hey guys i am new to this forum i just took off my 17's and went back to the stock 15's yeah 17's look good because of the thin tires and big rims but the ride is crap and even worse when the car is lowered and 4 tires will cost over $400 if you want a good brand and also they weight alot more than stock i would rather gain power than loose it over looks and besides i like the sleeper look better anyway because i love the look on their faces when the race is over it is kinda like wtf!!! (honduhh's ) well guys tell me what you think

I think punctuation would have made that a lot easier to read.

Yes, 15" wheels are preferred for performance, 17" sure so look better though. Whatever is important to you.

how do 14s compare to 15s for performance?

my 17s weigh about as much as my stock 15s if not less. as for the ride, especially if its lowered.........yeah, it pretty much sucks.

i'm going to get 16's...but i also like the sleeper look....

when my car was stock i had some 17's and my buddy had a stock celica gt both had 140hp and he had 3 12's and a bicylce in his car and he out ran me. I put the stockers back on and race him again and I walked him. The 17's only weighed 3 more pounds a wheel(rim and tire) then the 15's. I am about to get some 12lbs. rims to put my toyos on. When it comes to rims weight is a big issue.

It's not just the overall weight, it's also where the weight is. With the rim 1" farther (further?) out, the wheel / tire setup has a higher moment of inertia, so the whole thing acts like a heavier flywheel.

Also, the tire options for 15" wheels (actually, 205/50/15 for street tires, wider for r-coumpound) blow away anything in the 17" sizes. The 17 inchers are just fashion tires (Paradas, etc.)

14" wheels also suffer from a lack of tire selection, plus they usually aren't wide enough.

So, that's why 15" is generally considered the best for performance.

It's not just weight, it's also the overall diameter. A 205/40/17 is going to be taller than a 195/55/15 or a 205/50/15. It takes more torque to rotate something with a bigger diameter. Having the following rims, I personally like the 16" combo the best for performance and decent asthetics. Simple solution to this problem...go turbo! ;-)

Bob
'97 SE-R Turbo
17" Enkei RPO1's
16" Volk TE37's
15" Enkei 6-spoke somethings...

a turbo does help with the bigger rims but if you take the gains of having a light weight 15" over 17" with a NA car you can just imagine the difference with a turbo car. I know with my car I had the stock 15's with some crap dunlop 199/60/15 tires and then I went to some toyo proxes in 205/50/15 and I lost 3lbs. per wheel and my acceleration increased a good amount.

the overall diameter, if you purchase the right tires can be nearly exact. For instance, a 205/40/17 is almost identical to overall diameter of the stock 195/55/15's.

Miata.net has a very good site for calculating differences between tire & wheel sizes. Shows profile and tread width; you just plug in the original sizes, and then potential ones. It calculates % diff and mph change.

I love my 17's. I used to run 18's but switched up due to tire costs. Now that I'm turbo'd I'm really GLAD that I have the 17's. Lightweight 15's would be up in smoke.:cool:

Yeah, 17's = great looks, but a horrible ride and a slower car.

Originally posted by Storm88000
Yeah, 17's = great looks, but a horrible ride and a slower car.

thats a crock..... my particular 17's arent light (they weigh about the same as my SE-r 15's w/tires) but there are plenty of 17 inch wheels out there that weigh less that 16's or some 15's for that matter........ you dont have to sacrafice looks for speed!!!!!!!!!:rolleyes:

hey,guys i guess some of you really do not understand what i am saying. the reason i said 17''s suck is because the price for 4 tires and the thread wear . and also you do not have a large choice of tire selections. of go with 17''s the only choice you have is 205/40/17 anything bigger or smaller would not fit but with 15''s you have a larger selection like 195/50/15,205/50/15 ect. and tires are a hell of alot cheaper.i agree with some of you guys i would only go 17''s again only if i go turbo. for the guys that dissagree with me i bet you make alot more money then i do i am still in college and i would rather spend $500.00 on my engine that some tires .

why would you even drive anything other than 205/50/15's if you are looking for performance with 15s? And besides, if you are looking for performance on a budget; cheapin out and cuttin corners are gonna cost you more in the long run... :p

Originally posted by nak1
thats a crock..... my particular 17's arent light (they weigh about the same as my SE-r 15's w/tires) but there are plenty of 17 inch wheels out there that weigh less that 16's or some 15's for that matter........ you dont have to sacrafice looks for speed!!!!!!!!!:rolleyes:


Dude.... it's not just te weght, it's the overall rotational mass that slows the car down.

Originally posted by Storm88000
Dude.... it's not just te weght, it's the overall rotational mass that slows the car down.

this includes tires correct? if so, then my 17's are only about 1/4" larger than my factory 15's. I notice no difference from when I had the 15's to now......... some of us want to go fast and still look good...... and to me, this cant be done without 17's.

my 17's only weigh about 20lbs each w/tires..but yeah drag racing with them sucks. i hate when i have to buy tires. jegs.com has kumho 712's 205/40/17 for $75 though.

Originally posted by nak1
this includes tires correct? if so, then my 17's are only about 1/4" larger than my factory 15's. I notice no difference from when I had the 15's to now......... some of us want to go fast and still look good...... and to me, this cant be done without 17's.

Try and keep up. The rim of the wheel is where most of the weight is. If it is 1" further out from the center of the wheel, even on a wheel/tire combo that weighs the same as a 15" setup, the rotational moment of inertia will be higher, and your car will go slower.

Your car would be faster with 15" wheels, but the tradeoff to look good is worth it to you.

I personally would like a nice set of 17" wheels for the street, and nice 15" wheels for autocrossing and track days. I can't afford both, so I run 15" wheels.

Originally posted by Driven97
Try and keep up.

eat me!:rolleyes: