Hey guys, Now that February has rolled in, I think its time I start looking into what rims and tires i want to buy. I have a particular style of rim I'm going for so here's a link:

http://www.wheelmax.com/product.asp?ProdId=14473


Black with polished lip I think goes best with a silver car. And from what i've read on these forums is that the most popular choice for both looks and performance is 16 or 17 inch rims? I dont really want to go bigger.Does this have any affect at all on ride quality, or is that mainly just to do with the tires?

Also, I have no idea what to look for in tires or tread, these are the choices I have that go with the rim in the previous link:

http://www.wheelmax.com/tire_list.asp(search 205/40/16)

Edit: Ah sorry, forgot to mention, this is kinda the only good site i know of, if uknow of any other sites,or if u can post pics / recommend any other rims that are similar to that i'd appreciate it


My car is a daily driver so I guess I wanted a decent ride quality, nothing too harsh. Also I live in northwest Canada so I'm not sure if the tires need to be spec'd all season, or dry weather.. i'm not sure.The car isnt lowered yet but it will be. I plan on ordering the rims / tires first, and then my suspension. The installation will be together, but I'm just focusing on the rims and tires now. I know most of you say "its mostly preference" but I'm just looking to get some ideas from you guys and ask what you think on my choice.

Here's a recent pic of my car just for the heck of it. Thanks in advance guys.





[IMG]local://upfiles/26236/CBA45E837B984EF2AA4F331CE6FA0F10.jpg[/IMG]

 

I like the way those rims look, but be sure to also look at construction and weight. Rotas are so popular for a reason. They're extremely light, strong enough for daily use, and not prohibitively expensive.

For your 6th gen, your tire size for 16" rims should actually be 205/45-16s. 205/40-16s would be smaller in diameter than your stock tires, which would throw off your speedo/odo and reduce your ground clearance at the hubs. 205/40s should be 17s to be the right diameter for your model. 17s tend to ride a bit firmer than 16s, but suspension, inflation pressure, and tire construction can influence this as well. The taller rims also tend to be wider and heavier, with tires for them being more expensive too.

I'd look for an all-season tread, so you can drive across the country at any time of year and at any altitude without worrying about encountering unexpected freezing temps that would damage summer tires. If you regularly get snow though, you would still want to look into a snow tread, like a Blizzak WS-50. Keep your stock rims around for mounting those.

For best all-around performance, look for a UHP tread. Check out various tire sites for prices and reviews. I like the way www.tirerack.com is set up.

 

dude get rota slipstreams!!! GOGOGO iono what color is best look for silver but look around!

 

lol sakefon!!

so anyway guys... that wheelmax.com site seems to have a ton of Exel wheels.... also they're pretty cheap. Are these knockoffs? and if so, ho would they compare to other well known brands such as Enkei or, as sakefon mentioned, rota? If the "knockoff" rims are fine i'd rather go with those obviously to save money for future mods.

Kommando - Yeah I think all season would be best for me, im on the west coast so its usually rainy here. Also I think I may want to go with 17's. I didnt take into consideration the speedo / odo issue[&:]

 

color is of course personal preference...

As for size, this is where you need to choose. 16's are probably ideal. It will allow for more sidewall and a little bit of give in cornering. If you are leaning more towards ride quality then go with 16's. 17's are more for looks and a stiffer/tighter ride. With 17's there will be less sidewall which means the ride will be a bit more harsh and cornering will feel stiffer due to less "flex" off of the tire.

Taller rims arent necessarily wider. The standard width of a 16/17" wheelis 7", but with size comes weight. 16 to 17 isntreally a noticable difference.

For tire size check a tire size calculator online and input your current tire size. It will then give you the tire size needed for 16's and 17's to keep the stock diameter.

 

A polished wheel or gun metal will look good too, I had 17" and liked them, the only thing was the some bumps would start to get to me after a wile. And for tires, I had summers on my 17", never had a probem, when fall came around before the snow I would put my stock wheels on.

 

Stock Tire - 175/70R13 >Search Tires
Tire 1 - 205/45R16 >Search Tires
Tire 2 - 205/40R17 >Search Tires





Section Width:
6.88 in
175 mm




Section Width:
8.07 in
205 mm




Section Width:
8.07 in
205 mm





Rim Diameter:
13 in
330.2 mm




Rim Diameter:
16 in
406.4 mm




Rim Diameter:
17 in
431.8 mm





Rim Width Range:
4.5 - 6 in




Rim Width Range:
6.5 - 7.5 in




Rim Width Range:
7 - 8 in





Overall Diameter:
22.64 in
575.05 mm




Overall Diameter:
23.26 in
590.80 mm




Overall Diameter:
23.45 in
595.63 mm





Sidewall Height:
4.82 in
122.42 mm




Sidewall Height:
3.63 in
92.202 mm




Sidewall Height:
3.22 in
81.788 mm





Radius:
11.32 in
287.52 mm




Radius:
11.63 in
295.40 mm




Radius:
11.72 in
297.68 mm





Circumference:
71.12 in
1806.4 mm




Circumference:
73.07 in
1855.9 mm




Circumference:
73.67 in
1871.2 mm





Revs per Mile:
918.7




Revs per Mile:
894.2




Revs per Mile:
886.9





Actual Speed:
60 mph
100 km/h




Speedometer1:
58.3 mph
97.3 km/h




Speedometer1:
57.9 mph
96.5 km/h

Speedometer Difference: -
Speedometer Difference: 2.739% too slow
Speedometer Difference: 3.585% too slow

Diameter Difference: -
Diameter Difference: 2.67%
Diameter Difference: 3.46%



Alrighty, I compared the wheel sizes I might consider. The reason why the 3.45% diameter difference for the 17" is red is because it said that when changing tires, anything more than 3% you can have brake failure? Can someone explain this? And if I decided to go with say the 16".... would i have to change my speedo because of the 2.739% difference? I change my mind too often lol I think im leaning more toward 16" for better ride comfort. Again, thanks in advance guys!

 

let me just apologize for that long previous post, for some reason it wouldnt let me edit it, and when i posted it, it was all nice and neat in a little chart... but obviously itdidnt turn out that way lol...oh well

 

That's weird. My 6th gen came with 185/65-14s stock. That size is about 23.5" diameter. Stick to roughly that diameter, and a 205mm or less width, and you should be fine for speedo/odo/fit/braking.

The slightly-larger diameter tire may actually make your speedo more accurate. My speedo reads a little high with stock tires.

If you currently have 13s, 205/45-16 UHP tires will handle a LOT better. The ride will generally be ok with those too.

Summer-compound tires may be damaged by exposure to freezing temps, so I usually recommend all-seasons.

 

it rarely gets below freezing here, but there is rain. How well do the summer ones stand up in rain?

And yeah that's weird i thought my car would ahve had 14's stock.... but i just put in the model / make / year and apparantly it says 13's...

What about those Exel rims? are they knockoffs or will they be fine?