|
Tire & Wheel Forum sponsored by The Tire Rack |
|
|
|
Thread Tools | Display Modes |
03-22-2008, 12:26 PM | #1 |
Scooby Newbie
Member#: 2905
Join Date: Nov 2000
Chapter/Region:
Tri-State
Location: Seaford, NY USA
Vehicle:2006 Cobb Stage2 WRX OBP |
'06 WRX: 17's vs. 18's?
What are your thoughts on upgrading wheels? I wanted 18's but some people say stick with 17's for various reasons. Any comments? pros v. cons? I will likely lower the car, but no more than an inch. I live in NY but very rarely travel over roads that are potholed or messed up. I also dont put a lot of mileage on the car. Ive been looking at Rota P1's and Tarmac III's in 18 x 8 or 18 x 8.5. Thanks.
* Registered users of the site do not see these ads.
|
03-22-2008, 12:43 PM | #2 |
Scooby Guru
Member#: 140163
Join Date: Feb 2007
Chapter/Region:
MAIC
Location: 3MI Racing
Vehicle:03 STi hellaflunctional |
17s are, in general, lighter than 18s. tires are cheaper for 17s and you have more tire protecting your wheels. the ride quality isn't much worse with 18s, but potholes or a rough road are far more worrisome.
|
03-22-2008, 08:20 PM | #3 |
Scooby Specialist
Member#: 131808
Join Date: Nov 2006
Chapter/Region:
NESIC
Location: Newmarket, NH
Vehicle:2006 Murphy2012 |
^ +1 for nhat's comments.
18's do look great, but you're going to be paying a heck of a lot less in the long run with 17's. |
03-22-2008, 08:53 PM | #4 |
Scooby Specialist
Member#: 74907
Join Date: Nov 2004
Chapter/Region:
NWIC
Location: salem, OR
Vehicle:98 cam'd EJ251 Wrx Tranny,slowr than ish |
17's for sure. Just grab a set of 17x8'' rims so you can put some beefy tires on your rims.
~Josh~ |
03-23-2008, 10:15 AM | #5 |
Scooby Newbie
Member#: 2905
Join Date: Nov 2000
Chapter/Region:
Tri-State
Location: Seaford, NY USA
Vehicle:2006 Cobb Stage2 WRX OBP |
thanks for the info. it will be a lot less expensive to simply upgrade my wheels and keep the stock tires, but wont i be stretching out the stock tires by going with an 8" wheel? whats the max wheel width for the stock tire?
|
03-23-2008, 10:33 AM | #6 |
Scooby Guru
Member#: 140163
Join Date: Feb 2007
Chapter/Region:
MAIC
Location: 3MI Racing
Vehicle:03 STi hellaflunctional |
well according to your profile, you have 16s stock. so i don't know which stock tires you have but my guess is 215/45/17 re92s?
|
03-23-2008, 11:42 AM | #7 |
Scooby Newbie
Member#: 2905
Join Date: Nov 2000
Chapter/Region:
Tri-State
Location: Seaford, NY USA
Vehicle:2006 Cobb Stage2 WRX OBP |
I havent updated my profile yet...that '04 is long gone and I just bought a 2006 WRX. It has the stock 17's with 215/45 Re92's.
|
03-23-2008, 01:39 PM | #8 |
Scooby Newbie
Member#: 153007
Join Date: Jul 2007
Chapter/Region:
Tri-State
Location: New york city
Vehicle:2007 WRX sedan Black vf48 |
man! the stock's tires suck so bad, just buy a set of new tires if u buy the rims too! I live in nyc too! I just bought a set of 17x7.5 rota torque and Continental ContiExtremeContact 225/45/17. I love them!
|
03-23-2008, 01:41 PM | #9 |
Scooby Newbie
Member#: 163254
Join Date: Nov 2007
Chapter/Region:
TXIC
Location: Austin, Tx
Vehicle:02 EVO'd WRX 16g 284 whp / MD Mustang |
dont waste time with 17's
stock rims are already 17's! or 16's on 02-05,, 18's all the way, |
03-23-2008, 02:01 PM | #10 | |
Scooby Guru
Member#: 140163
Join Date: Feb 2007
Chapter/Region:
MAIC
Location: 3MI Racing
Vehicle:03 STi hellaflunctional |
Quote:
do whatever you want with the stock wheels and tires. i see no reason to dismount the re92s and put them on a wider 17" wheel. there are so many options for 17" tires in the $100-130 range to try! |
|
03-24-2008, 11:08 AM | #11 |
*** Banned ***
Member#: 175453
Join Date: Mar 2008
Chapter/Region:
MWSOC
Location: wilCO, IL
Vehicle:AE86 GT-S coupe i <3 alqonquin homosauce |
I'm getting some 18" OZ Ultaleggera's. I've always had bigger wheels on my cars, and I've been running 19's on my GTO without a problem. You lose a miniscule amount of ride quality and if you choose the right wheels, there's no weight penalty. The 18's I'm buying are 18.4 lbs a piece.
|
03-24-2008, 12:16 PM | #12 |
Scooby Newbie
Member#: 128530
Join Date: Oct 2006
Chapter/Region:
TXIC
Location: Katy, TX
Vehicle:2013 BRZ WRB |
17's
Pros: - tires cheaper - you retain the original ratio of power delivery based on the original gearing used by the car to wheel size - usually less $$$ than 18's Cons: - doesn't have that bigger is better look - cant always fit over brembos or big brake kits 18's Pros: - bigger and gives you choices if you are after the look - bigger wheel can give you choices for more rubber sizes Cons: - its bigger and you gotta spend more money to get it light as a smaller 17 can be (Enkei RPF1 17 lighter than a 18 only due to size for comparison) - unless you get a light wheel designed for less unsprung weight you will see a small acceleration penalty in power delivery to a larger wheel (can be offset by more money on lighter 18's) - more $$$ Judging by the OP's description I see no problem with 18's. Get some you like. 17's might be better but for street use I doubt it will matter to you unless you got some massive bbk's and need massive rubber for track use. |
03-24-2008, 12:52 PM | #13 | |
Scooby Newbie
Member#: 163254
Join Date: Nov 2007
Chapter/Region:
TXIC
Location: Austin, Tx
Vehicle:02 EVO'd WRX 16g 284 whp / MD Mustang |
Quote:
yea same here i have 18" 5Zigen's and theyre like 18 lbs each, or maybe right under, i dont think you loose power to the wheel size ratio bc and 18" rim with 225/40/18 tire is the exact same height as the stocker on 02-05 wrx's |
|
03-24-2008, 02:05 PM | #14 |
Scooby Newbie
Member#: 43421
Join Date: Sep 2003
Chapter/Region:
Tri-State
Location: between PA/CA
Vehicle:2004 STi Wagon Black |
I'd go with 17... gives you enough cushion for bumps and handling is decent compared to 16s that came stock with mine and are lighter than 18s.
|
03-24-2008, 10:00 PM | #15 |
Scooby Newbie
Member#: 104836
Join Date: Jan 2006
Chapter/Region:
NWIC
Location: Bend Oregon
Vehicle:2003 Impreza WRX Sodoma Red |
F it all. Buy 18's if you want looks. Buy 17's if you want price. It doesn't seem like the rest of the factors even matter. Lower it an inch and it won't make a damn. I prefer 18's myself. I run 18's on my 06 leg GT and My 03 WRX. They look and handle great.
|
03-24-2008, 10:07 PM | #16 |
Scooby Specialist
Member#: 119532
Join Date: Jul 2006
Vehicle:2006 WRX |
a nice light 17x8 with a 245/40 is the lightest most cost effective wheel and tire size combination
unless you want to use a 235/40 to alter gearing for a bit better acceleration |
03-25-2008, 03:21 AM | #17 |
Scooby Specialist
Member#: 86241
Join Date: May 2005
Chapter/Region:
SCIC
Vehicle:2006 Bolony Mobile REAL MAN KREW #5 |
go 17's, but go wider dude. I am running 17x8.5 and love em. Significantly lighter than stock 06 wheels. 17x8.5 or 17x9 is what I recommend.
|
03-25-2008, 01:04 PM | #18 |
Scooby Specialist
Member#: 159372
Join Date: Sep 2007
Chapter/Region:
MAIC
Location: Baltimore City, MD
Vehicle:2007 WRX (stage ++) UGM |
Do the 17's preform better than the 18s?
im trying to decide which wheels i want to go with also for my warm weather wheels/tires and ive almost decided on gold 18x8 Enkei RPF1's but i don't know now if i wanna go 17s. i have stance GR+ pro coilovers on my car. I care about looks but ultimately performance is what im looking for. input? the 17" rpf1s are a good deal lighter then the 18s but i don't really know how to weigh which would be better performance. do i need a physicist : ) ?? thanks -GL Last edited by GreenLantern; 03-25-2008 at 03:58 PM. |
03-25-2008, 04:48 PM | #19 |
Scooby Newbie
Member#: 2905
Join Date: Nov 2000
Chapter/Region:
Tri-State
Location: Seaford, NY USA
Vehicle:2006 Cobb Stage2 WRX OBP |
what wheel choices do we have for 17 x 8.5 or 17 x 9? I know 5zigen makes the Pro Racer GN+ in 17 x 8.5 (has them on my s2000) but dont know of any others.
|
03-29-2008, 01:15 AM | #20 |
Scooby Specialist
Member#: 159372
Join Date: Sep 2007
Chapter/Region:
MAIC
Location: Baltimore City, MD
Vehicle:2007 WRX (stage ++) UGM |
im getting 18x8 +45 gold rpf1's for my 07
dont know from where yet haha but yea. what size tires should i get to get the best performance w/o rubbing my fenders???? -GL |
03-29-2008, 08:13 AM | #21 |
Scooby Newbie
Member#: 46046
Join Date: Oct 2003
Chapter/Region:
Tri-State
Location: New York
Vehicle:2004 WRX STi Silver |
17x8, or 17x9 with a nice offset of 35, 38, or 45 will look very aggressive.
|
03-29-2008, 01:40 PM | #22 |
Scooby Specialist
Member#: 150732
Join Date: Jun 2007
Chapter/Region:
NWIC
Location: Spokane/Fairchild AFB
Vehicle:2011 WRXXXX LRP |
will 17x9 rub? one more question,if i run 17x8 in the front,and 17x9,will that do harm to anything?thaks in advance
|
03-29-2008, 02:50 PM | #23 | |
Scooby Specialist
Member#: 75081
Join Date: Nov 2004
Chapter/Region:
BAIC
Vehicle:2003 WRX WRB |
Quote:
I assume you mean running 17x8 in the front and 17x9 in the rear. Honestly, you would not want to do this type of setup. If you were to run different size wheels, you would want to run the wider wheels in the FRONT on our cars. However, you will still HAVE to keep the same size & brand of tire on front and rear. If you are thinking of doing this because you want the looks of a RWD vehicle, then you really should either avoid doing this or get a RWD that this kind of setup would actually work on. If you are doing it for some type of racing competition, then more power to you. |
|
03-29-2008, 04:16 PM | #24 |
Scooby Guru
Member#: 140163
Join Date: Feb 2007
Chapter/Region:
MAIC
Location: 3MI Racing
Vehicle:03 STi hellaflunctional |
|
03-30-2008, 02:23 AM | #25 |
Scooby Newbie
Member#: 159233
Join Date: Sep 2007
Chapter/Region:
MAIC
Location: New York, NY
Vehicle:2006 WRX Wagon Red |
I just put on 18"Enkei RP03 rims wrapped in Goodyear F1 allseason tires. They handle well, look great, and weigh less than the stock rims by about 1.5 lbs. I haven't had any trouble with potholes (knock on wood) and definitely think it was worth the money.
|
Thread Tools | |
Display Modes | |
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
17's Vs. 18's | KKriG23 | Newbies & FAQs | 70 | 04-28-2010 06:18 PM |
17's vs. 18's | bigworm | Tire & Wheel | 3 | 06-18-2005 05:16 PM |
17's vs 18's rota wheels which tires | frow | Tire & Wheel | 7 | 09-28-2004 04:19 PM |
WTT: My 18's for your 17's or 18's | trehlo | Tri-State Area Forum | 1 | 09-26-2004 08:04 PM |
17's vs. 18's on the STi | sneeky | Tire & Wheel | 21 | 11-30-2003 10:39 PM |