Jackseric

Wow, so you're saying that i'm going to hurt my performance by jumping to 17s... Bigger = harder to turnover... makes sense.

Obviously the more HP you have the less you'll notice, but how much will I notice it on my temporarily unmodified '02 EX?

CivicSiRacer

You will notice it alot. At least I did and I have a 2000 Honda Civic Si. Your MPG will also suffer too.

Jackseric

Aw man... you guys are starting to depress me!

Can't someone offer 17" wheels that only weigh 5lbs each?!

DakarM

I know some people who run 13" rims on the VWs to get the extra gearing advantage when autocrossing.

Fujiwara Takumi

i would tend to disagree with the mpg deal, youre going to be trading torque for overall efficiency...17's should make for a more efficient car, (if you take away the variable of a higher car and heavier wheels).

CivicSiRacer

I kept a log of my MPG for the past 6 years. I think I would know. Try it. With my 17s I got 25-28mpg with my 15s now I get 30-34mpg. Same mods except for stiffer springs and better valved shocks. Tires are more sticky on my 15s than what I had on my 17s.

And how would 17s make for a more efficient car? 17s will always be more in weight than a 15" in the exact same wheel. Plus you will have more rolling resistance since the tires have to be wider. Wider is good for cornering, but also sucks away at your forward momentum. More rolling friction takes more power to keep going.

Fujiwara Takumi

on paper it wouldn't be that way, i know exactly what youre saying though.

Jkan2001

I'm sure this story has been told many times but here it goes....i bought my car and immediately slapped on some 17" konig monsoons with 205/40/17 nitto tires. The nittos sucked so i went with kumho 712s. I bent 2 wheels while on the nittos, blew out 4 tires (run flat for no reason) and then after i got the kumhos i bent one more and killed another tire. I got my nitrous kit and raced my friends SE-R which i consistently pulled about 3 cars on from 40-100. I like the way the wheels looked and just didn't want to go down to a smaller size. After 2 flats in 1 weekend i finally said....screw it and i put my steelies back on. I weighed the 17's and found out they are 40 pounds with the kumho tires per tire/rim. I weighed the steelies which were 32 pounds with tire and felt MUCH lighter. Then i raced the same se-r and consistently pulled SIX cars on him. The moral of the story is that weight on a wheel will kill performance especially when most the weight is towards the outside of the wheel (the tire+air). You lose power exponentially when weight is moved from the center to the outside of the spinning wheel. So i reccomend getting some 15" rotas or other light wheel with a 205/50/15 which will give you more sidewall to avoid bends but still handle well. Even if you get a light 17" wheel the tires will still kill your performance. If you want to knock off that extra .5 seconds then a light wheel could very wheel do the trick.

derf

hmmm i disagree with that. i think if you really did fork out the money for lightweight 17s you woudl be okay. since every1 is coming out with light weigh wheels i know velox just came out with a 12.5lb 17.... PS-5 or somethin... $450 a rim tho

its all about the moment of enertia. the heavier the rim, the more it takes to spin it and stop it (your braking will be affected too).... the lighter the easier.

if you had a tire/wheel combo that was the same weight/total circumference as your steelies you wouldn't notice anything... now if they're wider, which will most likely be tru. you'll get worse gas mileage either way. cuz thats a bigger 'wall' at the front of your car, air has to go around. width isn't such a big deal on hondas cuz you should get 205width tires no matther what size you pick 15-17"

incublinkus

even if the wheels were bigger but remain the same weight and overall circumference as stock, the mass of the wheel is still pushed further from the center, thus you have more rotating mass and less acceloration. Sorry dude, its basic physics.