Do you think 18's are too big for a S13??

Post by **SkillaSX** » Thu Jul 10, 2003 3:41 am

After I do a little bit of work on the engine, I'm planning on buying some rims. At first, I was going to buy 17's but I noticed that 18's can also fit inside the wheel well. I still want enough tire left on the rim so that my ride quailty won't suffer too much, also I'm not really into the extremely low profile look. So do you think I should just go with the 17's? Or do you think the 18's will look nicer?

Post by **stickgoat** » Thu Jul 10, 2003 3:41 am

I dislike 18s all together.

I really think anything over 17" is too big. I don't see the point in large rims in the first place. I'm happy with my 16s.

Post by **SkillaSX** » Thu Jul 10, 2003 3:41 am

Are 16's the stock rim size?

Post by **Meantime** » Thu Jul 10, 2003 3:41 am

No, stock alloys on the S13 are 15" X 6.

IMO, 18's look too excessive for a small car like the S13 and will be quite a bit heavier (and more expensive) to boot. I would advise no bigger than 17's, really 16's are the best looking size for the S13 in my opinion.

Post by **bbandit** » Thu Jul 10, 2003 3:41 am

IMHO, 18s looks too big for s13.. but its all personal preference..our stock wheels are 15s16 inch with 50 profile tires look greatand so does 17 inch with 45 profile tiresjust remember to get the proper offset

Post by **SkillaSX** » Thu Jul 10, 2003 3:41 am

I'm planning on adding a body kit on the car so I am kind of worried that the 17's will look to small.

Post by **JeromeS13** » Thu Jul 10, 2003 3:41 am

I've had just about every size rim on my car. I use to have some Enkei RS-6 in some 18's. My tire size was 225/40/18 which left me with a fairly comfortable ride. However, I sold those in an efford to ditch some weight. Now, I'm riding on some Lenso VPD 17's and some 235/45/17 Yokohama AVS ES100 tires. LOTS of tire and a nice, smooth ride. Oh yeah, the rims are almost 8 lbs lighter, EACH.

So, I'd say Yes, 18's will fit. But go with 17's.

jerome

Post by **Onizuka** » Thu Jul 10, 2003 3:41 am

the problem is, the only affordable 18 4 lug rims come in honda offsets, which means your going to have trouble with strut/coilover clearence. Another problem with cheap 18inch rims is that they are very heavy, alot are poorly made, they bend easy, and you will DEFINATLY have a more harsh ride.

Next time be sure to post this in the wheels/tire/suspention forum where it belongs, thanks

Post by **bbandit** » Thu Jul 10, 2003 3:41 am

SkillaSX wrote:I'm planning on adding a body kit on the car so I am kind of worried that the 17's will look to small.

nope.. its all about the width of the wheelsits pointless to go with skinny 18sgo with 17 but with wide wheelsex. 17x9 or 17x10believe it will look beefy instead of blingybeefy = aggressive

but then again... its your preferencethese are just my opinions :icesangel

Post by **RobDET** » Thu Jul 10, 2003 3:41 am

WARNING POSSIBLE MIS INFORMATION!

isnt' the 240 40mm offset front and rear? that is the same a honda i think... ben a while sence i've looked tho so this might be wrong

Post by **MainEvent212** » Thu Jul 10, 2003 3:41 am

it changes as wheel size changes

Post by **rousie13** » Thu Jul 10, 2003 3:41 am

All I know is i have 205/40/17 and I hate them. They look tiny on my car, but I would say go with 17's as the largest on the S13. I'm going to sell my wheels and get something a little wider with a 45 series tire, because 40 series looks awful IMO.

Post by **89240sx** » Thu Jul 10, 2003 3:41 am

I have a quick newb question..... large rims ... somebody told me they make the car a bit slower from a dead stop? is this true ?

I want to go with 17" rims but I wont do it if it slows me down ....

anybody care to enlighten a newb?

Post by **rousie13** » Thu Jul 10, 2003 3:41 am

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but it's not the wheel size, it's the overall diameter of the wheel. My stock alloy wheels were rougly 24.2" and my 17's with 40 series tires are roughly 23.5". So if you go with 17 with 40 or 45 series tires, they should be roughly the same size as stock=no power loss. This is considering the wheels and tires are roughly the same weight as stock. Thats what will have the most impact, the weight of the new wheels(17 are usually heavier than stock).

Post by **RobDET** » Thu Jul 10, 2003 3:41 am

there is also a traction issue... mosy over to the engeneering forum... great stuff about tire pressure and the lot...

Post by **89240sx** » Thu Jul 10, 2003 3:41 am

Thanks RobDET ... didnt know about it

Post by **rousie13** » Thu Jul 10, 2003 3:41 am

Traction issue? Are you referring to a wider tire(more rubber on the road), or less sidewall so less give with the larger wheel and lower profile tire?

Post by **Onizuka** » Thu Jul 10, 2003 3:41 am

RobDET wrote:WARNING POSSIBLE MIS INFORMATION!

isnt' the 240 40mm offset front and rear? that is the same a honda i think... ben a while sence i've looked tho so this might be wrong

that is correct but that is with a 6 inch wide wheel, generally the wider the wheel the lower the offset you will need. I have never seen a 18" rim only 6 inches wide, so you need a lower offset because they are generally 7 or 7.5 inches wide. The typical honda offset for a 7 or 7.5 inch wide wheel is +45, insert that into the tire offset calculator: http://toy4two.home.mindspring.com/offset.html and you will find that the wheel will be 24mm closer to the struts, which means if you have coilovers it will not fit, lowered it might not fit, but stock it might fit.

Post by **Queamore** » Thu Jul 10, 2003 3:41 am

89240sx wrote:I have a quick newb question..... large rims ... somebody told me they make the car a bit slower from a dead stop? is this true ?

I want to go with 17" rims but I wont do it if it slows me down ....

anybody care to enlighten a newb?

I belive with the bigger rims it takes more momentive to move the car since there is more tire touching the ground. Obviously weght is an issue. But i think since there is more traction it takes more for the engine to turn the wheels.

Post by **89240sx** » Thu Jul 10, 2003 3:41 am

so it would be better to stick with the 15" rims ?

thats what i'm gathering from most of this information so far

Post by **Onizuka** » Thu Jul 10, 2003 3:41 am

go with 16s, they have nice width selection and with the right spoke design you can still squeeze the Z32 brakes under them.

Post by **Queamore** » Thu Jul 10, 2003 3:41 am

Well it's ok to go with bigger rims but not to big. I would gauge it like this15/16 For regular factory cars few to little mods16/17 Higher performance car with stronger engines probably with a cam small turbo basic high performance mods.17/18 For people with high end mods huge turbo's, NOS, or Aries:D

Post by **Jookmasta** » Thu Jul 10, 2003 3:41 am

ok, after readin all of this you guys make are making me worry. i have spec v rims on my car and im not buying coilovers but i am getting springs. now the rim fits perfect on my car as we speak and there is no camber issues and ive looked at the clearance b/w the tire and strut and i see a whole mess of space b/w them. the offset is a whopping forty seven so am i in trouble?

Post by **op.tic** » Thu Jul 10, 2003 3:41 am

anyone know how big that jdmrice dudes wheels were?they were friggin huge

http://clearcorners.com/produc...0.jpg

Post by **Cyberkreig** » Thu Jul 10, 2003 3:41 am

wheel websites NEVER list the offset.. how can you go about shopping for rims??

Post by **Cyberkreig** » Thu Jul 10, 2003 3:41 am

op.tic wrote:anyone know how big that jdmrice dudes wheels were?they were friggin huge

http://clearcorners.com/produc...0.jpg

Look in the lower left hand corner of that image "ZR18". And you have your answer

Post by **SmithSR** » Thu Jul 10, 2003 3:41 am

SkillaSX: There are many issues involved with wheel fitment and the effects that take place when you deviate from original equipment.

The first rule(although rarely followed, much to the chagrin of the car's owner) is to decide on ride height, custom body work(body kit you mentioned), and THEN pick a wheel that fits the car.

Find custom wheels that fit the car, DO NOT modify the car to fit the wheels!!! But wheels LAST!! You have been warned, and I hope I don't see your wheels in the B/S/T section in six months:D

Next, rolling mass/unsprung mass(heavy 18" wheels), are the enemy of low torque economy cars(240sx, similar 4 cyl compacts). I'll wager that each member probably has a buddy who's Civic is now slower because he *just HAD to have* the bling heavy wheel. A very expensive lesson to learn! A greater contact patch DOES equal greater rolling resistance. This, along with heavy wheel weight, means slower launch/acceleration/BRAKING. Of course there is a fine line that OEM manufacturers walk when deciding what tires/wheel size to design a car with. Hitman's Q will benefit from stickier rubber and slightly larger contact patch; a <relatively> lightweight economy car will suffer from greater contact patch, and will likely never near the limits of grip, even OEM grip... except for the occasional, intentional, burnout...or intentional *drift*....

Meantime is right when he says "no bigger than 17". Anything more is REALLY overboard when considering heavy wheels and their ill effects on handling, acceleration, and stopping(the most critical, the most overlooked).

J-spec tuner is correct saying that "cheap 18" rims are heavy, poorly built, bend easy, harsh ride" All true. BTW, cheap 18" rims are still quite expensive. The cost of quality(Volk, Fikse, RH) 18" rims will set you back about what you paid for your car.

There are exceptions, but most 240's don't have the torque to require(or use effectively) such a large contact patch. When you consider that acceleration and braking will suffer with over-sized heavy wheels, where is the benefit? Looks?

Please remember to at least maintain overall tire diameter. Changing tire OD affects the speedometer, odometer, and the "effective axle ratio"...again robbing your car of the already anemic torque output.

The idea that you need to upgrade your tire/wheel size in direct proportion to upping your engine's HP rating is pure myth. There are many soft-compound tires available to fit on stock or near stock sized wheels. Cars with sticky rubber and smaller wheels will generally out-handle, out-accelerate, and out-brake the big show wheels. It's great to see how many replies are in favor of the reasonably priced upgrade to 16" or 17" wheels instead of bigger, heavier 18".

Post by **RobDET** » Thu Jul 10, 2003 3:41 am

about tire pressure and bigger/wider tires

to loosley quote the engineering forum...

if you simply get wider tires... at the same pressure there are still the same number of square inches of rubber on the road(boyles <sp> gas law states that the pressure of a gas inside of a container is equal throughout.)

if you had a 400 pound car and the tires inflated to 10 psi you would have 40 inches of rubber on the road total... so if the vehicle weight distribution was close to 50/50 like the 240 then you would have 20 inches for traction to accelerate. This is true wether you have 8 inch wide tires or 4 inch wide tires as long as they are inflated to 10 psi.

Other factors apply i'm sure but just getting wider tires doesn't always net a faster et. I ran my best times in my last car on 13x4.5's with mundane street tires on there.

Post by **Anand** » Thu Jul 10, 2003 3:41 am

I didn't read the whole thread... to lazy

but.... 18's will be fine.. I have them and they look great... go with 18's if you want.... go ith 17's if you like that better... both will look good with a body kit..

Website · Post by **daniel240** » Thu Jul 10, 2003 3:41 am

17's would be fine and are plenty big for an s13

Do you think 18's are too big for a S13??

Do you think 18's are too big for a S13??

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