16" or 17" rims on a Civic 02 LX without lowering?

danzz1234 · 06-30-2009

Anyone have pics of Civic sedans with 16"/17" rims without lowering?

I'm thinking of buying new rims, but I don't want to low it right now, just want to make sure it won't look THAT bad

Thanks!

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kcari · 06-30-2009

yes. 16s will give you more gap. 17s will raise your car a little bit, but depending on tire size you'll have less gap. i recommend 215 45 17 if u want a thicker tire that shouldnt rub if u decide to lower an inch or 2 in the future. goodluck

lowlife9 · 06-30-2009

17's if you like the monster truck look.

kcari · 06-30-2009

^ huh? 16s are going to give you more gap if you arent lowered.
isnt that ultimately what you want to avoid?

unTuned · 06-30-2009

well youre both partially right. lets consider that you have the exact same size rubber on a 16 and a 17.

the set of 16s will make your entire car sit 0.5" lower to the ground, but will make your wheel gap 0.5" bigger.

the 17 will make your car sit 0.5" higher off the ground than the 16 but will make the wheel gap 0.5" smaller.

you have to remember the radius of the rim is half an inch bigger on the 17s, so it basically 'pushes' the tire size outward which fills the wheel gap.

danzz1234 · 06-30-2009

So, basically, 17" all the way?

I guess I'm staying with the 15" lol

I read that 205/50/15 would look good without lowering (of course its a different thing), what do you guys think?

kcari · 06-30-2009

its up to u and what you want. do you want less wheel gap or do u want to sit lower to the ground?

+MM+ · 06-30-2009

If you're not lowering, 17s for sure. And just like kcari said, 215/45/17. I have that exact size and I'm happy. If and when you will be lowering, I wouldn't go too low or you will rub on the plastic shrouding on the insides of the front fenders, and you will also need to roll your rear fenders.

kcari · 06-30-2009

with a proper rear camber kit and about -1.5 degrees of camber in the rear and about -1 in the front you wont need to roll your fenders unless u got fat friends.

+MM+ · 06-30-2009

True, but I do a lot of driving and would like my tires to last me at least two summers.

unTuned · 06-30-2009

if you are worried about gap size the 205 50 r15 would make you cry. the wheel well gap would be almost an inch and a half BIGGER than the stock gap.

i also have 215 45 r17 and i am very happy with it. the overall diameter of the entire tire is only a couple mm off of stock size so it keeps your car at the same height and keeps your wheel well gap just a bit smaller. thats what you should do. if you are going to use r15s, do not change the rubber size unless you are going to do a suspension drop.

dillinger · 07-01-2009

My 05 sat like a truck with 15 inch rims at stock height and i have the factory lip kit, it looked like you could roll under the car...

imo spend the money on suspension before wheels you will be happier in the end.

i dropped 1.5 inches and its perfect no scraping and about a 2 finger gap.

kcari · 07-01-2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by +MM+

True, but I do a lot of driving and would like my tires to last me at least two summers.

-1.5 camber is still within oem spec and will last. toe is what eats tires, not camber. I've been rolling around with -2.0 camber in my rears for almost 2 years and my tires dont have any camber wear

back2black · 07-01-2009

Camber will wear tires out, and fast, if it is too far off.

ROb

mr22508 · 07-01-2009

This was my 02 ex on 17" ADR's...I thought they looked good.