16's or 17's
Senior Member
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 1,930
From:
RE: 16's or 17's
ORIGINAL: jeff_o
quote: ive had 16's and 17's and im going back to 16's with 205 40 R16 tires. The 17s feel they slow my car down too much especially if you dont have many mods.
isn't it when the overall diameter gets bigger and that's the time the car slows down? but if you offset it with a bigger rim but lower profile, as long as it is close to OEM diameter then it should be fine.
quote: ive had 16's and 17's and im going back to 16's with 205 40 R16 tires. The 17s feel they slow my car down too much especially if you dont have many mods.
isn't it when the overall diameter gets bigger and that's the time the car slows down? but if you offset it with a bigger rim but lower profile, as long as it is close to OEM diameter then it should be fine.
HCF Member
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 749
From:
RE: 16's or 17's
I mean to somone who things 17s look good on a civic. I like lowered look but I can't lower my car right now cause of the train horn mounted on the rear of my car and cause it costs some $ for some good coilovers.
Joined: May 2006
Posts: 688
From:
RE: 16's or 17's
I have a 7th gen civic and im not positive but it looks a little bigger then older model civics so a 17" rim IMO looks better on the late models to where I agree on 16's for earlier civics. It looks very nice.
HCF Member
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 619
RE: 16's or 17's
How much a tire/rim combo weighs, and how much it slows a car is subject to several different factors.
-A 17x7 rim could weigh less than a 14x5.5, if the 14 is steel and the 17 is a lightweight alloy. Look at the variance in rim weights for rims of the same sizes sometime. The range in weightmight surprise you.
- Another factor to consider is the weight of the tire. A lower profile 15"tire will weigh less than a higher profile 14" tire of the same construction, overall diameter,and width. A heavier construction, a wider tire, or an overalltaller tire will likely add weight.
- A taller overall tire may slow a car some due to altering the final gear ratio and possibly causing the vehicle to operate outside of it's designed powerband. It may also be just as fast/quick, but the speedometer reading will be decreased by a taller overall diameter. This is a very common issue with Jeeps, as larger tires are often installed for better ground clearance and flotation offroad. The speedometer can be corrected, or the ring and pinion gears can be changed to match the new tire size.
- A tire with a wider contact patch will generally have more rolling resistance than a narrow one. This can be offset somewhat with higher inflation pressure, but higher PSI may cause uneven treadwear. Rolling resistance can also be altered by tread pattern.
If you want to increase your rim size without affecting your tractable power as much, select lightweight rims and match them to lightweight tires thathave a similar overall diameter and width to your existing ones.An example would be going from a steel 14x5.5 and 185/65R14 combo, to a lightweight alloy 15x6 and 195/55R15 combo.
-A 17x7 rim could weigh less than a 14x5.5, if the 14 is steel and the 17 is a lightweight alloy. Look at the variance in rim weights for rims of the same sizes sometime. The range in weightmight surprise you.
- Another factor to consider is the weight of the tire. A lower profile 15"tire will weigh less than a higher profile 14" tire of the same construction, overall diameter,and width. A heavier construction, a wider tire, or an overalltaller tire will likely add weight.
- A taller overall tire may slow a car some due to altering the final gear ratio and possibly causing the vehicle to operate outside of it's designed powerband. It may also be just as fast/quick, but the speedometer reading will be decreased by a taller overall diameter. This is a very common issue with Jeeps, as larger tires are often installed for better ground clearance and flotation offroad. The speedometer can be corrected, or the ring and pinion gears can be changed to match the new tire size.
- A tire with a wider contact patch will generally have more rolling resistance than a narrow one. This can be offset somewhat with higher inflation pressure, but higher PSI may cause uneven treadwear. Rolling resistance can also be altered by tread pattern.
If you want to increase your rim size without affecting your tractable power as much, select lightweight rims and match them to lightweight tires thathave a similar overall diameter and width to your existing ones.An example would be going from a steel 14x5.5 and 185/65R14 combo, to a lightweight alloy 15x6 and 195/55R15 combo.
HCF Member
Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 8,469
RE: 16's or 17's
My aftermarket 17" wheels are the same diameter as my stock wheels and pretty much weigh the same. They might be a little lighter. Only thing thats different is that, after putting my stock wheels back on, it fells like driving on jelly.
