17inch or 18inch for 2002 model

kyungkp · 07-29-2005, 12:31 PM

Hi. im in the market for new rims for my S.

is 18inch too big for S2000s? or do you recommend 17s?

fletch · 07-29-2005, 04:54 PM

18" Too big?
Never.

The standard 16" look rubbish on such a fantastic roadster IMHO. FAR too much rubber on show.
18" looks great.
Even 19" looks good, but can be a bit too much.

Although... The standard purists answer seems to be "18 for show 17 for go".
Claiming that 17 inch is as much as you should go if you want to keep the car quick and handling correctly.
I say

my 18"s are MUCH lighter than the stock 16" wheels, and look

.

RCduck7 · 07-29-2005, 05:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fletch

18" Too big?
Never.

The standard 16" look rubbish on such a fantastic roadster IMHO. FAR too much rubber on show.
18" looks great.
Even 19" looks good, but can be a bit too much.

Although... The standard purists answer seems to be "18 for show 17 for go".
Claiming that 17 inch is as much as you should go if you want to keep the car quick and handling correctly.
I say

my 18"s are MUCH lighter than the stock 16" wheels, and look

.

I'm not sure if it's only the weight of the wheel that garantees nimble.
There's more rubber that sticks to the road from a bigger wheel that will do more for grip but nimble...?

Java Junky · 07-30-2005, 06:10 AM

Dunno fletch. I think you could put 13s on that ride of yours n' the Monte Carlo blue'd still make it look sweet.
Is that blue a non-states only color? I've never seen another one like it stateside.
As for wheels: the stock ones fill out the wells pretty well. If it's jus' for looks I've got a hard time gettin' interested. If it improves my scootability . . .

Halo · 07-30-2005, 02:55 PM

The contact patch SIZE is only a function of tire pressure and car weight. The wider, lower profile tires, tend to use higher pressure so the contact patch is smaller. Also, tires weight considerably more than wheels. Many people brag that they save 2-3 lb on a lightweight wheel, then stick real big meats on there and add back 10lb worth of rubber and steel (belts).

fletch · 07-30-2005, 04:21 PM

One thing I've never worked out...
Why are low profile tires more expensive that larger tires.

Why should my 245/35/r18 cost more than a 245/45/r16 when there's a lot less overall rubber?

Coz they can I guess.

Java Junky · 07-30-2005, 06:42 PM

It's all a matter of demand fletch. If people think somethin's hot, they'll be willin' to spring the extra, totally unnecessary, rubles for it. N' all those studies that the companies've done on our buyin' preferences allow them to know us better than we know ourselves.
Given the opportunity to sit down at a poker table with a demographically-advised sales department . . . feign illness n' pass.

sunnyyan · 07-31-2005, 10:28 PM

If you want a good combination of good handling, ride comfort and performance, 17 is the best size. Adding bigger rims or bigger tires sometimes negative impact the handling of the car which I had bad experience before.

Java Junky · 08-02-2005, 04:04 PM

I don't doubt for a second that settin' the car up with race rubber n' wheels would make a terrific difference . . on the track. But I think you'd be really hard pressed to come up with an improvement (noticeable n' real, not jus' imagined to make you feel better about havin' jus' spent a buncha unnecessary denaro) over what they set the car up with at the factory for street use.
I'm not sayin' it's impossible to improve on the stock wheels n' tires, jus' unlikely that you'd trip on anything noticeably better without goin' through the trial n' error of a few different, so-so combinations.
The folks that set this little beauty up didn't seem to have allowed much to distract them from their target when they were designin' it n' fittin' it out. I don't believe that they were any less intense when it came time to put shoes on it.
Have I already suggested that we all jus' go out n' drive it more often?
(Yeah. That comin' from a guy who seems to be spendin' half 'is life in frunna this one-eyed contraption)
Be well.

fletch · 08-03-2005, 03:55 AM

Ok... Here's my answer to a question of wheel sizes that I compiled for someone a while back. I tend to end up cut&pasting it whenever this comes up.

Quote:

Ok ...
Ride:
You WILL notice with 18s that the ride is a little harder/stiffer/rougher whatever you want to call it there's no getting away from the fact that you now have less suspension in your tyres to soak up the uneven roads. This may be more of a problem for some people than others. I guess it depends how bad the road conditions are where you live. In the UK they are terrible.

Power:
Contrary to popular belief, there should be no noticable difference in power whatsoever. I would speculate that even if you put heavier wheels on for some reason you would still not notice any difference in general usage. If you are trying to get the maximum performance out of your car on a track it may be a different story, but again the average driver (like myself) really wouldn't notice much difference. I sometimes smile when I read some of these wheel size discussions.

It's like some of these people are designing performance race cars for formula 1 or something.

Unless you are going to be racing your car, and I mean real competition racing, why the concern with a 0.14 second difference in 0-100 times

( This is around 1%. The figure some of these clever people have come up with

)
AND ... There are a good selection of lighter wheels that you can choose from, including my TE37s.

Right. Ok. Sorry. I'm going on a bit on that one .......

Handling:
I now prefer the feel of the car with the 18s on. There is a definite reduction in tyre roll which imho makes the feel more 'tactile'. It might sound odd but, due to the reduced tyre roll the back end can snap away quicker but it seems to give more warning. I think you get more feel, 'finesse' if you like. But you should remember that I am no expert. I do love to drive fast and on the edge sometimes and I have had a few close calls where I've lost the back end and managed to control it, but I don't consider myself to be an expert on the handling and control of a car. I'm just an amateur, so all I can do is describe how it feels to me.

In a nutshell I think the 18s are less forgiving if you are asking too much of the tyres and you can loose it very quickly, but they also offer more feel, and if you know what to feel for then you will know it's coming. (If that makes sense) All this means that it can be great fun.

The spec for the Volks are:
Front ... 18 x 7.5 +48 offset
Rears ... 18 x 8.5 +50 offset

Tyres, I'm using:
Front ... 225/40/r18 (These increase the radius by 2.5mm)
Rears ... 255/35/r18 (These increase the radius by 4.5mm)
But you could also use (I have before):
Front ... 215/40/r18 (These reduce the radius by 1.5mm)
Rears ... 245/35/r18 (These increase the radius by 1mm)

With the tyres, you want to avoid changing the rolling radius much.
Again, contrary to popular belief, 1 or 2 mm change here or there isn't going to make any difference whatsoever. You'll get a much bigger change than that with usage and wear anyway.

Here's a couple websites that help with the calculations.
http://www.tyresave.co.uk/tyresize.html
http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html

Get the right offsets and tyres and there will be NO rubbing.

I've not had mine lowered. This might sound silly but I was concerned that this WOULD change the handling of the car too much.
Plus my local roads have a number of speed humps.

I hope you've found this useful. Ultimately though the best thing you could do is try and find someway of trying them out first. Not easy

Wow... I have gone on a bit haven't I. biggrin.gif I'm bored at work... Does it show?

Regards,
Chris.

hontoyo · 08-06-2005, 11:13 PM

I think 18's look perfect, 17's look nice too. I just purchased a GP Sports bodykit and 18 inch SSR Professors. Even without the kit, it still looks great. They fill the wheel well very nicely. I am also dropped on espilir springs.

I will post pics in a week or so once it's all done.

07-29-2005, 12:31 PM	#1 (permalink)
kyungkp Junior Member Join Date: Jul 2005 Posts: 6	17inch or 18inch for 2002 model Hi. im in the market for new rims for my S. is 18inch too big for S2000s? or do you recommend 17s?

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07-29-2005, 04:54 PM	#2 (permalink)
fletch Member Join Date: Jul 2005 Posts: 63	18" Too big? Never. The standard 16" look rubbish on such a fantastic roadster IMHO. FAR too much rubber on show. 18" looks great. Even 19" looks good, but can be a bit too much. Although... The standard purists answer seems to be "18 for show 17 for go". Claiming that 17 inch is as much as you should go if you want to keep the car quick and handling correctly. I say my 18"s are MUCH lighter than the stock 16" wheels, and look .

07-30-2005, 06:10 AM	#4 (permalink)
Java Junky Resident Curmudgeon Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Joisey Posts: 5,433	Dunno fletch. I think you could put 13s on that ride of yours n' the Monte Carlo blue'd still make it look sweet. Is that blue a non-states only color? I've never seen another one like it stateside. As for wheels: the stock ones fill out the wells pretty well. If it's jus' for looks I've got a hard time gettin' interested. If it improves my scootability . . .

07-30-2005, 02:55 PM	#5 (permalink)
Halo Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2004 Posts: 598	The contact patch SIZE is only a function of tire pressure and car weight. The wider, lower profile tires, tend to use higher pressure so the contact patch is smaller. Also, tires weight considerably more than wheels. Many people brag that they save 2-3 lb on a lightweight wheel, then stick real big meats on there and add back 10lb worth of rubber and steel (belts).

07-30-2005, 04:21 PM	#6 (permalink)
fletch Member Join Date: Jul 2005 Posts: 63	One thing I've never worked out... Why are low profile tires more expensive that larger tires. Why should my 245/35/r18 cost more than a 245/45/r16 when there's a lot less overall rubber? Coz they can I guess.

07-30-2005, 06:42 PM	#7 (permalink)
Java Junky Resident Curmudgeon Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Joisey Posts: 5,433	It's all a matter of demand fletch. If people think somethin's hot, they'll be willin' to spring the extra, totally unnecessary, rubles for it. N' all those studies that the companies've done on our buyin' preferences allow them to know us better than we know ourselves. Given the opportunity to sit down at a poker table with a demographically-advised sales department . . . feign illness n' pass.

07-31-2005, 10:28 PM	#8 (permalink)
sunnyyan Junior Member Join Date: Jul 2005 Posts: 16	If you want a good combination of good handling, ride comfort and performance, 17 is the best size. Adding bigger rims or bigger tires sometimes negative impact the handling of the car which I had bad experience before.

08-02-2005, 04:04 PM	#9 (permalink)
Java Junky Resident Curmudgeon Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Joisey Posts: 5,433	I don't doubt for a second that settin' the car up with race rubber n' wheels would make a terrific difference . . on the track. But I think you'd be really hard pressed to come up with an improvement (noticeable n' real, not jus' imagined to make you feel better about havin' jus' spent a buncha unnecessary denaro) over what they set the car up with at the factory for street use. I'm not sayin' it's impossible to improve on the stock wheels n' tires, jus' unlikely that you'd trip on anything noticeably better without goin' through the trial n' error of a few different, so-so combinations. The folks that set this little beauty up didn't seem to have allowed much to distract them from their target when they were designin' it n' fittin' it out. I don't believe that they were any less intense when it came time to put shoes on it. Have I already suggested that we all jus' go out n' drive it more often? (Yeah. That comin' from a guy who seems to be spendin' half 'is life in frunna this one-eyed contraption) Be well.

08-06-2005, 11:13 PM	#11 (permalink)
hontoyo Junior Member Join Date: Aug 2005 Posts: 1	I think 18's look perfect, 17's look nice too. I just purchased a GP Sports bodykit and 18 inch SSR Professors. Even without the kit, it still looks great. They fill the wheel well very nicely. I am also dropped on espilir springs. I will post pics in a week or so once it's all done.