amirh

Hello everybody,
I am seriously a newbie to the car world and I have a question for you guys. I recently bought an 07 Civic LX. I want to upgrade my wheels to 16" alloy wheels. Can you guys give me a rough estimate of the cost of doing this? What parts should be modified or replaced? Do I also have to change the tires?

Thanks
Amir

05blkrs

at this time, you should have 16 inch steel wheels... in which case you just need to go out, buy the alloys, some new lug nuts maybe.. more than likely.... and take them to a tire shop and have them put on.. use your stock tires... you paid for them, may as well use them... should cost 44 bucks or so after you buy everythihng.. "tuner " lugs are around 40 bucks also.... and the wheels are however much you want to spend... it varries from almost nothing to almost a grand depending on your taste...

amirh

Do you think I should go with the OEM alloy wheels or buy better ones? In other words, what is wrong with the factory wheels(weight, durability, ...)?

And also, how much does it cost to put my current tires on the alloy wheels? I think I should take my car to my dealer for this.

Thanks
Amir

05blkrs

honestly, for 16's, i suggest walmart... their equipment is good enough to do so w/ ease.. i worked in a walmart tire shop for some time and 16's were very easy... 17's were tricky at times but like i said, their equipment is more than good enough to do so.. at the time that i worked there, it would have cost 44 dollars exactly.. 3.50 each to mount the tires, and then 7.50 each to ballance.. 11 dollars each so 44 dollars... also as far as which wheels, factory wheels would be a good idea if you can find someone that upgraded theirs... like someone w/ an ex that upgraded to aftermarket wheels and is wanting to sell their stockers.. otherwise, they're too expensive.. i suggest something like motegis.. they're affordable yet good quality...

amirh

Thanks. Another question. How can I know if I should change my tires for a wheel or not? Let's say I want to buy something like this
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/16-in...0021QQtcZphoto
How can I know if I need a new set of tires or not? [I told you I am a newbie ]

Thanks,
Amir

kero

My honest opinion is never buy rims/wheels from ebay. You just never know what you might get including bent or damaged wheels when they say they are not.

Just be carefull.

TIRERACK.COM for all your wheel and tire needs, they have experts who can help in making sure if you want wheel/rims only, they will work with your OEM tires.

05blkrs

just look at the tire size on your factory tires... it will have a 3 digit number (like 205) then, a 2 digit number (like 55) then it will say r, then a 2 digit number (like 16) the last number is your wheel size in inches... if yours is 16 whcih it should be... any 16 inch wheel roughly 7 inches wide i'd say... w/ the right offset and bolt pattern will work just fine.. just call up tire rack or check their web site and you'll be able to find plenty of choices..

amirh

What is offset? I think for my civic it is 40+. Does this depend on the wheel? or it depends on the installation? Should I buy wheels with the same offset?

Thanks,