a record or does nobody remember those things anymore?

basiclly, the mass is forced to rotating at a faster speed the further out it is, since it has to cover more distance. With the weight further out, it makes it harder (maybe not anything big, but non the less) on the axle to spin the wheel. Its not really that its chrome or platinum or 24k gold. 17+ rims cause problems on civics. If you had some torque or heavy displacement (3.0+L) on the other hand, then go on ahead and ride on big rims.