I have an 00 civic lx and I haven't done anything to it. Now I have my heart set on some black 15s or 16s. What are the cons in upgrading to bigger rims from my stock 14s? I read a lot of things. Will I need new breaks? Would I have to drop or raise my car? What about the ride, would driving be smoother or rougher? How will driving be different. Thanks in advance, you guys are always very helpful.

 

Hmm maybe this might help u... i have 95 coupe with front an rear gsr brake/suspension so gonna be a TID BIT diff than ur setup but ull get an idea...

15's - i had gsr blades an rota jmags, both rode nice but didnt grip much of the road and at the track i obviously had some minor traction issues..

16's - i had upgraded to some 16" rotas in a trade for my 15's, handled a lil better, ride was a bit smoother an traction was a tad better..

17's - i just traded my 16's for these 17" HP Evo's with some fresh rubber on'm.. Handle better than any of the wheels i've owned before, an traction issues are like bare minimum... My car also handles wayyyy better and i feel like im gettin a lot more steering response in my turns due to larger rotational mass....

I had stock 13" steelies before too, they werent even good enough to make the list so whats that tell ya... "i could chirp 5th gear with those tires haha...

So case in point, everyone on heres gonna tell u stay with the smaller rims cuz anything over 15" is ricey on HT, but dude u just need to pick what stands out to u... And no, u wont need to change ur brakes to bigger, infact its the other way around... When upgradin to BIGGER brakes sometimes u need BIGGER wheels... Also, lowering an raising ur car is just a bling factor if ur not doin it for traction purposes... However my 17's tucked look like they could be 15's sometimes so lowering ur car of course is gonna make any wheels u get look a lil better "plus takes away from that monster truck feeling"...

Well theres a lil rim overview in a nutshell for ya....

 

Theres also a difference in acceleration with different size and different weight rims. Maybe MPG difference, and you might be putting more stress on certain suspension components with big rims like 17's, but then again I'm just guessing here. Good luck!

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Juan_Mitosis &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Theres also a difference in acceleration with different size and different weight rims. Maybe MPG difference, and you might be putting more stress on certain suspension components with big rims like 17's, but then again I'm just guessing here. Good luck!</TD></TR></TABLE>

ur right, but im boostin 10psi an at $3.98/gal i've accustomed to paying $40 to fill my car with 17's and $38 to fill it with 16's... also note, i swapped suspension f&r from my old gsr which had tein struts/spring, full strut/sway bars, ect... plus i have skunk2 camber kit so adjusting is never an issue.... but opposed to havin all the **** like i've got, i could see someone maybe runnin into an issue or so, not specifically sure on what but something possibly...

oh yeah, also add that the traction differences between 15's an 17's is like night an day... full boost my 17's are just grippin/rippin, with them 15's lmao, if i wanted to be an a$$h0le i coulda spun through all gears, its kinda hard to do that even through 4th with the 17's, but i love that tho, cuz that means traction is better by a long shot... so take that into consideration too if ur a traction needer...

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by nyzd79 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I have an 00 civic lx and I haven't done anything to it. Now I have my heart set on some black 15s or 16s. What are the cons in upgrading to bigger rims from my stock 14s? I read a lot of things. Will I need new breaks? Would I have to drop or raise my car? What about the ride, would driving be smoother or rougher? How will driving be different. Thanks in advance, you guys are always very helpful.</TD></TR></TABLE>

You will not have to get new brakes, you will not have to do anything to your suspension aside from regular maintenance.
Ride comfort would depend moreso on the tire. If you're going to get 17s, the tires get shorter and shorter the higher you go (lower profile). Lower profile tires mean less absorption by the tire, more by the wheel (rim) itself.
If it's for looks, go with whatever floats your boat, but keep in mind tires are cheaper for smaller wheels than larger.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by STDClayton &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
but keep in mind tires are cheaper for smaller wheels than larger. </TD></TR></TABLE>

i paid 260 for 4 new tires when i had my gsr's, now that i have my 17's i goto ace tire in miami, get 205/40's brand new 120 for 4... so, not cheaper down here in FL lol...

 

The smaller the tire profile, the worse the ride quality gets. Cracks n stuff on the road will feel like if your car slightly jerked towards it. You will feel a lot more **** from the road, bumpier ride. Theres pretty much ALWAYS a trade off for every part you change in a car.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 1CaMw0nDeR &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

i paid 260 for 4 new tires when i had my gsr's, now that i have my 17's i goto ace tire in miami, get 205/40's brand new 120 for 4... so, not cheaper down here in FL lol...</TD></TR></TABLE>

It's a general rule of thumb, dude. It's not 100% guaranteed.

 

I wasnt tryna start an argument bro, i was just sayin... In my specific case, the 17's ended up bein the best wheels i've had so far when comparing to my other wheels i've owned... Also note, i bought my tires brand new on October 23rd, 2007 and as of April 28th, 2008 my rear tires still look brand new 9.5/10 id give'm and my fronts not far off id give them 8.5/10... With my gsr blades, i'd go through 2 sets of tires in six months, and at payin about $100 a tire, that gets kinda pricey... I was kinda hesitant to buy my tires at first cuz they were a new brand that i never heard of an w/e but i figured for 120 bucks where can i go wrong..?? Well its been over six months with'm and i have nothing but thumbs up for my brand of tires... Plus, they're made in Japan so they go with my cars JDM theme a lil better lol... Anyways, it might be a rule of thumb "smaller the cheaper" but that rule isnt always valid for everyone, an in this case its me whos gettin the deal for once an not gettin shafted by bein overpriced out the ***...