18" wheels vs. 17" wheels (handling wise)

Seraphitia102

will post boobie pics for a supercharger
Oct 11, 2004
737
1
16
California
I started off with the stock 17" wheels that came on my Mustang, and now that I have 18" wheels, I feel that I don't grip the road as much on turns and it doesn't handle as well as 17" in my observation.

On the other hand, my friend says that 18" wheels handle better than 17's and I have heard the opposite. I've heard that 18" wheels don't handle as good as 17's.

So my question is, what does handle better and how come? And does the handling of the tires also vary on different cars? My friend has a Nissan 240SX and is putting 18" wheels on his car replacing his current 17's and insists that it handles better. I've heard in general that larger tires handle better, but I certainly don't really feel it. :shrug:
 
Well in theory the 18" wheel on a Mustang gives you a shorter sidewall so therer is less flex and you get more precise handling.

The footprint size stays the same so traction should be similar
 
CaliLifeStyle said:
The quality of the tire plays a big part too.


thats what i was thinking, what brand are you running now? My 18's handle better than my 17's but its not a fair comparison. My 17's were only 8 inches wide compared to 9.5 for my 18's. I think a 17X9 wheel would work just as well and be able to run a bigger tire for a better ride. I wish i would have lowered my car before i bought new wheels, i would have bought 17's instead.
 
i have Nitto 555's on my car, I don't think they're premium tires, but I don't think they're that bad either. but these tires couldn't match my 17" dunlops though (the tires i had before on my stock 17" wheels)