Which would you choose?

[ArunSenior04]

Lately ive been undecided on performance vs appearance. With my next check I want to get some wheels. Its pretty much come down to this:

normal 17s vs. normal 16s vs Lightweight 15s.

The 15s:

Konig Heliums (10.8lbs) w/ Tires $400
http://img100.imageshack.us/img100/1593/dsc0226529pm.jpg

17s Ranging from $200+
(Like the 17" ADR Comp 7s going for $200)

Right now I have the stock steelies. What would you do? Any other rims you recommend? Perhaps, one that blends both performance and appearance into a 15-17 in rim?

[KeWLKaT]

man, i was like you. though, nothings sexier than a 17 inch rim, i dont care what all the 15 inchers say.... :D

[OPZ]

Aye, im ganna be hitting up the 17's here shortly also. COME TO THE 17" SIDE!

[korai9989]

an auto place near me was selling 17" silver 12lb performance rims for $125 each... they were nice, but i was broke then. i will see if they still have them... incase you find some way to get them. i don't know, it's late and im just going on and on aren't i?

[focusXD]

17" *****!

[BlackElantraGT]

If you want performance, go with the 17's. The stiffer, shorter sidewall will help out the car in the handling dept., at the expense of a slightly "sportier" ride.

Even though the 15's seem light and will help with the unsprung weight, you'll be limited by the choice in tires, all of which won't be anywhere near as sporty of tires as the choice you will have in 17's. 15's might be great for drag racing where you're going in a straight line, but obviously this is your daily driver. Drag racers are VERY anal about every little ounce. If you do see someone with aftermarket 15's, they're usually riding on Volk Racing TE-37 to get the biggest weight savings possible.

So for the best bang for your buck, you can get better performance and better appearance with 17's. Plus, if you ever get serious about making power and it's time for a brake upgrade, you can fit a BBK, whereas most likely you'll be stuck with OEM brakes with 15's.

The only reason I would go with 15's was if I got an amazing deal on the wheels and tires. Otherwise, go with 17's.

[quickfingerz]

I like the handling, looks, and ride quality of 17's on 215/45, but prefer the straight-line performance (accel, braking) of lightweight 15's. Most people SHOULD go normal 16's.

[Seinster]

Go the 15's!
You'll thank me after your quarter mile runs. ;)
& you'll have less risk in them getting stolen.

[hyunelan2]

After having 17s for a few years, I would go 16 without question. 15 = too small (unless you are trying to squeeze every .001 horsepower out of the car to put to the ground). 17s are a little rough for daily driing, where a 16 would give better handling than the 15, and give you beter ride comfort than the 17. IMO

[evan938]

i love my 15's. no need to get volks. my nippon type-c's weigh in at 13lbs each. light. tires are not hard to find. i can get 205 and 215 widths without having to wait for them to be ordered. right now, im running 215/50 kuhmo ecsta 711s and they stick to the ground like crazy. id be willing to go take some twisties with anyone here with 17s (coilovered people included) and i bet i would stick with you, and probably beat you. coilovered people may get a bit on me thru the turns, but believe i will catch and pass them on the straight aways.

also with 17s, you have a greater chance of bending a rim. like stated above, you throw 17s on, its going to kill your 1/4 mile times.

if you want to try to knock your drag times down, get some light weight 15s. if you want looks, go with 17s

[korai9989]

the problem with 16s is the selection... it isn't nearly as large as the 17 market, or probably even the 15 market.

[evan938]

yeah...i was looking for 16s for my buddy's old car and couldnt find ****. 15s and 17s are easiest to find

i feel bad for miata owners having 14s...lol

[hyunelan2]

14s omg... my brother has 14s on his '92 Grand Am - he blew out a tire and we had a hard time even finding a 14" tire at the local tire stores!

[korai9989]

my friend has an old civic, 1990, and it has 13s

the only thing you can find in 13 and 14 are those stupid hubcaps at walmart, haha.

[A&F 01 GLS]

Metros have 13... i can eat a pizza bigger than that damn rim :D

[ArunSenior04]

Im still pretty unsure. Im a college student, so 17s may be not an option. The cost of 17" tires, and the threat of them being stolen at school (I live in the dorm in Baltimore @Morgan State) may deter me from the 17s.

I tried looking for some 16s. But either they weighed as much as my stockies, and/or, were ugly.

The 15s are a good option as I dont think they would look bad on my XD (Right now I have hubcaps.) Its just hard trying to imagine them on my car. In photos, they look "eh" but in person, 15s dont look bad at all. This also may be more in my budget, as these tires are available,and cheaper, than the 17s.

[KeWLKaT]

stolen shmolen.... get a LOCKING LUGNUT set

:)

[Cypher]

listen to the all knowing felix reece ;). just get the 17s they'll look good.

[BlackElantraGT]

i love my 15's. no need to get volks. my nippon type-c's weigh in at 13lbs each. light. tires are not hard to find. i can get 205 and 215 widths without having to wait for them to be ordered. right now, im running 215/50 kuhmo ecsta 711s and they stick to the ground like crazy. id be willing to go take some twisties with anyone here with 17s (coilovered people included) and i bet i would stick with you, and probably beat you. coilovered people may get a bit on me thru the turns, but believe i will catch and pass them on the straight aways.

also with 17s, you have a greater chance of bending a rim. like stated above, you throw 17s on, its going to kill your 1/4 mile times.

if you want to try to knock your drag times down, get some light weight 15s. if you want looks, go with 17s

1) 13 lbs for 15" wheels is NOT light. If you're comparing it to stock wheels, then it's lighter, but if you went around and bragged about your lightweight wheels, people would laugh at you.

2) Of all the people on here that has/had 17's, how many have actually bent their rims? Especially those that went with 215/45. It takes quite a big pothole and quite a few beatings before most rims get bent.

And for all those that think your car is more likely to be stolen with 17's, you need a dose of reality. We drive a freakin Hyundai. Most car thieves would rather jack a Honda, Toyota, or some other common car before they jack a Hyundai. I have a set of $2000 rims for 2 years now and I live in the rice rocket capital of the U.S in SoCal, no one has tried to jack my car yet. So why would a thief jack your car just for some $400 American-made no namer rim when they can make more money selling off Honda parts.

If you're really scared about getting your rims jacked, then get some locking wheel nuts like Kewlkat suggested, but if someone was really a professional rim jacker, they would have all the tools to take off any locking wheel nuts. This is highly unlikely because like I said earlier, there's more value in the car than in just a set of rims.

[SuperGLS]

Reece. I'd go with 16's or 17's. Replacing them with 15's just doesn't seem worth it to me (that's a stupid reason, I know). 16's are good and most people won't notice them. 17's are nice too, but then all the "tuners" will notice and probably want to race you, because everyone knows aftermarket wheels = street racer, uhh, oh wells.

Good luck!

[korai9989]

there are 17s for sale here (ny) that are 12 lbs, so 15 at 13lbs isn't too great. these are $500 for all 4 and they look very similar to the 15s you got at the beginning of the thread

[metalfetish]

i love the way the 17's look. defintely get 205/45 though, I have 205/40 and it's pretty rough over bumps. it hasn't done anything to the wheels, just makes scary noises once in awhile if i go over a bump too fast.

[evan938]

when youre going from a 20lb wheel to a 13lb wheel, that is a huge difference. im not saying its the lightest wheel possible, but it is pretty light weight. i could tell when i put them on due to how much quicker the car accelerated.

i COULD pay 1,000$+ for 8 or 9lb 15" wheels and tires, or, i could just be happy with the 250$ i spent for 13lb wheels with kuhmo tires.