The literature I received from the manufacturer when I purchaed my 2003 Evo VIII claimed that using oversized aftermarket wheels could diminish the car's superb performance. How do you respond to that? Testimonials, pictures, statistics, and opinions are welcome in order to support or defeat the manufacturer's bold suggestion.

 

Increased weight is bad mmmmkay. Makes the car work harder to accelerate/deccelerate/ change dirrection/ deal with driving surface irregularities. This becomes more of a problem when it is on the unsprung part of the vehicle. (long explanation, I leave it at you rather go for a 10 mile hike w/ 30lbs in a backpack then on you ankles.) Then in the case of wheels you have to consider that we're talking about rotational mass. The greater the mass the great the hp required to rotationally accelerate it also the greater the distance the mass sits from the center the more hp needed.

"About" the only times bigger is better, is when it allows you to put more tire on the ground, run bigger brakes, or get more chicks. I heard chicks dig big chrome spinners.

JW

 

ridin spinners

 

[QUOTE=jwest]Increased weight is bad mmmmkay. Makes the car work harder to accelerate/deccelerate/ change dirrection/ deal with driving surface irregularities. This becomes more of a problem when it is on the unsprung part of the vehicle. (long explanation, I leave it at you rather go for a 10 mile hike w/ 30lbs in a backpack then on you ankles.) Then in the case of wheels you have to consider that we're talking about rotational mass. The greater the mass the great the hp required to rotationally accelerate it also the greater the distance the mass sits from the center the more hp needed.

"About" the only times bigger is better, is when it allows you to put more tire on the ground, run bigger brakes, or get more chicks. I heard chicks dig big chrome spinners.

Good explanation

 

I am running 19" Konig wheels with 235/35ZR 19's Nitto Extremes. As far as the performance in handling, it is great. As for drag racing, it might be hurthing my mph a little, but I don't have any problems with excessive wheel spin.

I am looking for a set of stock 17's to see what the difference will be at the track...but as for now...all I know is how the car is doing with 19's.

 

I checked out your pics and I love the way the Konigs look. Those are the wheels I had in mind, but I was thinking no bigger than 18''s. However, the 19''s look tight and if you don't think it has altered your car's original performance for the worse, I would be willing to consider some for my own ride. I was wondering how much they cost, how much heavier are they than stock rims, what type of construction they are (forged?), what it is the country of origin / manufacturing, and if you had to make any suspension or other mods to get them to fit properly?

 

I bought the car with the wheels. They are Konig Trouble wheels. Here is a link on discount tire direct that has them for $215 each

http://www.discounttiredirect.com/di...w=8&bp=5-114.3

The car is completely stock on suspension. I drive the car every day and run it at the drag strip...no performance problems that I can see other than the larger wheels would affect my mph performance.

The low profile tires look nice with the wheels, but you have to watch potholes....

 

Heavier weight wheels definitely affect performance. It really depends on how hard you are pushing your car. Of any weight on the car, unsprung weight makes the biggest difference. I went from stock MR BBS rims 17x8 to 17x8.5 Gram Light 57F's with PS2 tires and lost about 20lbs over the already light BBS rims. The feel of the car for me is definitely apparent even with normal street driving. It is also easier on your brakes, suspension, and drivetrain.

 

I agree, keep the weight down. Do your homework on rims, your off the shelf rims at discount tire are usually heavy. You're going to pay for what you get. Look into Volks or Wedds, the stock Enkies are around 19, BBS around 18. If you don't care about performance by all means get what ever looks the best but if you want your car to back up it's rep and still be safe doing it, then research the weight of tires and rims. I'd also say stick with 17's. If 18's would make the car faster, they would have put them on there.

 

I am trying to find stock Enkei 17's to put on my car....because I would like to know how much better my ET's will be over the 19's. I have heard about the Volks...but they are pretty expensive...right?

 

My Gram Light 57F's 17x8.5 were $410 each and weigh about 14.5lbs. BBS replacement cost from dealer is about $800 each and on the same scale weight about 17lbs. Gained a half inch width and lost 2.5lbs per rim. With the PS2's, I lost another 2.5lbs over the Advans (Stock size for both). Gram Lights are made by Rays who also make Volks.

 

the best wheel that no one knows about... they're only .1 pounds heavier than the ce28s but are so much cheaper.

 

$410 each is a boat load of money. Tire Rack has Kosei T1S for $239 in 17x8 they weigh 15.5

 

yeah.... so they're not any larger and they're not forged.... the 57s in a half size smaller are lighter than that... so what? just sayin' the wheels are the best that you can get.

 

I agree. After over a month of research during every spare moment that I had, the 57F is the best light weight forged wheel out there for the price. I also gained .5" of rim, don't have to use wheel spacers, and have had absolutely no issues with them. The only thing I lost was 5lbs over the already semi-light weight BBS forged 17x8's. Maybe they should stay a secret