I have been thinking of fitting set of 18" wheels to my99 classic, but have been put off by a couple of views, one from a dealer, that I would experiance severe tramlining and the handling would be made much worse. Whats the view from those who have fitted 18s, will I be sacrificing handling for looks?

 

don't be put off mate, they look the bollox

i've got 18" P1 alloys on my MY99 with pirellis fitted and yes, they do tramline a bit (but nowhere near to being described as 'severe'). seems to be getting worse as the tyres are wearing?
i believe different makes of tyre can make make the car tramline a bit less(and vice-versa) but i'm not a 100% sure about that.


handling wise, it's much better(for me anyway) a bit is said about the increase in weight affects the handling in a negative way, but for me it made a massive difference in levels of dry grip, car feels really planted and has much less tendancy to understeer.
wet grip is a bit different and seems to be slightly worse than my 16's, but the assimetrico pirellis aren't the best in the wet anyway so it may be that.

overall the pros far outweigh the cons so go for it!

 

I've not had any tramlining at all with my 18" wheels (Toyo Tyres) and I've found in the past that handling hasn't changed so it's noticeable - the dealer is making a mountain outa a table spoon pile of salt here IMO

 

Get em bought, my rb5 has 18 inch compomotives,looks superb.No severe tramlining experienced,grip immense .Do it!!!!!!!!

 

the tramlining is mainly to do with tires, get some toyo TS1 on them and u'll be fine was one of the first upgrades i did.

Cheers Darren.

 

18"s came as an optional extra on the P1 so i wouldn't have thought the handling/ride could be that affected! if it was good enough for the P1 it would be good enough for me

 

Yes, tramlining is mainly related to the stiffness of the sidewall of the tyre. OEM Bridgestones are bad for tramlining. When I switched to Michelins on my old WRX then the problem was cured. Going for F1's on the new car

 

Maybe its different with 18's to 17's as I noticed increased tramlining when I switched to 17 and toyo ts1.

 

Krade, did you notice this difference after changing from 16s? Only ask because I'm about to replace my standard 16s with 17s and have been offered what seems to be a very good deal on Toyos ( 215/40 ). Just don't want to upset the car for the sake of saving a few quid.