I know they are some threads that talk about it but I want your opinion.

If you would have the cash would go with 18 or 17 inch wheels.

I really fear that my car will be a lot slower if I choose 18 inch wheels. But for looks it's really the thing.

So what you would do, pick the 18 inchs or stick with 17 inch. And if I go with 18 inch, will the car be a lot slower.

If I add an intake CAI and an exhaust, would I be able to regain what I lost of power from my wheels.

Let me know what do you think.

Thanks.

 

18's are too big and you will lose ride quality. Every time you see a pot hole or a bump, you will close your eyes as you might break a wheel. You'll have to go with a 215/35-18 Not much rubber. Besides, good luck trying to find a lightweight 18" wheel. My 17's weigh 15 lbs each, good luck with 18's.

 

Iam running 18" PIAA Frs wheels with 215 35 18 pzero nero and an AEM CAI and i couldnt love the combination any more. I hardly noticed a power difference with the change in wheels if anything, the new rubber helped a bunch. My interior noise went down but you will feel the road more. With the combination the car is definatley faster than stock. I would recommend pzeros unless you are looking for a summer tire. Oh yeh and i love the ride over stock!

 

If performance is your thing then light 16's is the way to go.

18's will slow you down a lot.

I've had big wheels before and I'll never do it again.

 

and the bigger the wheel the less the rubber...in terms it means less traction.

 

So you are suggesting me to stay in the 17 inch range.

But if I put 18 inch on the car, do you think that if I put a CAI and exhaust I would be able to regain the power I lost.

 

Definitely stay in the 17" range. From my personal experiences, I will never put 18s on my car again. I didnt really recognize anything upgrading to 17. But im pretty sure I would if i threw on some 18s.

 

Sorry guys i didnt loose alot of power when i did the wheel change, w/CAI iam faster than other stock RA's and i also have 18's. I think you guys are playing up the loss in power. Maybe a few tenths difference, but the car just doesnt fall on it's face like you all make it sound. I understand it's all opinion but come on i see this all over here that 18's will make your car very slow and it's simply not true. I would like to know what types of cars you have had 18's on. A car with 110hp and 95tq compared to 162hp and 162tq your talking apples and oranges.

 

Thanks for the reply Ralliart@PDX. And how about the ride, is it really harsh on the tire.

Here in Canada we have bad roads but then again it's not that bad.

So you didn't lost any power or small power lost. But with your CAI you regain your lost right?

For the looks, the 18 inchs are really the way to go. But you are right, how many guy's have already put 18 inch on their car.

Am I wrong if I think that with a CAI, exhaust and maybe ECU I would be able to regain what I lost.

How's the ride for a 35 tire compare to a 40 tire. Is that really bad.

Let me know.

 

I had 18's on my RSX and they were **** compared to stock 16's.

Do you think we lie?

I'm tired of saying this and I'm not going to bother anymore seeing how it's not my car.

 

You will feel the road more, with the right tire your roadnoise will go down a little. About the power loss in an RSX they have no tourqe, all Hp and @ high RPM. Our cars have plenty of Hp And TQ to turn the bigger wheels. The roads in Oregon are not the best but i have never has regrets about the 18's. The car is definetly faster than any stock RA with the wheels and CAI. You will hardly notice a difference in power if any with just a wheel change. And no i dont think you guys lie i just think you have never had 18's on a Ralliart. I didnt buy a performance car to get a nice ride if i wanted that i would have bought an Accord or somthing not factory performance oriented. I say if you want looks go for it because the differece in performance isn't staggering and is hardly noticeable.

 

Thanks for the input. I'm glad that somebody with 18 inch told me is experience. But I take in account all the guy's opinions.

I know that performance lost is just a matter of opinion and that it's maybe not big.

So in your opinion, a CAI, ECU and exhaust will help me regain what I lost and more?

 

heck, you dont even need all that, the ecu alone should make up for it a little.

 

stock protenza's running a 15.5-15.7 on the g-tech. Switched to 18" w/pzero neros m+s running best 15.3-15.5. I went to a bigger wheel but the difference in better bubber obviously made a huge difference in traction. 60 ft time went down also. Basically anything over stock as long as it is quality will help. Even with 18's i saw better perfomance w/o any other ugrades besides a k&n filter replacement @ the time i changed wheels. I just recently installed my AEM CAI on FRI and the car ran a 15.4 with the one run i was able to do, that was with tire spin in 1st and didn't even scratch 2nd. I will post times when i have some free time to do a few runs. I feel i can get a 15.2 or even 15.1 with some time. I know theses numbers are with a g-tech but they are consistent with each run made on the unit. I would love to remove the rear seats and spare tire and go have fun!. I hope this is helpful and i haven't caused too many waves.

 

Not to be a dic, but that is totally wrong. Whether you have a low profile tire like a 215/35R18 or a higher profile like a 215/45R16 you have the exact same amount of rubber touching the pavement. The only difference is that with 18's you will have less sidewall, meaning a firmer ride. A firmer ride is better for handleing but it will also be rougher on the road.

Personally I dont see how getting a larger rim could make near as much a differance on acceleration as everyone on here says. I know this is a little off topic, but I change the tires on my truck from a 32x9" tire to a 35x12.50" tire. Now with that kind of change your talking about 40+ pounds of tire. With something like that you will see a noticable difference in acceleration and deceleration, but I dont see how adding 4-8 pounds a wheel is that big a differance.