Ok im not sure if i am posting in the right forum but smeg might as well try. What is the ideal rim/wheel size for the best look/performance ratio? Or put more simply what rim/wheel size looks good and goes fast :D

For performance Id say nothing bigger then a 17 inch with a 7.5 or possibly 8 inch width rim....as for tire i really dont know....for an 18 inch rim for our car to me its to much rotational mass for our small car



Performance: Stuff that makes my car run better or go faster

Looks: Stock because looks doesnt make my car go faster or run better

Weight Reduction: CF Hood, No A/C or Powersteering Accessories, No rear interior

I would say 17x7" with 225/45ZR17 or 215/45ZR17

Always consider the weight of the wheels you are considering. I've seen 17x7's that weigh more than some 18's.....that's where your performance comes into play. The diameter of your wheel means nothing really, the weight is what you want to look at.

I wouldn't worry too much about weight... I mean you might save a few pounds but nothing that would hardly increase of decrease performance. If you are serious about wanting light wheels then get some volks, but then you are talking a couple grand at least just for the wheels. I think 17s are a good size for performance, enough tire to grip the road, yet not too much so you bend the sidewalls over. I would go with 225 45/17, although my 215 45 17s have worked out fine.

What do you plan on doing with these wheels? That is what you need to consider first before even looking at wheels.

I want to be able to race and be able to hold the car really tight into corners, but i want them to look good too. But performance is first

if performance is first than wide 16's are best. RX-7 wheels would be the way to go. the'yre 16x8 and hold 225 50 16's. the increased width would lift the car a little bit and may justify a slight drop. if you can't get ahold of those or you want a larger diameter rim go no larger than 17's. 17x8 preferably. the widest wheel you can fit reasonably would be eight inches. any more is going to cause issues.

on the subject of weight. in general stay away from chrome. they're usually steel with a chrome layer on top. only for looks nothing for performance. other than that look for companies that are reputable with light weight wheels like BBS SSR and a few others. www.tirerack.com is a great place to check how wheels look on your car and also give you an idea of price.

as long as you go with a reasonable wheel, doesn't have to be a $400 a peice wheel, you should be fine if you go with decent tires. specially if you increase your wheel diameter.

for 17's you want 225 45 17 for 17x8 or if you have 17x7.5 you can go as los as 205 40 17. i'd recommend the 225's though so try to get an 8" wide wheel.

I've got 225/45/17's on my 17x7's oh yeah, rims weigh an astonishing 17 lbs each!!! car sticks like glue to the road, i've taken a 90 degree curve with a rating of 15mph at around 45 with them.

yeah, don't try that, it was scary as fuck!!! mainly cause you cant see the other side of the curve.

below is a pic (contrast and brightness changed so you can see tire profile)

Discount tire claims to be able to mount a 235 on a 7" wheel. I'd love to see this done. I tried to make a bet with the guy, if it dodn't work they had to give me a set of tires for free, but he wasn't havin it.

i have a 225 on a 7", but with 1cm more? i'm not sure about 235

>Discount tire claims to be able to mount a 235 on a 7" wheel.
>I'd love to see this done. I tried to make a bet with the guy,
>if it dodn't work they had to give me a set of tires for free,
>but he wasn't havin it.

it's possible to mount that tire on a 7" wide wheel. it's just innappropriate. the tire would roll at the center of the tread and not make full contact. or if you corrected this by inflating the tire to compensate you would have wayyy to much air pressure and the tire would either blow out completely or the beads of the tire would blow off the wheel flange and it would dismount itself. i've seen both done before. the latter is particularly nasty.

>I wouldn't worry too much about weight... I mean you might
>save a few pounds but nothing that would hardly increase of
>decrease performance.

It's not about the overall weight of your vehicle, it's about calculating rotational mass. The total weight of the wheel will directly effect the engines ability to turn them. It's called rotational inertia.

The quicker you can get your tires turning the faster your car is (obviously)...so why put heavier wheels on and slow it down. Why do guys go to the track with stock RS 14's, because they are super light. But if you take the 14's with tire and stand them next to a 17 w/tire they are the same overal diameter. So it's not about diameter at all.

If you don't believe me take a dowel rod and cut two equal diameter pieces of wood (use the same type). Drill a hole in the wooden disks and put the dowel rod into only one of the disks then spin it with your hands. Get a feel for it then ad the second disk to the end. You are effectively doubling the weight (I know it's cuz there's two there, but the number doesn't matter). Now spin it with your hands and you'll see it feels "heavier" or harder to spin. This is the theory behind lighter rims :) It's all about rotational interia.

I wish I had a set of OZ Supperlaggera wheels. They are incredibly light (15's weigh 11lbs and the 18's are still less than 20). Hell, I'd go to the track with two sets of wheels to prove this if I had the money :) LOL (still on 14's)

One of my friends put 235s on his 17x7" rims. They hung over the edge of the rim pretty bad, and rolled when he turned. I don't think they lasted very long.

And FYI, you can fit a 245 on an RX7 rim.

the stock 14s are not light. i had some jank american racing rims on my eclipse when i bought it. i hated the way they looked so i bought some stockers off ebay. my car actually got slower. :-( thats alright though, now i dont look like a girl. :-)

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
1998 Eclipse RS. Nothing great here.
Added the turbo wing and lowered it
down. More to come.

stock steel 14's weigh around 25lbs each

enkei makes some hella light wheels. some of 'em are hollow spokes (don't hit potholes!), but they're ultra light. i'm running the rpm2's (discount tire @ 225 ea for 17x8") and they only weigh 16.5 lbs each.

www.wam.umd.edu/~cjarvis/PreGetaway01.jp g

www.wam.umd.edu/~cjarvis/PreGetaway02.jp g

just remove the space before the "g" and you can see pics.

^^ Those are some nice rims! :thumbsup And they aren't very heavy either.

I like your car! Very clean! But you really should remove that front license plate holder, it's killing the whole look of your front end!

EDIT: I guess I'm one to talk. I have my front license plate on in my sig pic too!! :rolleyes

wheel diameter has to do with gearing. the car is geared for 16's at the most. using a 14" rim shortens the gear ratio to the ground, allowing the wheel to spin more per revolution of the trans.

you may be able to fit 245's on the rx-7 rim but tire size has to do with matching the tire to the car not the wheel. putting a 245 on that rim and putting on an eclipse would be begging for wheel well rubbing and chewing your tires up in 2 months. that's why i said 225 50's are the largest tire you can use with those wheels.

225's are the absolute widest you can go on our cars. any higher is going to rub, roll over in a turn or need more air pressure than you can safely put in the tire.

One of my friends runs 245 series tires on RX7 rims on her Talon when she does autox, which is some of the most violent turning possible. All she needs is 5mm spacers and she doesn't get any wheel rub.

Wheel diameter does matter. A wider wheel puts the mass further away from the center, which decreases the legerage over it, and slows down a car. A wheel with a lighter overall weight can wind up acting heavier then a heavier wheel, if the lighter wheel has it's mass further from the point of rotation. The principle is the same as lifting a 10 lb weight. If you put the weight on your arm near your shoulder, it is easy to lift. Put the 10 lb weight in your hand and keep your arm straight, and it is fucking heavy! Same principle applies, except that the arm is a continuous circle. Also, gearing is affected by wheel and tyre choice. I know that Todd's gearing is different then mine (although not by a whole lot), but the rotational inertial is what kept me slower then him until now.
-=B-=

>Wheel diameter does matter. A wider wheel puts the mass
>further away from the center, which decreases the legerage
>over it, and slows down a car.

agree to a point. slows the cars acceleration down but helps top speed because the weight is farther away from the center. inertia works in your favor during acceleration.

>A wheel with a lighter overall
>weight can wind up acting heavier then a heavier wheel, if the
>lighter wheel has it's mass further from the point of
>rotation. The principle is the same as lifting a 10 lb weight.
>If you put the weight on your arm near your shoulder, it is
>easy to lift. Put the 10 lb weight in your hand and keep your
>arm straight, and it is fucking heavy! Same principle applies,
>except that the arm is a continuous circle.

disagree. the movement of the circumfrence of a car's wheel is not the same as the movement of lifting a ten pound weight. a more accurate analogy would be locking your elbow and swinging your arm in a circle while holding the weight. this is still somewhat inaccurate because the spokes of a wheel act as an arm connecting it to the weight at the circuference and the weight is more evenly distributed throughout the circuference of the wheel where swinging your arm with a weight would have one spoke with the weight focused at only the end of that single spoke. having a lighter wheel would mean reducing the weight at the end of the many spokes which makes spinning the wheel easier.

>Also, gearing is affected by wheel and tyre choice. I know that >Todd's gearing is different then mine (although not by a whole lot), >but the rotational inertial is what kept me slower then him until
>now.
>-=B=-

agree here too.