Your pants or mine. .04g's and 10 feet of stopping power from 70 per Car and Drivers test car is pretty noticable in my pants.

 

I've had my 18's on my car for a while now, and I can say the ride is harsher. I'm running them of Falken tires which are generally harder than other tires. Right now I'm running them at 33 psi but I'm going to try to go down to 31.

As far as braking I can't say I noticed any change.

Weight of course is an obvious factor. If you buy a heavy wheel it will slow you down hence the more rotating mass. But if you were to buy Kosei K1's which are less than 20 lbs a piece you'd then feel a difference.

My advice would be to get the 18's but get a comfortable tire cause the ride does feel harsher IMO.

 

Chris, your roads must suck. The only time I would say "it is only a matter of when" is when you have a tire profile similar to 225/30/20. I've had 225/35 on cheaper cast 19s and hit a lot of bad stuff, but never bent a wheel. I have bent one of my Porsche 20s on 225/30/20 though, but just barely.

 

I bust a sag, so I got some loose pants. In all seriousness correlating the C&D results across all tire/wheel combo's in both sizes I highly doubt would be statistically significant. A rule of thumb? Perhaps. A set in stone fact, I don't think so.


Jeremy, yes indeed the roads here just are that bad. The freeze/thaw cycle combined with a lot of topographical changes, the seemingly infinite number of bridges, and generally poor infrastructure upkeep make driving here a full contact sport. Now, I've had some wheels bent that were still quite useable with some effort at the balancing machine, but I've had several that suffered a terminal impact, even in seemingly safe sizes like 205/55/16.

 

You must have some nicely calibrated pants. All those measurements are at the limit. How many of us actually do those kinds of things (I'll give you 10 feet in a panic stop could have big implications) and if we do, how often? Absolutely there is something to wringing out every last possible bit of performance out of a car, but 99.9% of the users would probably not notice that difference if it wasn't printed out. Let's face it, most people's just like to floor it occasionally on straight or winding on/off ramp or gun it on an open stretch of freeway once in a while. How many of us take our cars out to a racetrack and hang it out at 9/10 going around a big sweeper? And if you do, you can have just as much fun scaring yourself at 9/10s with a 15" tire as a 19" tire. Do what makes you happy. To me these differences are too small to stress over. Figure out what is most important to you, whether it's looks or performance, figure out the best compromise based on you and tehn just enjoy and don't second guess yourself.

 

Why do you think I ride a CB175 for daily trasnportation?. There is nothing better than going full out 100% of the time. It enables me to do it at a close to legal speed. My TiV will take those sweeper on/off at a rate faster than I am strong enough to hold the wheel at in the dry but the limit comes quick when wet.
Your right it is a personal preference, but thinking your doing a performance mod by putting on larger rims is nothing but falling for the wheel and tire salesman's freezer if you live near Sara Palin. It will not do anything positive in the performance of the car and in my mind it is that performance which keeps helps you get with a pulse every day.

 

After doing some research i found this, the OEM tire sizes.

ORIGINAL EQUIPMENT SIZE 1: 205/55R16
ORIGINAL EQUIPMENT SIZE 2: 225/45R17
ORIGINAL EQUIPMENT SIZE 3: 225/40R18

This is the KEY. if I stick to these size tires then ill be all good. As far as weight you guys all make good points, but the rule of thumb is that metal weighs more then rubber. Bigger rim/more rolling weight= less efficiency/ less rubber to absorb impact. BUT when looks are a facter, effciency will likely go out the window lol.

Still undesided what to go with. but now i know.... and knowing is half the battle!

 

Metal does but most tires weigh 1.25x more than the wheel it is going on. Remember there is lots of metal (or nylon in there)