this may have been asked before but is there much of a performace difference between a 17" rim to a 18" rim..i know there's one from a 14" to a 16", but is there much from a 17" to a 18"..thanks

depends on the weight of the two wheels and what size rubber you put on.

and the total circumference of the wheel..... search up in the handlin/suspension for your answer...

the tires are 45s i think
whats the best way to go about putting 18s on without lossing much performance?

Rotas are light, get 18" rotas. Anything chrome will slow you down tremendously and look not so good doing it. Straight line racing on 18s is like biking a marathon with the brakes on.

The size of the rim will not slow you down but but the weight of the rim wheel plus your spedo will be off , it will say you are running slower than your actual speed.

96 gs-t
Boost,and air fuel gauge
Borla Exhaust and muffler
shitty 16" rims

not installed:
97-99 conversion
Sensie front
invader skirts
invader rear
double deck aluiminum wing
m-3 mirrors w/ led
Front strut bar
coilovers
reverse indiglo gauges
Kenwood excelon in dash tv/dvd
10 disc changer

wanted:
6 bolt motor
18" rims


Remdawgz@aol.com

A heavier rim will slow you down off the line. Trust me, I just put my 14's back on for the winter, and i'll tell ya the car def takes off faster, and just seems faster. My 17's did weigh more BTW. Your speedo will be off ONLY if the out diameter of the new wheels/tires is lager/smaller than the stock size. I know my 17's with the Toyo's are just a tad bit smaller diameter than stock. I read about 3 mph faster on my speedo than i'm actually going(tested using about 4 diff radar signs, all the same). Since i'm going slower than what my speedo says, that means that the tire is spinning just a bit more revs over stock, making my speedo read more. I run 225-45-17's. I believe that was the closest tire size to stock outer diameter. This is why you have to use a lower profile tire with a larger size rim. The larger the rim, the shorter the tire has to be to keep your speedo in line.

yea i would be getting the exact same tire size..i'm learning towards falken azenis tires and 17" montegi mr7 wheels right now

Isnt the width of the rim slightly more important performance wise than the size of the rim? If you want to grip the road, then find some lightweight 16x7.5 or 16x8 rims, theyre out there...

Whats a stock 16" rim weigh anyway? I popped Konig Toxxins 17x7.5 on mine and didnt feel a difference in speed at all.

NeoVB
1997 Eclipse GS

I had the same results that extremeRS did, speedo is 3 mph faster than I am actually going. My enkei wheels weigh almost exactly the same as the OZ Racing that came on the car. I am debating on tire size for the next tires I get... might have to go to a 40 series tire to get the ones I want.

Hardly noticable, as most .3 seconds off your track time....but well worth the cosmetic advantage in my opinion. Go for 18's. If my car had 17's...its just wouldn't be the same..

only reason i'm leaning towards 17s is because i hear the 18 is much easier to damage, that true? :\
and the tires i want don't come in 18", the falken azenis, what tires are good for a 18" rim that aren't too expensive?

With 18's u'll probaly want to use a 35 series tire to try to stay about the stock curcomfrence.

95 silver gs
Termanator 2 wing
5% tint all the way around
Kyb Struts
Skunk 2 coilovers
Pilot antisway bars F&B
Apexi N1 3inch cat back
Soon to have t3t4 custom turbo. New paint, dis 2 Ground effects on way z 3 fenders bigger injectors built bottom end

yea i just did some math and it would cost me $700 more to go from 17" with a 40 series tire to 18" with a 35 series tire..i don't really think it's worth that

so one last thing
are the falken azenis tires any good?