I am going to (finally) get some new wheels for my car. Just go the stock on my 2001 Prelude SH. Been reading a little here and there and sorta decided on going with either 17" or 18" wheels. But have heard of tire rubbing with 18" wheels. What do you guys have on your prelude or recommend? Dont really want to go too low profile if i get 18" wheels.

 

i would recommend a 17 or smaller.. particuarly if youre planning on doing any autocross or racing. Even if you arent, low profile tires require a lot more attention while driving! I blew out a tire in my town's center around a manhole 2 weeks after getting my rims on.. the tire size was 215/40/17.. I could have got a 215/45 also. If you do plan on getting into competitive driving, get the rears skinnier to reduce understeer. I'm not sure what you should get if you go 18, but I strongly advise you to get a 17 or smaller.. Even a 17 is pushing it on these cars. If I could do it again I'd go 16. If you want to get more size recommendations, go to tirerack.com and select tires for your vehicle, and choose an "optional size" of 16, 17, 18 and it will tell you which tire sizes are most common and recommended...
think about this... how much low pro do you need???

215/40/17---


good luck, I hope you value my advice.. hindsight is 20/20.
drive carefully..
mike.

 

If you are interested in performance, go with the smallest, lightest rim you can find. The only reason anyone NEEDS big rims is to fit a big brake kit in there.

 

Im not really doing it for autocross or racing. Maybe a little street racing here and there Cant help but burn these little kids with stock civics, stock 4th gen ludes, even saw a stock neon tryin to race me Just want something strictly for street. Those 215/40/17 looks nice mikesta. Been wanting to see a pic of a rim\tire shot. Now just gotta decide on what rims to get. Was looking into konig holes.

 

over all tire diameter is what you want to maintain. prime example-- stock size on my 93 si vtec is 205-55-15. over all tire diameter was like 24.7 inches. i couldnt get snow tires in that size so i had to get 185-60-15. over all diameter on that was like 24.5". so you need to go to a tire store or go to discounttiredirect.com and punch in your tire size and they will give you a list of plus size tires with the same overall diameter. if you get too big then your car slows down. if you get to small your speedo is fast and you rack up miles faster than actual. good luch

 

thats another reason to get the best match for your car.. a 215/40/17 is slightly (.1") smaller overall diameter than stock.. I would avoid getting a bigger one. It throughs off your speedometer, puts more stress on the tranny, slows down accleration(increases top speed.. but doesnt matter).. theres just no reason to get a bigger combo. If you are SURE you dont want to get into driving like I am.. then go for 17s, but drive careful. I would prefer a 16 if I could do it again. 17 has that low pro appeal.. but at the expense of performance (smaller air chamber), weight(mine are very light at 17lbs a piece, but smaller wheels would be even lighter), and blowout potential. Make sure to find a tire with a stiff sidewall also if you intend to get into autocross etc. It will handle better, but it will be a little stiffer.
Think twice about buying big wheels! And my advice is to NOT buy wheels into you have tires and vice versa. Tirerack is a great resource.

 

Yeah, you should probably stick 17" or smaller. I have 18's on my 5th gen, only because i have a big brake kit. Right now i'm using 215/35/18 real low profile, i gotta drive slow as shit overdips and such but dont we all? I don't really race to much so i'm satisfied with these. People can't seem to stop staring either so thats a plus.

1998 Prelude SH