is wider necessarily better?
 

looking for new wheels...is wider wheels necessarily better? not planning on putting down that much power..will eventually have dp, cb, intake, ic, pfc hi-flow cat. think 8" is okay?

I'm no expert, but I would say 8" is fine.

Usually people just feel that if they are going to pay money for aftermarket wheels, why not get wider ones.

my opinion: if you are going to buy different wheels you might as well get the factory 17" size.

mike

That's what I'm sayin...I'd go with 17x9 and 17x9.5's if I was going to pay for new wheels, unless they were stock 99's ...that'd be sweet too.

The problem is when you reduce the height of the sidewall (going from 225/50 16 to 225/45 17 for example), you reduce the total volume of air the tire holds. This means you reduce the load bearing capabilities of the tire and increase the chances of a blow-out. This is why most plus sizing is done as follows: 225/50 16 => 245/40 17

Going to 17x8 wheels will likely not increase your handling noticeably if at all. Go with at least a 8.5-inch wheel so you can run 235/45 or 245/40 (not optimally).

BTW, my wife thinks wider is better.....:D

ive got 17x8's up front and 17x9.5's rear. even if you went with 9's in the rear, its definatly worth the money to get that beefy roadster wide ass look. i personally think my 8's up front are kinda pussy, i wanted 8.5's but ran out of $chedda.

oh, i forgot to mention that i can truley, truley take turns a hell of alot faster with the wide girth of the new contact patches.

Wider is better. This was one of the lessons in the book "The Unfair Advantage".

And Pontiac commercials, too -- they said wider is better so it must be true. ;)

This should accompany the other wheel sizing maxim -- "less wide than stock is a foolish non-upgrade."

-Max

:crackup: good one