Weighing my wheel/tire options

[gtman]

So here's the deal. I actually don't mind the styling of my EX-L's 17" wheels. But that 48 lbs. of unsprung weight sure could be improved. After a ton of research I think I finally found the aftermarket wheel that works for me... the Sparco Pro Corsa.

I have two ways to go. I already have a new set of 17" Nokian zLine A/S UHP tires and was thinking about just getting 17" wheels. That would be the most budget friendly and lightest weight option. About a 6 lb. weight reduction too.

The other option is to get 18's and new tires. Expensive, but a much more stylish way to go. But only a slight weight reduction over stock. The other thing is tire size. Tire Rack recommends 215/45-18 but that seems a bit narrow for 8" wheels. Another option is 235/40-18 but with the crappy roads around here I'd be a little worried. I was thinking 225/45-18 would be the best compromise. It's a bit taller and would fill the wheel well better but my speedometer would read 2% slow.

Your thoughts and ideas are welcomed. Thanks.

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[HexSosa1]

I am in a similar predicament, I like the 17' touring wheels and have literally put 1000km on the stock rubber so virtually new, but once I get it lowered I think the 18" Motegi Racing 18X8 +38mm offset would fill the wheel well perfectly without fitment issues and rubbing. Weight savings would be very little if any with the larger wheel but would probably still be lighter and would be looking to put 235/40/18 rubber on them (probably Firehawk Indy 500's) for performance and price point. I think my 17's are really nice but would prefer to see if I could sell them and put the money towards the 18's, I think ultimately it will boil down to that option which is selling the stock 17" Touring wheels and putting the funds towards the Motegi Wheels.

P.S. I think the Sparco pattern and style will look killer on your sedan, what color you thinking? I am probably gonna go Satin Black with my shoes and I think it'll look great with the gloss red painted calipers I am getting done when I do the suspension mods I am thinking of in Spring.

 

[gtman]

I thought about black but I like the gunmetal look with my dark Cosmic Blue. Here's silver Pro Corsa's on a brighter Aegean Blue car. The wheels I want are slighter darker but this gives you an idea.

 

[charleswrivers]

1) Do you have one of those pictures of what it'd look like?

2) I really don't have much experience with aftermarket wheels. I did get a set of OEM 16s for my old torque-deficient RSX type S. When I bought it, it has some ASA boat-anchor 18s. I really didn't find the 18s contributed to better handling and the car accelerated and braked noticeably better on the 16s. It had no LSD, so with either one it's tend to understeer badly around the same ~30 mph range when taking a 90 degree turn on a empty 2 lane road. Much over that and it's struggle to stay on the road... and it happened pretty much all of a sudden. The 16s just started to make a touch of noise because it was both narrower and taller and had more sidewall to flex, I suppose. The 18s stayed quiet.

If I were to go with different rims, I would pick lighter weight over lower profile, assuming the same width. I would also try and see the difference in weight and price between the perspective tires.

I'm also pretty ignorant about tires, their performance and pricing. Used to be a huge upcharge but that's less and less now-a-days. When I was young and getting into cars, I though 225-50-R16 was a pretty sporty tire size still... and 18s were huge and crazy expensive. You can barely buy a economy car that has only 15-16s nowadays.
I'd say always get the lightest wheel that's still durable that you can afford. I'm just not much of a wheel guy I guess.

 

[charleswrivers]

I thought about black but I like the gunmetal look with my dark Cosmic Blue. Here's silver Pro Corsa's on a brighter Aegean Blue car. The wheels I want are slighter darker but this gives you an idea.

I don't know anything about them... but I do think they look good on the car. If your car is a little darker, I think the also-darker wheels will keep a good contrast. If they're similarly dark though, it might be too... 'shade similar'... like wearing blue jeans and a blue shirt. If they're almost the same but not quite, it looks odd. As long as there's a difference, I think it'd look fine. The design looks cool.

 

[jred721]

I'm currently running UHP a/s Riken Raptor 235/48/R18 tires on my car on Gunmetal ESR SR12 Wheels and I love the look of 18 inch wheels on this car and I think its the perfect. The tires were pretty cheap at like $356 for all 4 new tires from tire rack and so far they've held up extremely well and it was a great purchase. I'd say go with the Sparco wheels (they look good) and the 225/40/18 tires since you're worried about the road conditions where you live. The deeper gunmetal color of the Sparco wheels will also go great with your Cosmic Blue color. You could sell your 17 inch Nokian tires on the forum as i'm sure there are a lot of people out there who would want them if you sold them for a decent price. Also, if you're looking for a good cost effective 18 inch tire, I recommend the Rikens, I'm pretty amazed about how good these are especially considering the price. Lots of grip and comfortable as well.

 

[gtman]

Tire Rack calls this color "light grey" but to me it looks like gunmetal.

As much as I know the 18's will look better, that 6 lbs. per corner weight savings and cheaper cost with the 17's has me conflicted. Decisions!

 

[jred721]

Tire Rack calls this color "light grey" but to me it looks like gunmetal.

As much as I know the 18's will look better, that 6 lbs. per corner weight savings and cheaper cost with the 17's has me conflicted. Decisions!

I think gunmetal is considered to be a bit darker in color. This is how the gunmetal color looks on my wheels:

 

[gtman]

I think gunmetal is considered to be a bit darker in color. This is how the gunmetal color looks on my wheels:

Got it. How wide are your wheels? To be that concave they must be like 9" maybe? Looks good.

 

[charleswrivers]

As much as I know the 18's will look better, that 6 lbs. per corner weight savings and cheaper cost with the 17's has me conflicted. Decisions!

It's ok for aethetics to win out too. If you don't like the way something looks, that's just the way it is. I wouldn't sweat over 6 lbs of unsprung weight vs liking the way it looks.

 

[jred721]

Got it. How wide are your wheels? To be that concave they must be like 9" maybe? Looks good.

They're 9.5". Pretty aggressive fit . Also agree with Charles, aesthetics win out imo because unless you plan on tracking the car, 6 lbs won't do much at all.

 

[charleswrivers]

They're 9.5". Pretty aggressive fit .

That's... a whole lot of wheel. Looks good!

 

[gtman]

They also have this matte dark titanium version but I think it's better suited to a Type R...

 

[charleswrivers]

They also have this matte dark titanium version but I think it's better suited to a Type R...

And as to aethetics... I'd never choose black wheels... matte or gloss. Don't like the way they look. The only car I ever liked with them was...

(I'm pretty sure they're hubcaps...)

 

[gtman]

K.I.T.T. was cool but those wheels/hubcaps are seriously fugly.

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