17 vs 18 inch wheels

SN95StangMan · Apr 13, 2005

Nik_95Cobra said:
By no means a comparison to our cars...But on my friends 94 civic when he went from the stock 14's with 60 series tires to 17's with 40 series and he lost over a second lol. Was a while ago so it's hard to remember but he ran a high 17.something lol. In a 5-Speed.

That's sad.

illwood · Apr 13, 2005

Engel said:
4 pistons wont clear a 17"?

You can clear 4 piston calipers with a 17" wheel if choosen properly. The Ultralite IIs I'm running (17 x 9) will clear a 13" rotor w/ 4 piston calipers. Same for the '98 Cobra and '95 Cobra R wheels.

I didn't want 18's, but if I did and stayed with the Ultralite IIs, I could then clear 4 piston calipers on 14" rotors.

95Vert · Apr 13, 2005

I also think 18 fill the wheel well a little better. My buddy just got some 18" saleen's and they look nice. Personally, I would get 17x8 up front with a 255/40 tire and an 18x10 out back with a 315/35 tire. I'm sure it'll look awesome with the slam that I have. I like the way cars look when they're slightly inclined towards the front.

nmcgrawj · Apr 13, 2005

SN95StangMan said:
Haha, that sounds like something I would say. I didnt realize you got that from me, just thought it was a good point.

My pockets were a little emptier too. I think that helps discourage me from doing unnecessary burnouts. People are always requesting that I do a burnout, and I just tell them to give me some money for my tires. The only time I burn rubber is to heat up the tires at the dragstrip. Once the local dragstrip was having a burnout contest, and the guy asked me to join. I asked what prize the winner gets... He told me "Burned tires." Yea right buddy.

haha same thing here!

14-17 is much different than 17-18

haulbalz · Apr 13, 2005

illwood said:
You can clear 4 piston calipers with a 17" wheel if choosen properly. The Ultralite IIs I'm running (17 x 9) will clear a 13" rotor w/ 4 piston calipers. Same for the '98 Cobra and '95 Cobra R wheels.

I didn't want 18's, but if I did and stayed with the Ultralite IIs, I could then clear 4 piston calipers on 14" rotors.

I Know this is a little OT but do you have any pics of your car with the ultralite II's. I love those rims.

Zero Signal · Apr 13, 2005

Untill I see objective data measure the rotational inertia between a 17 and 18" version of the same wheel given the same outside diameter of the tire, I'm gonna say there is little to no difference between how they effect performance.

To buy a 17 over an 18, based on the idea that an 18 will slow you down, seems kind of rediculous.

As for the outside diameter difference, you can get different tire profiles or get a different gear, but calculate the torque to the wheels and you'll see a tiny marginal change. Just go with what looks best and get some 15's for your big squishy drag radials for tracktime.

Caldwell · Apr 13, 2005

Zero Signal said:
To buy a 17 over an 18, based on the idea that an 18 will slow you down, seems kind of rediculous.

I concur.
This is what you do:
you go with what looks the best, WITH tire and all for your setup.
The weight difference between a 17 to 18 inch rim is not going to be THAT devastating. Unless your 17" is made out of paper and your 18" is made out of granite.
Just do a million rim searches on what you like with what rubber and go with it!

Honestly, to get my rim with tire and springs, I asked a good 4039 questions, and probably annoyed so many people with "hey what tires you got?"
i wanted it down to the basics of basics... and it was worth it!
3 months of searching... no lies.

donjohn · Apr 13, 2005

hmm, i agree you should get what you think looks best to you, b/c ur going to have to live w/ it for years to come. But, snoozer handed my ass to me a long time ago b/c i was asking about powdercoating some welds. At first i dismissed him thinking it was negligable but considering my car only has ~200hp that extra weight would add up. hmm, i guess my point would be that sure, he could still light up his wheels w/ those 3.73s but 18's would move the center off mass outward on the wheel causing it to use way more torque up than w/ 17's. Not only are you moving the rim an inch outward but you are adding some extra circumference w/ a radius of 18 vs 17. i'll see if i can pull out some physics and see a rough difference

edit: maybe later

94TURBO5 O · Apr 13, 2005

18's are def for show on a Stang, IMO.
After riding on 18's here in DC suburbs I don't hink I'll ever put them on again b/c bumps, uneven lanes, pot holes, and dips scare the hell out of me. 17's ride the best IMO and I usually cruise with them the most.
However 15 Pro Stars or Drag lites ride smooth as hell and you feel like you're on a cushion when you hit a bump and it's hardly noticeable. With 18's and 35's you feel every bump, crease, crack, un even pavement, pot holes, man hole covers, debris, road kill,, etc.
15's with fats and skinnies are to hard to control in corners, naturally.
17's with 275's are the best IMO.
BTW I have 4 sets of wheels from 15's, 17's and 18's and I swap them occassionally and the 17's always win out over any of the other sizes.

nmcgrawj · Apr 14, 2005

94SC50 said:
18's are def for show on a Stang, IMO.
After riding on 18's here in DC suburbs I don't hink I'll ever put them on again b/c bumps, uneven lanes, pot holes, and dips scare the hell out of me. 17's ride the best IMO and I usually cruise with them the most.
However 15 Pro Stars or Drag lites ride smooth as hell and you feel like you're on a cushion when you hit a bump and it's hardly noticeable. With 18's and 35's you feel every bump, crease, crack, un even pavement, pot holes, man hole covers, debris, road kill,, etc.
15's with fats and skinnies are to hard to control in corners, naturally.
17's with 275's are the best IMO.
BTW I have 4 sets of wheels from 15's, 17's and 18's and I swap them occassionally and the 17's always win out over any of the other sizes.

hmmm i agree mostly...but i didnt notice that big of a difference between my stock size 17's and 18's in 275/35 i believe. Bumps and cracks felt about the same. This is with the tokico setup.

Does your car feel a lot "slower" with 18's on?

jasonlee0704 · Apr 14, 2005

From tirerack.com:

BFG T/A G-Force KD
265/35R18 - 25.3" tall - 28 lbs./tire
245/40R18 - 25.7" tall - 27 lbs./tire
275/40R17 - 25.7" tall - 29 lbs./tire
245/45R17 - 25.7" tall - 27 lbs./tire

Pirelli P Nero Zero M+S
265/35R18 - 25.3" tall - 28 lbs./tire
245/40R18 - 25.7" tall - 26 lbs./tire
275/40R17 - 25.6" tall - 27 lbs./tire
245/45R17 - 25.7" tall - 24 lbs./tire

Kumho Ecsta Supra 712
265/35R18 - 25.3" tall - 30 lbs./tire
245/40R18 - 25.7" tall - 27 lbs./tire
275/40R17 - 25.7" tall - 30 lbs./tire
245/45R17 - 25.7" tall - 28 lbs./tire

From FRPP:

FR500 Satin - 18"x9" - 30 lbs.
FR500 Black - 18"x9" - 31 lbs.
FR500 Chrome - 18"x9" - 32 lbs.
2000 Cobra R Satin - 18"x9.5" - 33 lbs.
2000 Cobra R Chrome - 18"x9.5" - 36 lbs.
95 Cobra R Silver - 17"x9" - 25 lbs.
95 Cobra R Chrome - 17"x9" - 25 lbs.
01 Bullitt Black - 17"x8" - 24 lbs.
01 Bullitt Polished - 17"x8" - 25 lbs.
01 Bullitt Silver - 17"x8" - 25 lbs.
01 Bullitt Chrome - 17"x8" - 25 lbs.

From Steeda:

Ultralite Silver - 18"x9" - 22 lbs.
Ultralite Silver - 17"x9" - doesn't say
Ultralite Chrome - 18"x9" - 24 lbs.
Ultralite Chrome - 17"x9" - doesn't say

nmcgrawj · Apr 14, 2005

jasonlee0704 said:
From tirerack.com:

BFG T/A G-Force KD
265/35R18 - 25.3" tall - 28 lbs./tire
245/40R18 - 25.7" tall - 27 lbs./tire
275/40R17 - 25.7" tall - 29 lbs./tire
245/45R17 - 25.7" tall - 27 lbs./tire

Pirelli P Nero Zero M+S
265/35R18 - 25.3" tall - 28 lbs./tire
245/40R18 - 25.7" tall - 26 lbs./tire
275/40R17 - 25.6" tall - 27 lbs./tire
245/45R17 - 25.7" tall - 24 lbs./tire

Kumho Ecsta Supra 712
265/35R18 - 25.3" tall - 30 lbs./tire
245/40R18 - 25.7" tall - 27 lbs./tire
275/40R17 - 25.7" tall - 30 lbs./tire
245/45R17 - 25.7" tall - 28 lbs./tire

From FRPP:

FR500 Satin - 18"x9" - 30 lbs.
FR500 Black - 18"x9" - 31 lbs.
FR500 Chrome - 18"x9" - 32 lbs.
2000 Cobra R Satin - 18"x9.5" - 33 lbs.
2000 Cobra R Chrome - 18"x9.5" - 36 lbs.
95 Cobra R Silver - 17"x9" - 25 lbs.
95 Cobra R Chrome - 17"x9" - 25 lbs.
01 Bullitt Black - 17"x8" - 24 lbs.
01 Bullitt Polished - 17"x8" - 25 lbs.
01 Bullitt Silver - 17"x8" - 25 lbs.
01 Bullitt Chrome - 17"x8" - 25 lbs.

From Steeda:

Ultralite Silver - 18"x9" - 22 lbs.
Ultralite Silver - 17"x9" - doesn't say
Ultralite Chrome - 18"x9" - 24 lbs.
Ultralite Chrome - 17"x9" - doesn't say

Ahhhh finally weight figures! So...we are talking an extra 30 pounds. You guys really think you are gonna notice that? When i got my aluminum drive shaft, it shaved a lot of weight, not 30lbs, but i still didnt notice anything.

95Vert · Apr 14, 2005

275/40/17 and the 265/35/18 are the same weight. The ultra lite, which is what I want are 24lbs in 18" chrome, which I'm going to say, isn't much over a 17" wheel, even though it doesn't give any figures.

17 vs 18 inch wheels

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