17" or 18" wheels?

[Helmsy]

I am keen to purchase some new rims predominantly for street use with the odd DE.

I am leaning toward a set of Work's or Fikse's but with the diminishing availabiliy of tyre sizes is it worth buying new 17" rims or should I plan for the future and buy 18"?

If you would buy new rims today what would they be and what size?

All input is greatly appreciated...

[A930Rocket]

If it's mostly for the street, I would go with 17's.

I'm running 18x11 and 18x9 on my track car, so I suppose you could go with at least those widths.

[Ringmaster]

Originally Posted by Helmsy

...but with the diminishing availabiliy of tyre sizes is it worth buying new 17" rims or should I plan for the future and buy 18"?

Enough said. If you value having a number of tire options 18" is the only logical choice. In 17" we are limited to so-so street tires or all-out track and R-Comp stuff. Imagine five years from you...

My 930 wears 18" wheels with the correct tires

[WPOZZZ]

17s are what I go with on my 930. IMHO 18s are a little big for the street. I also don't think you have too much to worry about on 17" tires as 255/40 and 275/40 will be around for a while. It not like you're looking for 245/45/16s these days.

[David]

If you're going to run 245 or 255 front and 275 rear, I'd go with 17" since the suspension isn't designed for 18's (or 17's for that matter). If you want to go larger, go with 18's due to tire availability. The 930 suspension is pretty robust so there shouldn't really be any problems with the heavier 18's.

[RarlyL8]

I've got both 17s and 18s. My car is 99% street.

245/45-17 and 315/35-17 BFG G-Force T/A KD on 9 & 11.5 Kodiaks
255/40-18 and 315/30-18 Pirelli P-Zerro Rosso on 9 & 10.5 Roocks

My impressions:

17s -
BFGs are huge, heavy, an inch wider than the Pirellis and stick pretty good.
Lots of manufactures currently make those sizes.
The 315-35-17 is too tall for my taste. A 315/30-17 would be perfect when coupled with a 245/40-17 but that A/R in a 315 is not available.

18s-
The 18"s are less heavy, more nimble and stick good in the corners.
The lower sidewall hieght makes a difference in road feedback and the perception is more crisp steering.
Wheel design choice is important for the 18 as some wheels look like clown shoes. A Fuch-like step from center to rim is visually better than a flat face with a huge O-ring for a tire.

I'm going to order a different type of 18" wheels soon and sell both my current sets. This is simply due to my desire for a tire that is less than 25.7" tall and a wheel that softens the blow of the 18" look.

If you want a more tossable car I would put a set of 235/275s on 8&10x17s.
I can post pictures of both 17 & 18 if you wish to see how they fit on the same car.

[Helmsy]

Thanks all for your advice.

Rarly if you have pics of the 2 different rim sizes on the same car handy I would love to see them.

I do prefer the look of the 17" rims (hell I like the 16" rims) but I am finding it incresingly difficult to find the tyres I need and I also don't like the really tall look that some tyres give.

I figure if I am going to buy some new rims I need to able to get tyres for them.

I was thinking of Work Brombachers in 9s and 10s and running 245 or 255s on the front and 285 or 295 on the rears in either a gold or black centre (car is black on black).

here is a link: http://www.work-wheels.com.au/getimage.aspx?imageid=108&imagesize=large

[RarlyL8]

In order:

15" Fuchs
17" Kodiaks
18" Roocks

[RarlyL8]

Here are the same Kodiaks in 18"

[Cowtown10]

WORK! 18" 225 & 295 9's and 11's.

[Helmsy]

Wow thanks guys. I love them all.

Cowtown that's exactly what I am looking at getting. I do like the gold but am tossing up between the gold and the black centres.

I definately get a better idea seeing the pics. Thanks again guys...

[Cowtown10]

No problem, It took a lot of deliberating to pull the trigger on the gold but I'm glad I did.
Kinda a retro look color, stepped lip but with all the benefits of a new wheel

Good luck on your search

[David]

It's funny how just a few years ago I would have said the 18's look too blingy and now they look just fine

[Miguel Antonett]

I'd go with fuchs 17"

[Helmsy]

I really do prefer the 17" (especially the Fuchs - your car looks great Miguel) but if I am finding the tyres I want hard to get now it will only get harder or impossible to get the right tyres in the near future.

Does anyone have pics of some 18" fuchs? They would be the other option but I was wondering if 18" fuchs would look a little cartoony.

[willtel]

Originally Posted by Miguel Antonett

I'd go with fuchs 17"

Look good in person too.

[full quack]

Heres a set of Fikse 5S, 8.5 x 17 fronts & 11 x 18 rears, running 245/40 & 295/35.
All on a slightly lowered '83.

[Ringmaster]

If you aren't fussy about having the widest rear tires and best tire selection then 17" will be fine. Personally I like 315s on the rear and the only decent street tire is the Goodyear GS-D3 (315/35/17). Nice tire but one option isn't very many If you are happy with 275 rears there are more 17" tire options.

[Tug68]

Miguel, Who did your wheels? Sorry for hijacking Helmsy.....

[Helmsy]

No problem Tug.

How wide are your rims Miguel? They look nice and deep.

As I want to run similar diameters and keep the speedometer reasonably correct for the street I was thinking of running 245/35/18 on the front and 295/30/18 on the rears.

Has anyone had problems with the correct speedo reading when running different diameter wheels and tyres? What tolerence for differing wheel diameters is prefered before a difference in road speed is a problem?