Ok, I'm close to buying the rims for my box that I've had for a week now.
I'm just waiting on my tax return to hit my bank account.

What I'm debating is 17" vs 18" with a 2" drop.

Here are my thoughts, and I was hoping you guys might chime in if I missed
something.

17" are lighter then 18" (important to me)
17" I can fit taller rubber on them (to protect from pot holes)
17" are slightly cheaper then 18" (I'm looking at $1300 17" rims!!)
17" the rubber is a few $$ cheaper.

18" looks cooler...even though it's only an inch, it just fills the wheel well better.
18" wheels the spokes look better (longer)


From the list it looks like 17" would be my choice, but I want to make sure I'm
not missing anything that should be a positive for the 18"

Any suggestions or thoughts?
I'm also open to offset and width suggestions, I don't think our list in the FAQ is
up to date, or very clear. Later this year when I meet more people at shows and
meets, I plan on taking notes and making a cleaner FAQ on wheel and tire size
as well as offset and spacers...but till then, I'll work with what we have!

 

17 inch will also give a more tolerable ride quality also.

I'm running 215/40-17s and they ride alot better than 215/35-18s when I gave them a try one day.

 

Yeah, I was planning on 215/45/17. Unless I can talk
myself into 18" or I happen to get a KILLER deal on some
18" with rubber.

 

I'm in the same boat as you raven.

One one hand, 18's will look great but the ride might not be.

With a 2" drop and 17's the box will look sweet!

I'm looking at the Motegi FF-7 in a 205/40/17, or 215/40/18,

I wonder what offset we could get for 205/45/17?

 

FYI, 18" won't necessarily fill the wheel well better, and if the do, the difference will be very little - see recommended fitments and their associated overall diameters:

Tire Size / Overall diameter

205/45-17 / 24.2"
215/40-17 / 23.8"

215/35-18 / 23.9"
225/35-18 / 24.2"

Regarding "Widths" and "Offsets":

17 X 7.0" or 7.5" with offsets ranging from 37mm to 40mm's

18 X 7.0" with offsets ranging from 37mm to 40mm's

For more information on the wheels we have available for your vehicle, please feel free to contact me, or visit our site at:
http://www.tirerack.com/a.jsp?a=DJ1&...eels/index.jsp

 

That's what I'm running on my car. The majority of the guys in Cali are running big ___ 19's, but I'm happy with my wheels. No regrets going with 17's.

 

i'd go with 17"s i have 2 pr of 18's which ride nice, but stock suspension;

btw, why are u paying 1300 for 17's; ive seen some nice rims w/rubber for 7-800 round here; chrome for 900

~tesh

 

Thanks guys, I think you just helped push me solidly into
17" rims. Even if I went 18", I'd deal with the spedometer
and Odometer being off slightly and I would probably go
40 series rubber on 18" rims. While the rubber band look
is cool, I'd rather save my rims (and my kidneys) with
slightly taller rubber.

The reason I'm looking at $1300 chrome rims is that I'm
a picky bastard, and I honestly found one, maybe two rims
that I like the looks of. So yes, I can find rims for $700,
but it's nothing that I want.

I'd love to see suggestions. I posted a thread with a photo
example of what I like looking for suggestions with a better
price and I got ZERO responses.

 

This is the image I posted in a previous thread:



While maybe a little bit ghetto-bling, I think it will set off the BOP color well.

My requirements are:

The rim needs to be simple, a 5 spoke setup like the one shown is ideal.

The rim can't have all those stupid fake rivets that seem popular

The rim needs to be chrome or polished aluminum.

Light weight would be a plus.

I know that proper chrome plating adds several pounds because it needs to be
copper flashed, then triple chrome plated. So light weight probably isn't an option,
but I can dream can't I?

~Eric~

 

$1300.00 for 17's
that seems a little high to me. I'd bet there 1-piece wheels too.
I'm selling my 3-piece 18" Niche' Pultecs with Falken ZIEX 512's
already mounted & balanced for $1200.00
By the way the Niche' wheels retailed for over 350.00 each (without tires)
PM me if you need to

 

Those wheels seem kinda expensive for that look. The chrome looks reallllly heavy to me, ive seen a "star" patterned chrome wheel in a shop in cali, but the chrome seemed cleaner to me, like it was lighter. 1300 may be kinda too much for that wheel; just trying to give some positive critisism

 

I understand, and I've already found another similar version
for a little bit less, but I'm keeping my options open and
doing lots of research till my tax return hits...then I'll be
burning to put something on the box!

 

I am in the same boat Raven I will probibly get 17" too with my tax return, its a better ride..... but I want 18 " soo bad. I have the H springs I was hopeing that an 18'' with a 40 size tire would fill up that gap I have. But there is always rubbing. Looks like new springs and 17" if anyone can tell me otherwise.

I plan on taking notes and making a cleaner FAQ on wheel and tire size
as well as offset and spacers...but till then, I'll work with what we have!

 

I'm glad to help if I can...it sure would have made my purchasing
a bit easier! So much conflicting info out there, it's hard to
tell who to listen to.

So I figure when I see a setup that looks "right", I'll ask
specifically what they did (hopefully they even know).

 

anyone got anything against a 205/40/17 tire? 215 seems like it'd be a bit wide for a little ol' xB. the 215/40/17 seems to be right on for overall height matching, though.

 

I dont know about you, but for where I live I couldnt imagine 18s. 17s barely cut it because theyre extremely thin. It just depends on the wheels with price. You can get some 18s for cheaper than 17s. I'm happy with 17s would be really afraid to go any bigger.

I ended up getting mine for $520 shipped to my door brand new with tires. Very pleased. Check out Best Wheel for some good deals.

 

i've got 225-40-18's 42 offset. they will rub at first. also have hotchkis springs 2 inch drop. many body shop "experts" tell me that all they do is get a block of wood and witha mallet knock it the problem area about one eighth toa quarter inch. that's what i did. not extra plastic covers in the wells and your rust proofing is not affected.

Go to a body shop.

 

I went ahead and ordered some G-Racing rims with some
cheap asian rubber. Came out about $500 cheaper then
the Foose I was lookin' at, and probably a few pounds lighter.

I went with 215/45/17 tires to put a little extra rubber
between the rim and the pavement.

 

you may have a little rubbing on the inner plastic, but that will wear away after time. You may not have it at all. If you do, it will only be at full turn, at least it should be.

 

i may have to reject the larger wheel crappier ride idea. i have 18' katana wheels and i can feel the road very well and the ride actually feels better than stock, just gotta watchout on railroad tracks etc. however i did have to put 1/8th inch spacer so they wouldnt rub