not too too expensive... around 800 for the set. Plus they look hella nice! If you have an oragne 3... bronze would look pretty good I could imagine. If not, you can never go wrong with rota slipstreams... but looks won't be as good imo.