tadamori

So... Last summer I bought this 94 del sol dohc from some guy. it's cool but it has 17" rims in the back and 14" rims in the front. I want to buy new rims to match all the wheels.

Here is the wheel and tire stats:

The back has MSR12617sf with 205/40R17 84H Nanking Sport NS-1 tires

The front has basic stock 14" steel rims with a tire size of 185/60R14

I have a bunch of questions...

1.) I want to have the same size rims on all 4 wheels. I will probably either go 17" or back down to 14". What would be the benefits/drawbacks of either move in terms of performance, handling, gas/tire mileage, etc..? how about 16's or 15's?

2.) will the different rim sizes affect my ride height cause the car is already lowered and has a kit so I don't want to sit lower anymore.

3.) What are some good tires if I stick with the 17"? I want tires that are good for street driving in Los Angeles and that will last for a decent amount of time without being super expensive. (If I go stock 14" I will probably just go to costco and buy whatever is cheap and decent since they seem to only offer to sell stock tire sizes for your car.)

4.) Is there any good reason the previous owner would have wanted to have this set up? What are the possible benefits for this type of setup in therms of handling, performance? It doesn't make sense to me as if a car is FWD the bigger wheels should be on the FRONT for traction if anything, right? And it certainly doesn't LOOK good having 2 greasy black wheels on the front. I noticed the tires had been worn down a lot.

Anyways, I am really confused about all these tire/wheel questions. Most important is that I want to make sure my wheels are set up in a way that lets me get the most out of my car in terms of handling and performance for everyday driving. Racing or fwd drifting is not really a priority. Any answers to these questions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

tadamori

here are some pictures of what im talking about.

nsxtasy

First of all, the actual name of the model you have is a '94 Honda del sol VTEC. That's important, because it came with a different stock tire size from most del sols; most del sols were sold with 175/70-13 or 185/60-14, whereas yours was sold with 195/60-14, and needs slightly larger tires than other del sols.

You can use any of the following tire sizes; I recommend the indicated wheel widths:

14" - 185/65-14 or 195/60-14 tires on 14x5.5 or 14x6 wheels
15" - 195/55-15 or 205/50-15 tires on 15x6, 15x6.5, or 15x7 wheels
16" - 205/45-16 tires on 16x7 wheels
17" - 205/40-17 tires on 17x7 wheels

Since you're buying a new set of wheels anyway, you can buy any of these sizes. To some extent, it's a matter of personal preference, but there are some significant practical benefits and downsides to some of the sizes. I would avoid 14" wheels because the selection of available 14" performance tires is extremely limited. And I would avoid 17" wheels because the short sidewall makes them very susceptible to damage from potholes. So my recommendation is to go with 15" or 16" wheels. Incidentally, if you'd consider used wheels, there are tons of 15" wheels around, including most of the stock Integra GS-R wheels which should fit your car.

Since you're in Los Angeles, you don't need all-seasons (no snow) and can take advantage of the better performance of summer tires. Here are the tires I recommend; they offer very good performance on dry pavement as well as in rain, they last a reasonably long time (25-40K miles), and they are relatively inexpensive:

Yokohama S.drive
195/55-15 ($69/tire at the Tire Rack)
205/50-15 ($83/tire at the Tire Rack)
205/45-16 ($90/tire at the Tire Rack)

Fuzion ZRi
205/50-15 ($74/tire at the Tire Rack)
205/45-16 ($88/tire at the Tire Rack)

Both come in 205/40-17, but again, I don't recommend 17" wheels due to their susceptibility to damage from potholes.