I presently have 16s on my 98 GSR but I've seen a few teggy setups with 17s and fell in love.

Question is, Ive heard Id lose acceleration with 17s because of their higher weight. But what about lightwights? Will a 17 lightweight give the same performance as a non-lightweight 16? or better? or worst?

Also, Is there another factor than the weight to consider in this?

Please shed my light on this.

-Rock

 

Some will argue that a 17" wheel that weighs the same as a 16" wheel will still be worse because more of the weight is farther out from the center of the wheel. I don't know how much of a difference it makes but it's something to think about.

Other factors to consider is that you're probably going to be running 205/40-17 tires, which have extremely thin sidewalls, which makes for a harsher ride, as well as alot more prone to wheel damage if you hit a nasty bump or hole or whatever, whereas a 205/45-16 tire would be more likely to absorb the impact.

Then there is the issue of aesthetics and ride height. Unless you have zero fender gap already, the shorter sidewall of the 40-series 17" tire will make any fender gap you ahve now appear larger. Most cars look best when the fender gap is equal to, or less than, the size of the tire sidewall. So if, for instance, you had the same fender gap as the size of the sidewall on a 205/45-16 tire, and you switched to a 205/40-17 tire, the fender gap will look bigger in relation to the size of the sidewall. So then you would need to lower the car more to get rid of the "lifted" look.

 

17's on a teg are really only for show.

16's will give you a bigger wheel while keeping the weight down and ride will still be comfortable as a daily.

 

RuskeR, Yeah!! but what about lightweights?? Whats you're opinion on these?<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by RuskeR &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote"> 17's on a teg are really only for show.

16's will give you a bigger wheel while keeping the weight down and ride will still be comfortable as a daily.

</TD></TR></TABLE>

 

Thanks a lot for the advice, whats the maximum width I can have without having to modify the fenders?

I cant have more than 215 of width right?

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by PatrickGSR94 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Some will argue that a 17" wheel that weighs the same as a 16" wheel will still be worse because more of the weight is farther out from the center of the wheel. I don't know how much of a difference it makes but it's something to think about.

Other factors to consider is that you're probably going to be running 205/40-17 tires, which have extremely thin sidewalls, which makes for a harsher ride, as well as alot more prone to wheel damage if you hit a nasty bump or hole or whatever, whereas a 205/45-16 tire would be more likely to absorb the impact.

Then there is the issue of aesthetics and ride height. Unless you have zero fender gap already, the shorter sidewall of the 40-series 17" tire will make any fender gap you ahve now appear larger. Most cars look best when the fender gap is equal to, or less than, the size of the tire sidewall. So if, for instance, you had the same fender gap as the size of the sidewall on a 205/45-16 tire, and you switched to a 205/40-17 tire, the fender gap will look bigger in relation to the size of the sidewall. So then you would need to lower the car more to get rid of the "lifted" look.</TD></TR></TABLE>

 

215 will be pushing it VERY close. I know there are people running 215/45-16 Falken Azenis tires in the ITR forum, mainly because they don't come in a 205/45-16 size. Whether or not you can stuff a 215 tire under there will critically depend upon wheel offset. My 205/45-16 tires are already fairly close to my front spindles on the inside, and the fenders on the outside. So you will have to have a wheel offset that places the tire just right so it won't rub on the inside or outside.

But even with the right offset, it will almost certainly rub on the inside when you're turned at full lock.

Also keep in mind that I'm not running any camber correction, so the fact that I have -2.5 camber in front helps my tires clear the fenders. If you're running an aftermarket camber kit, which pushes the top of the tire outwards, you might have more problems than I do. You might not be able to run a 215 tire at all without fender modification. Unfortunately I can't say anything for sure, though.

 

What about the diffrence in traction? Is it worth it? Going from 205 to 215... is it a big diffrence?

 

I don't know, might want to have a look around in the ITR or maybe roadrace/autocross forums, or maybe post in there and see what their experiences and opinions are.

 

Ok well, thanks for your time and expertise I appreciate it.