with the stock 16" wheels and with 17" wheels.

I've noticed that when the WRX came out nearly every one ot the tests was with the car with the stock 16" wheels.

The test results of the car varied greatly with
0-60 times ranging from 5.4 seconds to 6.1 seconds, with high 5's the most common.
1/4 mile times ranging from 14.1 to 14.6, again with about 14.4 the most common.
0-100 times ranging from 15.5 seconds to 16.8 seconds, with low 16's the most common.

The fastest times of all these was the single C & D test. I haven't seen a test since then duplicate or better those numbers, most are slower.

And in the handling department the skidpad and slalom tests very greatly as well...though this has as much to do with the surface they were tested on than anything.

But my question is, most of the WRX's I see don't have the stock 16" wheels.
Most upgraded to 17 inchers.

The 17" surely help in the handling and braking department due to the better tires that I'm sure are fitted to them.

But what kind of acceleration affects do you guys think these 17" wheels had on the car. I think it would be interesting for a magazine to actually test the car with the stock 16 inchers then switch to 17 inchers (since that's what most owner do I think) and run the full battery of tests again.

That would be cool if they did that. From what I've read the car will accelerate a little slower to 60 because the 17s grip better and do not allow as much if any wheelspin during the launch. Not that it really matters though for normal people who actually care about their tranny. I just got my 05' wrx sedan yesterday and plan to stick with my 16's at least till next summer because I like that they can handle winter weather better. Besides they look pretty good in bronze with the Crystal Gray paint.

That would be cool if they did that. From what I've read the car will accelerate a little slower to 60 because the 17s grip better and do not allow as much if any wheelspin during the launch. Not that it really matters though for normal people who actually care about their tranny. I just got my 05' wrx sedan yesterday and plan to stick with my 16's at least till next summer because I like that they can handle winter weather better. Besides they look pretty good in bronze with the Crystal Gray paint.
wrong the 17 inch rims are more heavy thats why you loose speed and time

That would be cool if they did that. From what I've read the car will accelerate a little slower to 60 because the 17s grip better and do not allow as much if any wheelspin during the launch.

wheelspin saves your tranny, however it hurts acceleration. don't spread misinformation. thank you.

wrong the 17 inch rims are more heavy thats why you loose speed and time
What are you talking about? So you are telling me that all 17" rims are heavier than 16" rims? So my 17" SSR Comps that weigh 12.5lbs a piece are are heavier than my stock rims because they are bigger? Don't be silly. You should really look up these things before you say them and show people who have no idea what you are saying.

What are you talking about? So you are telling me that all 17" rims are heavier than 16" rims? So my 17" SSR Comps that weigh 12.5lbs a piece are are heavier than my stock rims because they are bigger? Don't be silly. You should really look up these things before you say them and show people who have no idea what you are saying.

he might be talking about the 17" optional rims you can get from the dealer.

he might be talking about the 17" optional rims you can get from the dealer { that's what im talking about.}

One more VERY small thing to consider, but if we're going to get technical, here it goes. Weight that rotates around a point uses a certain amount of force to get it up to speed. Move that same weight further from the point and it takes a little more force to get it up to the same speed. Simple test, hold a bowling ball to your chest and swirl in a circle. Not too tough to spin fast. Now hold the same ball all the way out with your arms fully extended. Little harder, huh? Again, this is not a huge difference going from 16s to 17s, but you are possibly moving weight further from the center of the wheel by getting a taller rim. Yeah your getting less tire, but think about it, your still probably moving the overall weight further away unless the rim has a particular design or is so light that compensates for it. Same thing goes for getting bigger rotors. Watch your 0-60 drop a little if they are bigger and not considerably lighter. I know that not all rims will have this result and the original conversation was about the stock 17s, but this looked like a good time to throw that in the mix.

One more VERY small thing to consider, but if we're going to get technical, here it goes. Weight that rotates around a point uses a certain amount of force to get it up to speed. Move that same weight further from the point and it takes a little more force to get it up to the same speed. Simple test, hold a bowling ball to your chest and swirl in a circle. Not too tough to spin fast. Now hold the same ball all the way out with your arms fully extended. Little harder, huh? Again, this is not a huge difference going from 16s to 17s, but you are possibly moving weight further from the center of the wheel by getting a taller rim. Yeah your getting less tire, but think about it, your still probably moving the overall weight further away unless the rim has a particular design or is so light that compensates for it. Same thing goes for getting bigger rotors. Watch your 0-60 drop a little if they are bigger and not considerably lighter. I know that not all rims will have this result and the original conversation was about the stock 17s, but this looked like a good time to throw that in the mix.
you are 100% correct thank you. I was to lazy to explain but you did a great job explaining .

yup, not just rotational inertia but also where the concentration of mass is in relation to the center.

so if you have 2 16" wheels where one of them has a perfectly even distribution of alloy throughout while the other one is extremely light in the center but all the mass is accumalated on the outside edge, the evenly distributed wheel will have less rotational inertia.

so that one will be faster even though they are both 16" and they both weigh the same. so when buying wheels just comparing size and mass isn't enough. you must see what kind of mass distribution each wheel uses.

wheelspin saves your tranny, however it hurts acceleration. don't spread misinformation. thank you.

Yes, the extra rotational weight does come into play, but I was referring to multiple reviews I've read where they've cited that they got such good times by being able to break the tires loose on the wrx with 16" rims. For example in the comparison test Car and Driver did a couple years ago they were able to get a better time with the wrx than the s4 because unlike the s4 the wrx could break the tires loose for an instant during the launch which is what gave it the extra couple of tenths of a second. This kept the car from bogging and gave it a quicker launch. Don't be so quick to make accusations. I'm not spreading misinformation. Spinning the wheels on the launch of an awd car isn't going to do the tranny good either. I definitely wouldn't call it tranny saving like it was stated earlier. Here is the link to the article I am speaking of. I'm not pulling this information out of thin air. Thank you http://www.caranddriver.com/article.asp?section_id=15&article_id=3615&page_number=3

Also there's this article which suggests the added wheelspin as a reason for the stock 16's running a little faster.
http://www.edmunds.com/used/2002/subaru/impreza/100002233/roadtestarticle.html?articleId=46122

Disclaimer: This is where I got the info so take it for what it's worth. If anyone has any sources that prove this wrong I would be glad to see them. Again the bottom line is that the straight line performance between the two rim sizes will be negligable unless you're at the dragstrip.

So you're just discussing better tires. Larger wheels aren't going to magically give you traction. I would think you could get better gripping tires for 16" rims too. Increase in surface area isn't going to do anything.