alright guys heres the deal. i just purchased a wings west W-type body kit for my 99 ls. since the kit is a nice even flowing kit, 17's just look too perfect on it to go wtih 16's. i'm looking at some motegi racing mr7's that weigh 24lbs and im also looking at some konig heliums. my question is, will the larger wheel hurt my performance as in handling? i know this sounds like a noob question but i wuzn't too sure about handling but i do know the bigger the wheel and the heavier the wheel the more it hurts u in the straight line. any help would be much appreciated

 

the only reason you would be racing on 17+'s is if you were street racing and that is bad.

the only reason you would be racing on 17+'s on the track is if you wanted to be laughed at.

 

haha. i can't laugh tho. i got a set of 18" knockoff monsoons sitting in the garage waiting for new tires.

 

thats not really answering the question. im not really into street racing though. i do like to hit the back roads and haul some ***. so would it hurt the handling?

 

haha. sorry. i won't be able to tell you until i put my 18's on. but yeah, i've heard the same thing.

 

i put some 17s on my gsr...the acceleration seems slower with them on...but the performance on turns is much better...tires matter too though...i have 205/40/17 toyo proxes...i also have lsd ...not a big fan of street racing eithier...for me 17s are fine or better for daily driving...you get the performance plus the look

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by hgz &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">the only reason you would be racing on 17+'s is if you were street racing and that is bad.

the only reason you would be racing on 17+'s on the track is if you wanted to be laughed at. </TD></TR></TABLE>

Please tell me you are kidding...

The loss in performance due to rotational innerta will be very minimal, pretty much to the point where you will not even feel a difference. Especially since your car has power steering - which results in less user feedback from the road as apposed to manual steering which gives good user feedback.

Handling wise, going to a tire that has less side wall always results in less flex therefore resulting in better handling charactoristics as the tire side wall gets smaller. But simply puting on tires with smaller side walls will not yeild good handling charactoristics. Not only would you need shocks and springs (pref. coilovers) but strut tower braces, sway bars, tie rod ends...bushings....all these things should be factored in to get a very nice handling car.

Let's not forget about tire compound either. What is the point of having all the goodies and the car balanced properly then you go and throw shitty rubber on...then everything done was in vane. If you live in an area with minimal rain, I suggest the BFG K-D's...a very capable tire

Many will argue that 17's are gay and 17's aren't JDM enough...blah blah blah. I say 1) Shut up it's not your car and 2) You cannot deny the simple fact that a 17' wheel is going to out perform a 16' wheel any day of the week.

Now 18's....that's another story

 

24lbs is way too heavy konig heliums are around 16-17 lbs. I observed a .1 sec slower quarter mile going from 14" to 17"

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by hgz &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">haha. i can't laugh tho. i got a set of 18" knockoff monsoons sitting in the garage waiting for new tires. </TD></TR></TABLE>
I have the same problem, although im rolling on 17s now

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by ProjectDarkBlack &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">24lbs is way too heavy konig heliums are around 16-17 lbs. I observed a .1 sec slower quarter mile going from 14" to 17"</TD></TR></TABLE>

Regardless....your never going to run the same exact times...ever. This is because the conditions will never be exactly the same.

It is also probably safe to say that you noted a .1 sec difference because you were drag racing (which the thread starter said he isn't into) and you have time slips to prove your difference.

 

I had 17's on my 90teg and i still have them on my 96 teg. I like the way they look and I did like the way the can handled with them.

Only problem i had was with a 2" front drop i got a little rub on the top of the fender, but i fixed it by limiting the shcok travel with a bump stop.

 

I love my 17's I wouldnt trade for anything. My car has excellent handling, also it is very important on what type of Suspension set up you have.

Michele

 

where i live....bumble **** egypt tennessee there are a lot of back roads here that are really windy and twisty. but im about to order skunk2 coilovers, kgb shocks, itr front and rear sway's, cusco front and rear strut bars. i know the heliums are extremely light but i don't think they would just go with the kit very well. i'll post some pics of exactly what the W-Type and the Motegi Mr7's look like

 

I'd highly suggest staying away from the Skunk 2 'coilovers'. Also....if you search the classifieds, you may find some nice koni yellows and perhaps some decent wheels that someone 'just doesn't like anymore'. I'd rather buy good used parts then pay retail any day.

 

alright nm....how do u post pics on here?

 

I got 17 in tenzoR rims on my first civic 4 years ago.. since then i cant drive with anything smaller. I can, but i hate it. The difference in the way it feels at higher speeds is ridiculous. I take the turnpike alot and its always 80mph+. As far as turns, i think its the combo of being lowered with ground control coilovers and kyb shocks that really helps with the turns. I have konigs on now, and my car handles very well but i think the rims are cheaper because 75-80mph the wheels shake. I never had that problem with the tenzo's and those werent even balanced. I have had the konigs balanced twice and no help. Anyways.... light weight rims are a HUGE plus.. check out rota wheels .. they're a knock off of volk rims and weigh the same with about 1/3 of the price. Nice styles too.. the "grid" style would look hot with that kiT!

 

http://www.cardomain.com/memberpage/236593

couldn't get the pics to work on here but there is the W-type with motegi mr7's

 

I've got 17's on my GSR. Buddy Club P1 SF's, 17lbs ea. pretty light for a 17" wheel. I opted for 16's at first but they were discontinued and I figured the P1's were light for a 17

 

well if i should stay away from the skunk2's what would u guys recomend for coilovers? and im not talking about $2,000 apexi ones..

 

I just ordered my Omnipower Coil-sleeves and Tokico Illumina 5-way adjustable shocks. The Omnis are better quality than the skunks and should work very well with the Illuminas. Next to the Koni Yellows, the illuminas are pretty much the next best shock out there. KYB AGX are okay, but they arn't great. Also you have to adjust them from the shock body I believe. I am getting yoko avs es100 tires size 195/55/15 soon too. I hope this gives at least relatively good handling.

 

bump

 

hey... don't smaller diameter rims heat up quicker??? The larger rims are just for looks... that's what I was told..

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by scartail &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">hey... don't smaller diameter rims heat up quicker??? The larger rims are just for looks... that's what I was told.. </TD></TR></TABLE>

How would they heat up faster? Friction caused by rotation? Where do the heat up? The rubber? The wheel it's self? I think your friend is mistaken with something else. I've never heard before.

 

what about the ground control coilovers? is anyone sportnig them?

 

I have ground control and i love them to death, however i dont notice much of a difference between them and the $80dropzone ones i had on my 00 civic si. DONT get kyb adjustables. I have them now.. well, 3 left! i hit a pot hole and the pressure broke the shock and the rod in the middle blasted right through my hood leaving a huge hole. I never took a pic of the broken shock, but maybe ill take a pic of the hole it left. Oh yeah.. and whoever said they were adjusted by the shock body was wrong. its a dial at the top of the shock, accessed under the hood.