17" or 18" For my Elantra

[Raydee]

Well I lowered my 01 Elantra by 1.5" all the ay around and now I want to pick out my wheels and tires but I am not sure what size would be best. This car will be my daily driver so I don't want to get anything that may be a problem. I know I can use either 205/45/17 or 205/40/18. Personally I think the 18" wheels will be real nice looking but the lower tire height scares me....the roads aren't too great here. My only other concern is rubbing...can't have that so from what I have read as long as I stay with about a 45* offset I should be ok. What is the lowest or highest offset I can get? I don't like the look of the tire sitting outside the wheel wells so I am guessing the more the offset the more the wheel sits inside the wheel well?

Thanks in advance!

[Vampyrate]

17" w/o a doubt with 205/45 tires will not rub with that drop (that is if you dont overload the rear of the car that is) but 18"s with just you in the car may cause serious rubbing.

[elantra_04]

I havent dropped my car at all and i am looking at getting the 205/45/17 with the enki rs-7s with my stock hight will that be ok as well? sorry it might be a dumb question, but its a peice of mind thing before i spend the 1200 bucks hahahahaha.

[03SilverBullet]

If you do a search on this you will find PLENTY of results.

[jrod13]

You can do 215/40/17 with it and not rub. That is what I drove all last year, and that is what I bought this year. 205's look to skinny IMO on 17's. By the way my car after it settled is around a 2 inch drop, and I had no trouble with rubbing.

[Raydee]

Well I think a little extra tire will be good for the roads around these parts...NY State. I am planning on a 205/45/17 with 42* offset and 7" wheel. Is this a safe way to go? Does anyone have a pic of a 205/45/17 compared to a 215/40/17 installed on a Elantra to compare?

[jrod13]

You are safe with either of those sizes. My personal opinion I think a 205/45 looks goofy and doesn't look right. 215/40 looks much more at home on a lowered car.

[Raydee]

Jrod do you have a 7" rim and +42* offset? Also did you have to play with the camber at all?

[Vampyrate]

raydee, you are good with the setup you are talking about.

[jrod13]

I did not play with the camber at all. It has some negative camber, but nothing too extreme. I don't notice any uneven tire wear because of it. My wheel is 7" wide, and I have a +40 offset.