17" vs 18" wheels

[Ginger Ninja]

Just after some input on changing wheel sizes on a daily driven car. I'm looking at getting a set of lightweight Volk wheels and I'm considering going back to the stock 17" diamter from the 18" I'm on now. My car is lowered slightly on KW coilovers and I'm looking at going a bit lower when I get new wheels.

It seems like the extra comfort of 17x8 wheels would be a no-brainer but why don't you ever see it done on Libertys?

[smythie]

You don't see it done all that often because it isn't the "in" thing. I made this same argument in another thread yesterday but the main reason is that people put style over all other functions of the wheel. Have a look at all of the questions over 19" wheels or 20's. I do agree though that 18" wheels look a bit better than 17's in the wheel arches of the Gen 4 Liberty but a good set of 17's can look pretty damn good too.

I have gone from the stock 18" with 215/45 tyres to 17" with 225/50 tyres and my wife and I both noticed immediately how much more comfortable the ride was. Going up 16mm in sidewall has not harmed steering response in any way shape or form and the drop to 17" has allowed to buy top-of-the-range tyres at cheaper price points. We now have lighter wheels wrapped in Michelin PS3's that conform better to the road and absorb bumps rather than bouncing over them

As you are matching the rolling diameter of your stock 215/45R17 tyre size on an 8" width, going 17" will give you a more comfortable and better performing tyre. 235/40R17 will be a better tyre than a 235/35R18 IMO

[champ]

It its indeed a no brainer, 40% of 235 gives more rubber (actually air) between the wheels and the road surface than 35% at 235. And in smythie's case, it's 50% of 225 vs 45% of 215.

All that air is what cushions the bumps and makes the ride more comfortable, but remember that same air gives more sideway play (roll), so you can't go all stig on the roads. I've got 195/65R14 on my daily for that extra bit of comfort. Not looking at superb handling just driving 100+ kms to & from work. But that said, it still handles well.

[Robbks]

generally you're simply going to get a handling increase by going larger diameter (we know this already)
so it's more of a convention to do that.

my car has 18's from the factory already, and i simply swapped for a different set of 18's for a different look.
given the purpose of my car, 19's are not required and would be unecenomical to change simply for looks.

all depends on the usage of your vehicle and what you want from it.
given you've gone with coilovers already, did you do that for aesthetics only or are you interested in the last few% of better handling?
if ti's handling over comfort, then stick with the 18's

[Ginger Ninja]

You see smaller wheels on track cars all the time, so handling couldn't be too bad with a taller sidewall. 18's on Liberty's look good, no doubt about that. Anyone got any photo's of good looking Libertys or WRXs on 17's? Would a 17" wheel and tyre be lighter than the same thing in 18"?

This is the only one I can find.

Rota DPT.jpg (248.45 KiB) Viewed 6590 times

[smythie]

All that air is what cushions the bumps and makes the ride more comfortable, but remember that same air gives more sideway play (roll), so you can't go all stig on the roads.

Going from 215/45 to 225/50 has introduced zero extra noticeable sidewall flex in mine. It just grips better *shrug*

Ginger, here is mine with its current 17's (x7.5 +48)

[Stu]

why don't you ever see it done on Libertys?

Brembos

[smythie]

nah, there's plenty of 17" options that will clear the STI spec Brembos. Sticking with Subaru OWM wheels you have the 02-04 WRX STI 5x2 spokers and the MY12 WRX 17x8" 5x3 spokers. That's just two options - there are plenty of other aftermarket options out there that will suit and they will be cheaper and lighter than their 18/19" counterparts.

[champ]

Going from 215/45 to 225/50 has introduced zero extra noticeable sidewall flex in mine. It just grips better *shrug*

Ginger, here is mine with its current 17's (x7.5 +48)

Good that there's no noticeable diff in handling, but I bet the ride is comfier. Oh, and time to update your avatar pic too.

[smythie]

[SubMeister]

I'm interested in going to 17s as well, for all the reasons smythie outlined, to suit the car's intended purpose which is a family sportwagon. I hear an H6 slows keeps the gray hairs at bay

I'd be interested to see what attractive wheel options are out there. Am partial to the BBS and JDM look.

Here's one that caught my eye recently...I wonder how much these go for used?

Any one else have pics of 17s to upload?

BBS 17x7.5 +45 offset Dark Steel Grey.jpg (59.01 KiB) Viewed 6522 times

[hamish_023]

Those BBS would be relatively cheap of a B4 lib

[smythie]

Haven't seen a used set pop up on ebay in many months (I've been on the lookout for them too). There's a new set at 2.4k Buy Now if you're really keen.

When they do pop up, around 500-700 for a set (no tyres) is about what I've seen them go for in the last 18 months

[SubMeister]

Ok, this monster does the quarter mile in 12.1 at 182 km/h.

http://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php/lecagy-spec-b-3-6l-rotrex-174531.html?s=afa17acf461e3641290a5b9879ceab38&s=6f1128f80006ff76195f48b48cd34eea&

And it runs 17" rims.

That's enough street cred for me!

[smythie]

Noticed a set of the Gen 3 B4 BBS on ebay the other day. A week left in the auction

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/260968438995?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649

Good luck if you go after them.