BTRTURBOCHARGED

iTrader: (1)

if you get 18" then get a bigger brake kit, because some evos look silly with the bigger rims, it makes their brakes look smaller.

JeffWels

I was just gonna say some people need to run 18's because they plan to get bigger brakes

Tracer

Go with 18's and keep the 17's. Switch them up when ever you feel like it. It's only 1" I can see where 19's are too much but hey to each his or her own. By the way, what about the 350z which comes with 17's and 18's. If someone can show different 1/4 mile times with those than some of these claims can be backed up.

Phenix

flex = slop, you don't want the sidewalls to flex unless you are drag racing. Other than that, you want you tires to be nice and stiff. You can get tires with very stiff sidewalls and use 17's or get 18's and the lower profile will hold together better. Remember that when you add size (and weight) to the rim you lose size (and weight) on the tire. You might only be a couple pounds heavier (if that) by going to a bigger wheel. And your speedo won't be wrong if you size everything properly. Basically, you should get what you think looks better and suits your driving and roads. If you go full blast over potholes and crap then stick with 17s. My personal vote would be 18s because of the fact that stockers are 17

thacollection

iTrader: (2)

19s for an evo

solarxclipse

iTrader: (11)

18 will reduce the fender gap.

mack_620

definitely 18's with a 40 or 35 series tire

OmarSpeedAddict

Are you serous man?? Some guy carved you up some rims and they weigh only 4+ Pounds??! Show me some Pics? How do they look? How much was it? and how much for some 18's?
Peace!!

JeffWels

lol hate to break it to you, but just carving some thing that looks like wheels out of a block of aluminum is not a good idea. I wouldn't be surprised if you mount them put the car on the ground and they snap. There is a reason this isn't the norm lol

MrBonus

iTrader: (4)

It essentially has the same effect as lengthening the final drive ratio which will ultimately hurt acceleration.

Joe250

iTrader: (11)

Sounds like a lot of swag going on here. Wheel size doesn't necessarily alter gearing or acceleration. Overall circumference does. If you put 18's on, but go down in section height to compensate, you can end up with equal or near-equal overall diameter. Net effect on gearing? Zero.

The advantage of a larger wheel is that you can run a lower profile tire w/out effecting gearing, ride height, etc. A lower profile tire can improve handling response due to quicker turn-in. When you turn the steering wheel, the wheel is connected directly to the steering rack and it rotates immediately. The tires however are not solid. They bend and flex. The wheel is trying to turn it one way and the grip between the road surface and the tire's contact patch fights that turning motion. Less sidewall equals less flex and quicker response.

Larger wheels can potentially be heavier. If so, they will hurt acceleration, deceleration, and handling. It will also degrade the ride quality as well. Not good. Lighter, as is usually the case, is better.

Should you go with 17's or 18's? Do what MotoGP teams did and compromise: 17.5's!

Joe
http://www.joe250.com

CIDER

What Joe said.

17s with say 45 profile

vs

18s with say 30 profile

1cm difference

Anyway i prefer bigger rims, fills the guards, i had 18s and now want 19s just because the 18s grew on me and looked small.

Get 16s or 17s for track styff and 18s/19s if you have the $$$ and dont mind a rough ride.

e8

iTrader: (3)

smaller rims = less rotational weight.

less rotational weight = faster acceleration and deceleration.

also less unsprung weight = quicker steering response(handling) and more feel (for the road and car)

17"s are still for go
18"s are still for show

unless of course you want gobs of power and only wanna go in a straight line, then heavier 18"s will definitely help with traction and what not.

Joe250

iTrader: (11)

I agree with everything E8 said except for:

smaller rims = less rotational weight.

This is not necessarily true. Tires can weigh 20 to 30lbs, especially when you are talking about 17 and 18in diameters. Some of the lighter, forged wheels in these diameters weigh in at 14 to 20 lbs. And considering that the further from the center the weight is located, the greater its effect on acceleration is, you might actually be better off going with larger wheels!

Ergo, your conclusion is flawed.

Also, how do heavier wheels help with traction? Not trying to be adversarial, just don't want anyone to be misled. Someone might end up spending a lot of money based upon incorrect info and no one wants that, right?

Joe
http://www.joe250.com

silverEVO8

iTrader: (12)

I don't believe you are quite right on this. The smaller rims will have less rotational weight because more of the mass is closer to the center. Even if the tire/wheel combo has the same outside diameter, the smaller wheel will result in less inertia to overcome. Also, the larger rims/tire combo will almost certainly be heavier anyway.
The weight of tires, wheels and brake rotors is particularly important to performance as the rotational weight affects acceleration and braking much more than the rest of the car and the unsprung weight affects the handling much more than the weight above the suspension.
I've had a chance to compare several cars with different tire/wheel combos and I can tell you without a doubt that the larger/heavier wheel & tires affect the performance of a car very noticeably in a negative way....

On this, you are quite correct. Heavier wheels/tires will not help traction in any way... They'll impede quick acceleration for sure, but that's not to be confused with improved traction.