17" or 18" alloys for a classic???
 

my white sti version 3 arrives this week and want to get a set of alloys for it. really like the look of these on a white classic. Welcome to Jap Performance UK the ones in the pic are 18" are look great but what will the ride be like? am i better off getting 17" rims and lowering the car slightly? advice appreciated. thanks.

Hi
Lots of threads on this over the years.
The upshot is.
Classics handle better on 17s
Classics look better on 18s

So its looks verses performance.

ARBs are also a good idea

Steve

Out of interest I was thinking of getting my next classic from them.
Can you let me know how you get on with it all. What the car is like and what they are like. Ta. :)
Steve

17" all the way...

I had 18" rota's on my classic. Looked great, handled like poo

Now has 17" rota's back on, looks just as good but handles marginally better due to the useless driver :D

I had 18's on my classic, but not 17's, so couldn't compare the handling. The arches did need rolling though as it was lowered.

Nice car BTW! :cool:

Bling or handling.... you decide :)

So.... why doesn't it apparently handle as well on 18's then?

Unsprung weight of the 18" wheels spoils the handling somewhat, dear chap

So....what happens if they are the same weight as 17's?

Surely the lower sidewall (35's) is better?

More weight, closer to the outer edge, also harsher ride, which if using on a smooth race track, will be fine, but in the real world it will see the potholed roads of Britain.

Andy

Yep - that about sums it up :)

I get those, but how does a harsher ride equate to not handling as well, which is what people always mention?

Ignoring weight, as i'm sure some light weight 18's are the same as regular 17's.

Yes light weight would help, but then you are looking at a massive jump in price, for what is really only a cosmetic appearance.

I drive with 16" on the road 17" track event

Someone who actually knows what he's on about will put me right soon, but as I understand it, when a wheel hits a bump, the suspension tries to keep it in contact with the road. If the wheel and tyre is heavier, it;s harder for the suspension to control. so on our wonderfully surfaced roads, the tyre actually spends less time in contact with the road and you get less grip. The same applies with the shallower stiffer sidewalls in 18's, they don't absorb the bumps, so you get less grip. you do however get every camber change and matchstick you run over transferred through the stearing wheel which means you spend all of your time making minor corrections and less time pointing the car where you want to go.
probably

ive had 17's and 16's on my scoobies, prefer the 16's
my mate has the same car as me on 18's and when he drove mine on 17's his 18's were off and 17's put on, said he preferred the ride and handling

Steve

Totally agree with above

Where as newage Saloon 18's are margainally better Handling than 17"s (road dependant)

on 2008 Hatchback's 18"s are a necesscity(sp) :D

IMHO IIRC

Tony

Had 17's and 18's on mine and havnt really noticed much difference :wonder:

i suppose it's technically wrong talking about 16"s versus 17" having better or worse "handling" .

maybe better to say

17"s are more forgiving/Predictable grip levels. Giving a good balance of grip, shore footedness and driver confidence. Great for "Mr Average driver" like me

18"'s tend to be more "Skitish" and not quite so predictable grip level, although in the hands of "Mr Competitive driver" will get round the track faster than on 17"s

I once drove a classic on 19"s, now that was scary :mad:

On a newage different story I prefer 18"s but 17's are fine :D My08's 18"s are a must

IIRC IMHO

Tony

Agree - 18s probably have the edge on track. But back to the real world then 17s - especialy for their ´´predictability´´- this size is also big enough to get a decent set of brakes under them, which can be the only limitation with 16s

17s look good with good suspension set up and will handle better

18s look better under the arches and transform the look imo