Best place to buy rims + Question about 18s

[Scooter_TO]

Looking to pick up some new rims for the upcoming seaon. I've looked at the more popular online retailers (Tire Rack, Tire Trends, 1010Tires, Discount Tire Direct, WheelMax, AutoRnD), but am looking for some other suggestions.

1) Where have you bought your rims?
2) How was the experience?
3) How were the prices?
4) Anyone have any hookups?
5) Any Vendors on the board that have access to rims?
6) Anyone running any of the following (with or without rolled fenders):
18 x 7.5 - What offset do you have (would +45 or +48 be enough?)
18 x 7 - What offset do you have (would +40 or +42 be enough?)
7) With the above, what size tire, what make & model tire, sedan or hatch, and have you ever rubbed? (I'm assuming 215/35/18)

I know there is a fitment guide, but it does not cover 18s, and I find even for 17s you can get away with lower offsets than what is in it.

Thanks in advance

 

[Protege52003]

i like discounttire.com (they are in your list though)!

my 0.02!

 

[shane02pro5]

205/35/18 are not a standard size. I have 215/35/18's on 18x7.5 w/ 50mm offset. I am as low as I can go about 3". Barely clear the strut and fender but do not rub. You should be alright with 48mm offset if you roll the fenders which actually wouldn't give you much more, maybe .200". Rolling the fender also weakens it. Flat tire on the freeway with rolled fender=bodyshop... Keep in mind also, one tire companies 205 or 215 may be more square or round than the other. I had some 17's before with Nankangs and replaced them with Kuhmo's and started to rub.

 

[Scooter_TO]

My bad. I meant to type 215. I just updated the first post. Good to know about the 50mm offset and clearance that you have with a 3" drop. I'm on Tein S-Tech, so my drop is 1.8" front and 1.5" rear (maybe a little lower now that they have settled). So I'm thinking that the +48 should be enough to clear it without rolling (assuming yours are not rolled)..

And yeah, good point about the different style of tires and sidewall design. I was aware of that, but never thought to ask exactly what tires people were running. Good suggestion. I'll add that to the list.

 

[Hellnightkid]

sory for the misunderstanding bro...best place to get rims and tires..
Edgeracing

They have Free shipping free mount, free lug nuts and tire package

And 48 + offset is good enough...just stcik with more than 45+

 

[Scooter_TO]

sory for the misunderstanding bro...best place to get rims and tires..
Edgeracing

They have Free shipping free mount, free lug nuts and tire package

And 48 + offset is good enough...just stcik with more than 45+

no worries dude. I appreciate the fact that you were trying to help me out. I think we both missunderstood each other in that other thread. Anyway,..it's water under the bridge.

Will cehck out EdgeRacing tonight.

I think you might think I'm talking about 17s when you say that +45 offset is fine. But I'm actually meaning 18s. Is that what you were referring to? I know for sure on 17s you can even get away with +42 depending on tire design. Just trying to figure out what everyone's running with 18s.

 

[Hellnightkid]

oops..not sure about 18. but for 18" tires will be way more expensive,,,at least for me
U can also check on some tuner mag,like Import tuner, Modified, SSC...u can get more rims seller website.

 

[ronin12]

sory for the misunderstanding bro...best place to get rims and tires..
Edgeracing

They have Free shipping free mount, free lug nuts and tire package

And 48 + offset is good enough...just stcik with more than 45+

Be wary of Edgeracing. I bought 2 sets of wheels from them last year, the first set UPS lost one of the wheels, but it took edgeracing a month to get me a replacement-they could've(and I asked repeatedly) overnighted or 2nd day it but there customer service totally sucks. There is only one person there that can make decisions and he can never be reached (deadhorse . OK I will climb off that soapbox of a bad experience to climb up on the second set. They did arrive rather promptly which pleased me and was making me forget about the first set(which was still going on) anyway UPS showed up I brought them over to the car and like a kid at x-mas put them on and went for a ride. Well after the first dip i heard a noise from the back( I was warned on the boards that they might rub(225/40/17 w/40 offset) but edgeracing had their fitment guarantee and reassured me that they would fit) well after a few more rubs I carefully got back home and for the next day tried to figure out what to do, anyways I rechecked the billing label and the order and as it turns out they mounted the wrong size, they wouldn't take them back because they were already on the car so I had to go to a local tire place and have the wrong size taken off and i had to buy the right size and had them put on. Then repackage the tires and have them shipped back. I will agree that their prices are good, one of the reasons I originally went with them, but after my experience i would not go with them again. I believe that the customer always comes first, I know that the first set wasn't entirely their fault but they could have resolved it a lot quicker then they did and as for the second set mounting the wrong size? there is no excuse for that. I have heard from others that have delt with them and had good experiences and if you went with them you might also but you asked for opinions. Also seeing that you are in Canada(I will assume) if there is a problem it could turn into a nightmare. During my wait I checked around and found some decent packages at discount tire, they were 100-200 more than edgeracing which isn't all that bad. I am done ranting, but you could also check out Rishie(tire/rim section) he posted a fitment guide and usually has good deals on stuff, plus you can support someone who supports us (thumb)

 

[ronin12]

geez, talk about someone with pent-up anger (stupid)

 

[Hellnightkid]

looks like edgeracing and wheelmax are having customer service problem.

 

[haze20]

I got mine from JDM Sam. He doesn't have them on his site but if you PM him he will see what he can do for you.

 

[Scooter_TO]

thanks again guys

I actually checked Edge Racing late this afternoon (after the suggestion) and wasn't overly impressed with the 18s they had available. Didn't see anything there that I liked. And that's a pretty crappy story above. I've also heard several similar stories with Wheelmax.

So far Discount Tires seems to be the best around.

I sent a PM to Rishie and am awaiting a reply. I will also try JDM Sam.

Any other thoughts / expieriences from anyone? Or experiences with 18s?

 

[Rickman]

1) Where have you bought your rims?
I've purchased wheels and tires from www.edgeracing.com and www.jlbmotorsports.com (will be delivered tomorrow 1/27)

2) How was the experience?
Great on both counts, both companies seem very responsive and were willing to get things not listed on their sites. JLB Motosports even price matches.

3) How were the prices?
Edge Racing:
I paid around $700 shipped for a 17" set of Flik Wasps with Falken Ziex 512 tires for my P5. I ended up putting these on my MSP, and when road construction ruined one of my Fliks. Edge Racing stepped up and price matched the sale price I originally paid for my wheels.

JLB Motorsports:
I just ordered my full set of Drag DR-16's (Rota GT3) for my Miata last week around Thursday. I paid $710 shipped for the wheels and tires. FedEx tracking number have them being delivered tomorrow. I'll certainly post when I get them.

4) Anyone have any hookups?
Call Hikaru at JLB Motorsports 951-734-4411, tell him Rick Manship sent you. He's super easy to work with and gave me a great deal.

5) Any Vendors on the board that have access to rims?
Not me.

6) Anyone running any of the following:
Not me.

7) With the above, what size tire, what make & model tire, sedan or hatch, and have you ever rubbed? (I'm assuming 215/35/18)
Can't help here. 18 is too big in my opinon.

 

[Scooter_TO]

well, considering I'm downsizing from 19s,.....18s will feel / look small to me. That's why I don't want to go back to 17s now. That would be too extreme of a change for me now.

Thanks for the excellent feedback. I will check out JLB this afternoon.

 

[Canecreekfreak]

1) Where have you bought your rims? - I've used Wheelmax and the Tire Rack. I'll NEVER use wheelmax again. Ever.
2) How was the experience? Tire Rack is great. Great service, excellent reviews on their site, fast shipping and excellent products. Plus, their website is the best out there. Wheelmax- awful service, good prices, crap products.
3) How were the prices? -- You pay a little more at the tire rack, but the quality of the product is worth it. Add the CS on top, and it's a bargain. Wheelmax- you get what you pay for. (Not alot)
4) Anyone have any hookups?
5) Any Vendors on the board that have access to rims?
6) Anyone running any of the following (with or without rolled fenders):
18 x 7.5 - What offset do you have (would +45 or +48 be enough?)
18 x 7 - What offset do you have (would +40 or +42 be enough?)
7) With the above, what size tire, what make & model tire, sedan or hatch, and have you ever rubbed? (I'm assuming 215/35/18) - I got 17x7's, so I can't help you on rubbing w/18's. I can just give my advice, which is with anything important that you're gonna buy, the cheap stuff is usually cheap for a reason. In this case, with wheels, the things that your car is riding on, that'll get beat up by curbs and pot holes, and can cause lots of annoying vibrations if they're heavy and easily bent, you'll wanna get the good stuff, and the good stuff usually costs more. Dont' cheap out. (thumb)

 

[Scooter_TO]

^--- Good advice

 

[sam1]

i got my 17s from wheelsnext.com. cost me 700 and i got 3 of them 6 days later and the 4th came the next day. i was pretty satisfied (except for the hella cheasy lugs that came with the package), but i will probably buy my next set from there too...

 

[carbonkid]

scooter TO,
what did you end up getting, I am looking at wheelmax...

 

[Scooter_TO]

I ended up buying used from somebody on this forum.

Rev Model II - Hyperblack
18 x 7.5
+45 offset

Only time I've rubbed is with a full car (5 adults). If I rolled the fenders it would solve that problem, but I don't really ever drive with that many people. I was just testing it out.

I'm VERY happy with these rims. Love the new look.

 

[Scooter_TO]

sorry for the huge pics. I'll try to re-size them tonight if I remember. I just linked to whatever I had in photobucket.