17" or 18" wheels
 

I'm looking at purchasing some new wheels for summer use. Should I get 17's or 18's? I found a very good set of almost new 235/45-17 tires. Pros and cons to each size?

Re: 17" or 18" wheels
 

I'm running 235/45/17 on my '97 Bordeaux.
An advantage of 17s is you have a bit more tire to cushion the ride and impacts on rough roads. Around here that's a necessity.

Re: 17" or 18" wheels
 

If you are after with visual improvement, then choose 18's.

Re: 17" or 18" wheels
 

Wheel sizing is pretty subjective. I've had 17" STi wheel on the SVX for almost 10 years (wow, has it really been that long?!), but now that I own another car with 18's and have friends with 19's I'm starting to long for an upgrade.

In terms or pros/cons:

17" tires are a bit cheaper and have basically the same selection as the larger wheels, so performance gains from going up a size are minimal.
17" has a nominally taller sidewall giving you a more comfortable ride and better wheel protection from pot holes.
17" wheel/tire combo is theoretically lighter but only when comparing two of the same wheel and tire sets. There are big enough differences in weight between brands and styles of both wheels and tires that it's a crap shoot to try and guess.
18" offer better clearance if you ever want to do a big brake package.

So I guess empirically 17's have the advantage. But really it's all about looks and whatever looks best to you.

Re: 17" or 18" wheels
 

I wanted to upgrade from the stock 16s, and since I'm a Craig's List junkie, I looked thru there for a set of larger wheels. What eliminated almost every wheel from consideration is the huge offset of the stock wheels. At +55mm, there are very few wheels out there from other cars that would work. A lot of Corvette wheels have a big offset like that, but their bolt pattern is different than the SVX. Mustang wheels might have the same bolt pattern, but their offset is no where near +55. Anything less than +55 is going to push the wheel out, and then you'll have to deal with possible fender rubbing at the top of the wheel well, along with inside the wheel well. There are lots of folks on here who are running wheels with less than +55 offset, so it can be done. I'd suggest playing around with different wheel/tire combos on a website like this, to get a better idea of fitment: https://www.wheel-size.com/calc/

After checking CL daily for a week or two, I found a set of wheels from a 2015 Honda Accord, 17x7.5, +55mm offset, and mounted 235/45 tires. I probably could've gotten away with 245/45s, but once I install the lowering springs, this setup should be fine. I'm also running 5mm spacers on the back.

http://i803.photobucket.com/albums/y...psuh66a275.jpg

Re: 17" or 18" wheels
 

18s look too big to me on the SVX.

Re: 17" or 18" wheels
 

it really depends on if you have a lowered car, 18's at stock height can look too big, but on lowered car it looks just right I believe.
http://localserver.no-ip.biz/Public/...rch%202017.jpg

Re: 17" or 18" wheels
 

I see your point and agree, lowering makes the difference.

Re: 17" or 18" wheels
 

I am running 18/40/225 on stock suspension, looks like:

http://i.imgur.com/6eTl1Cm.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/bCfvDBB.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/Za7S9iw.jpg

Re: 17" or 18" wheels
 

I ended up buying some 18" WRX wheels. Wasn't too sure about the darker color but once installed they don't look too bad. I painted one silver using rust-oleum peel coat paint so I could remove it easily. Not sure what I'm going to do with the color. For now I'll leave them the stock color.

http://i494.photobucket.com/albums/r...psdbr85a3p.jpg

http://i494.photobucket.com/albums/r...psf6zaboca.jpg

Re: 17" or 18" wheels
 

I like the silver much better than the darker color of the stock WRX wheel.

I like a smooth ride so I would go with 17 inch if I wanted different wheels.