17 or 18 inch wheel, which is best?
 

I am looking to upgrade from the stock fd wheels and find myself going back and forth between 17 or 18 inch wheels. I like the SSR M1s, but smallest wheel is 18".


Opinions?

I'm looking for 17-inch wheels. I'm currently running 18-inch RX-8 wheels (came with the FD from the dealership - check out my album pics) on Eibach springs, Koni Sport shocks, and Pirelli P Zero Rosso tires... a bit too firm for most street drivers, I think, and I prefer the look of 17-inch wheels.

It depends on how you plan to drive. I go lapping occasionally and the car was previously set up for Time Attack.

My car has 25k miles, all original so it my Sunday toy. I want performance when I push it, but don't want a wheel that looks over sized, takes away from the cars looks, keeps it classy and sporty not bling bling. I had 18s on my previous r1 and the ride was not good.

I think 18,are best for looks and a set of 17,s for performance and track use.
There is a magazine article out there that posts lap times and the 17 win by a second of two.

17,s

https://farm7.staticflickr.com/6158/...7620fd8cf3.jpg

!7,s up front 18,s in rear
https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3675/...55b7a26166.jpg

There is no "best" really in this case. It's a matter of what you want and like. The 18s do have shorter side walls so less "comfy" in day to day street driving - especially in the northeast.

I run 17 x 9 +45 offset all around with 255/40/17 tires and am pretty satisfied. Would be nice to have the rears a bit more flush just for looks. I may get a 5mm spacer to address that. 8.5" fronts in the proper offset work well too with a 235 width tire. Might be a little less tram lining with the thinner front wheel. I think GoodfellaFD3s has some specs on the 8.5 wheel if you want to search for his posts in this section.

AutoRND.com is a great place to source wheels and is/was a forum vendor. He knows what fits and what doesn't and has great customer service to help you find the right fitment for your tastes.

18's are supposed to perform better because the grip to stiffness ratio of the tire is best at this tire height.

install tires onto a wheel width to that the wheel width is wider than the tread width (tire beads outside of the wheel width.

18's are going to give you less sidewall which means more of the road noise will be transferred to the car's chassis. This is also combined with the type of tire (i.e. tires with softer sidewalls will absorb more road noise than those with stiffer sidewalls).

If ride quality is your main concern, go with 17's and do not purchase some uber performance tire (since they will have stiff sidewalls). Purchase a 'good' performance tire which will give you the balance between performance and comfort.

I had 18"s on my previous fd, a black r1, and I thought they looked too big for the car. They did reduce the sidewall, but with more rim it seemed to look too big.I guess it does get to personal preference. So here is my current choice 17" staggered SSR M1 Professor with non colored ally and Michelin Pilot Sports. Attached is the R1 with 18"s and a pic of the SSRs on a Mazda RX7 and a Datsun 240z. My choice may change, but everyone who has chimed in, thanks, and let me know what you think..


See my profile for the black r1 pic with 18" Curva CU7 wheels


SSR Wheels, how much do they weigh and how do lighter wheels benefit my car? » More Japan Blog










If you wanna go wider than 255 tires, 18's are a must.

*spoken from a guy on 17x10s who's looking for a set of tires that aren't "hella stretched" *

I have a 275 on a 17,its a "fattie" tire fitment :)

imo 18's are too big on the FD, it starts to look like a cartoon, although it does depend on the wheel design somewhat.

for lap times, it could go either way, usually the better gearing of a smaller diameter wheel/tire is faster than more grip from something bigger, but YMMV!

I live 30min from Laguna Seca and want more traction. I could care less about looks. :)
What tires are you running? Are they 275/40? Whatever they are, you've got one of the only like...3 choices for 255+ on a 17.

My point was, with 18's, there are 10 times as many perfomance tires to choose from.

Nitto NT01,s yes i believe 275/40.

https://farm7.staticflickr.com/6170/...b63625a2d4.jpg

Yea, Nittos are one choice. Those and R1Rs are at the top of my list.

Nice car! Love the 5Zigens. :icon_tup:

Just to give everyone the skinny on tire fitment onto wheels.

If you want a better ride, go with the smaller wheel diameter 16/17.

If you don't want to contact the front fender liner or the beam/harness you will need a fitment that isn't too far towards the fender.

You want to slightly stretch the tires onto the wheel for better handling. I will give my recommendations below.

The order of importance for lap times (if it matters) is
1) wheel width (not tire width).
2) wheel rigidity
3) wheel weight

That is the order of importance.

Yes, I know the radius gets squared in moment of inertia of a wheel (I = MR^2). but R = the center of gravity of the wheel.

If you look at some of the larger 18's and 17's.....and even some with very rigid wheels, it seems they add material to the hub portion of the wheel, getting the rigidity there. The outer barrel is super lightweight, and the spokes can be hit or miss. So what I am saying is the moment of inertia doesn't change much if the weight is located at the hub. So the difference between some of these wheels isn't as much as you think.

Wheel width is where GRIP happens when you turn the car. The car handles SOOO much better and more predictably with wider wheels.

The name of the game from the tire is CONSISTENT CONTACT PATCH. You want that damn patch to be held in place on that ground when you are turning the car. you don't want the patch moving around, side of the tire folding over, etc. You want to fit the tire with the tire beads outside of the tread width. this means that you need a wheel width wider than the tread width to get the best traction for handling to keep that contact patch as rigid as possible. It also helps with turn in and reduces understeer.

I suggest rolling the fenders and running

17x10 +38 to +50 255/40/17

18x10 +38 to +50 255/30/18

17x9 most offsets work 225/45/17 or 235/40/17
17x9.5 + 45 to +38 245/40/17

I went all in and have +41.5mm effective offset 18x11.5 285/30/18 (11" tread width)

I also added a 265/35/18 on a 18x10 wheel (tread width is 9.7 or so). I do not recommend running the 265's on the front the car due to the tire diameter being too tall (25.3").

I would not run a 275/40/17 tire, its too tall, and you will want to run that on a 10.5" or 11" wheels depending on tread width.

Thanks...Nittos are not good in the rain,for a daily the R1Rs would be better.
I just bolt these up when a I,m running on the track so its no big deal,you can womp on just about everything even track cars.

I've decided on SSR M1-R, 17x8; 17x9 alloy color with Michelin Pilot Sports, possibly run flats for more rigidity.

I have ridden on run flats before and will never do it again. It's like driving on rocks. The PS2's are REALLY nice tires and I personally like 17's better for everything except looks. 18's just look like the sweet spot plus the available wide tires.

I agree. I have a bmw with run flats and the ride is great, but the suspension is built to offset the tires. The 18s are the better choice, either SSR MS1 or SSR Executor EX01.

FWIW, 17x8.5 +40 and 18x9.5 +45 Enkei PF01s with 245/40-17 and 275/35-18 Michelin Pilot Super Sports. The ride is quite good!

https://fbcdn-sphotos-f-a.akamaihd.n...73059380_o.jpg

If I didn't have 500+hp, I probably would have gone 245/40-17 on 17x8.5 all around...

Some one else running a 17/18 combo....I think it aesthetically fits.

Beautiful!!!