16" Wheels ??

[Tommy]

Planning on new rims eventually. Dont want 17's cause the tires are too damn expensive, and dont last long. Figure i can run 16's and still use 50ish series tires, therefore not so expensive, and i can get more than 12k miles out of them.

Anyway....if that sounds crazy, oh well.

Whats an appropriate drop for a 04GT? assuming stock wheels used? Which springs?

[BobMs_wht2k2]

I've had both 17's and 16's and 15's and 14's . . . . .Anyway the best compromise between ride and handling has been the 16's. I'm running 205/55 on the 16x6 Sonata wheels and love the added handling over the 15's and softer ride than the 17's.

[05xd]

Im runnin 16x7 Kosei Senekas with 205/45 and have the arospeed springs that settled with 3 inches of drop on my 05. 16's ride much smoother than 17's in my opinion.I had 17x7 with 205/40 on my civic and it rode like crap

[04GTboySC]

ya thats one reason i want to get new wheels go back to a fresh set of 16's

[Tommy]

OK, AWESOME, so im not crazy in thinking that 17's blow for everyday driving...sweet!

How much of a drop is appropreiate for 16's?

[04GTboySC]

well im gona have my springtech springs and 16 inch wheels we shall see what that looks like

what do you guys think of this on my car

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v327/04gtboyVA/SR7.jpg

[Tommy]

^ooww....those are really nice.

Im either looking for some sort of black BBS mesh style rim or Rota Slipstreams, graphite with a polished lip.


Once again, how much of a drop is needed on 16's, and which springs can do it?

[05xd]

See post #3

[Tommy]

3" seems like hellava lot, front end of my car scrapes as it is....

[05xd]

Sprint,Springtech,and Arospeed are goin to give quite a bit of drop on our cars.Eibach and H&R's aren't too bad if you want to spend more moola for less drop.You could go extreme and get a full coilover set-up

[importdriver05]

springtechs will give u close to 2 inch drop

[Tommy]

well, this car is my daily driver, i dont want to be blowin out struts because there's no spring to hold the car up. I also dont want my ride to go to crap either.

1.5" - 2" sounds about right to me i guess.

[importdriver05]

mines a daily driver and i enjoy driving it, but i am rolling steelies for now, 16s are in the future for me

[03SilverBullet]

mines a daily driver and i enjoy driving it, but i am rolling steelies for now, 16s are in the future for me
Ditto.. Iv had enough of 17's.

[04GTboySC]

for a daily driven car, H&R springs are your best bet they put you at a nice drop i was stupid to get rid of them :(

[hyunelan2]

^^^ I disagree. Eibach is the best spring for an everyday use on the Elantra IMO.

I am on the bandwagon of the 17" owners wishing they had 16" as well. I'm going to have to make a decision here though, cause the OEM wheels get to come off in another 3 weeks, and I either need new 17" tires for my rims, or just bite the bullet and buy new 16" rims & tires.

[BobMs_wht2k2]

Yeah, I made the switch last summer. I needed new tires on the 17's and was tired of A.) having to switch wheels/tires for summer/winter and B.) storing extra wheels/tires.

Plus, I was ready for a change. I was tired of being looked at as one of those "ricers" with fart cans and big wheels. For crying out loud, I'm 30. And I wanted something "factory" again. I do know I'll never go back!

[hyunelan2]

^^^Ditto ALL of your comments. Only problem is it's cheaper to buy 4 tires, than 4 rims and tires - even if I sell the 17s. I'll have to see what the CFO says about it - haha. (my wife for those of you who didn't get it).

[BobMs_wht2k2]

Well, I sold BOTH my 14's and my 17's on ebay right after I bought my 16's. I paid $200 for the Sonata wheels/tires and sold the 17's for $250 and the 14's for $75. Granted, I need new tires again, but I came out OK.

Also: Tire prices for 215/45/17 compared to 205/55/16 are a lot different. Basically half the cost for the 16's over the 17's.

[carchick78]

Now that I have seen that going from 15's to 16's isnt so crazy I think I will do the same. I went to a store and the guy told me if your just going to upgrade to 16 you might as well just keep your 15's. I guess he wanted more money and thats why he wanted me to go to 17's.

[fgummett]

Now this *is* a refreshing thread... Thanks! I was thinking to go with Eibachs and 16's myself and never mentioned it as it seemed kinda lame compared to these guys discussing whether they could fit 18's or 19's... with 3 1/2 inch drops and body kits scrapin' the road... now if I can just convince my 15 year old son that this route is still cool... I think I can sell it on the performance angle :rolleyes:

Edit : confession time... I don't know if it's my age or what but there was a Dodge M300 SRT or somesuch in the mall advertising a car raffle and each time I walked past this impressive car and looked at the massive wheels all I'm thinking is, "I wonder how much it would cost to get a set of winter tires for that baby..?" sad ain't it :(

[Tommy]

^haha, im screwed.....


Only 21 and I think that way now, cant imagine what im gonna be like in 10 years.