Hey guys I'm a newbie when it comes to buying tires and rims so I'm going to need a little advice/help from you guys. I just bought a stock 2003 civic LX with stock rims and tires and I was wondering if I can put 17 inch rims on it and what tire size would you guys recommend? I've ready a few threads with people who have 17" rims on their car but they were mostly lowered or did some kind of modifications to make their rims fit? My car is not lowered or anything like that; all stock. Will my car lose performance if I have larger wheels? My car came with rusty 15" steel rims and I'm very desperate for change .

17's will hinder your performance by a little they are heavier and b/c you can run a wider tire, they may be a tad slower than your 15" steelies ... for a 17" wheel however, i do recommend using a 205-40-17 sized tire ... it wont need a drop but for cosmetic purposes ... i do recommend it tho

hes right, 17's will hinder performance by a little. i have 17's too, but my tire size is 215/40/17. they are just one size bigger in width of tire compared to kunhohan. and i say lower your car to, it will look better and the performance is better.

hmm, ive got 16's with 225/45/16 Hankook RS2's on them. you guys with 17's need to run bigger tires =\

y should we get bigger tires?? im fine with the ride on the tire size i have. its not like im driving passengers everyday. it's just me in the car.

i don't drive passengers everyday either. just saying. wider tires = more grip. and seeing as you live in CA, you dont have to worry about snow

Your car will ride rougher with 17" wheels than it currently rides with 15" wheels, due to a smaller sidewall. I ran 17's on my car for a few years and then switched back to a 15" wheel because I drive a long distance to work each day. Most 17" tires are designed for performance and generally have a shorter tread life than a 15" tire so you may end up buying tires more often than you currently do.

so wut i have wider tires. just because i don't have to worry about snow, doesn't mean i don't need to have wider tires. its all about one's preference. if you don't like mine, then w/e. im not losing sleep over it...

do you read what you write or do you just post? and you DO know 215's arent as wide as 225's right?

i never said i had wider tires than you, wider than stock yes, but i never said compared to u.... so obviously u need to read and understand my post better

215/40 is closer to stock overall diameter than 205/40.

Get 215/40/17s and if you have rubbing issues when you lower the car, play with the camber.
That should be enough.

205/40 - -3% off. Easy to find and cheap.
215/40 - -2% off. Easy to find, costs a few bucks more than 205/40.

225/45 - +3% off.
225/40 - Hard to find. Discount Tires don't carry it and Tire Rack has slicks only.
225/35 - Hard to find and its -4% off.

235/40 - less than +1% off, but rubbing might become an issue.
235/35 - Hard to find or doesn't exist and -3% off.


Of course wheel width & offset and alignment settings play a part too.

inertia

Thanks for the advice guys. I think I'm going to go ahead and get those 17's. Doesn't sound too bad I guess.

cons of larger rims

-much rougher ride
-heavier
-lowers acceleration
-lowers gas mileage
-may affect ABS performance
-may affect odo/speedo readings
-tires cost alot more

pros

-possibly better handling
-looks nice

still want em?

i say get 205/45/17. thats just me though. thats what i'll be running.

well... 17 don't have to hurt ur performance.... it all depends on the moment of inertia of the new rims + tires in comparison to the moment of inertia of the stock rims + tires.

you can never know the moment of inertia of the rims unless you have special equipment to measure that type of thing. But the moment of inertia of something is always proportional to its mass, and proportional to the square of its radius. So if you choose a larger wheel, you should also make sure its "quadratically" lighter than the stock wheel... in other words, the lightest possible wheel you can get in your budget.

I've seen some 17" rims online that are only 12 lbs. Forged wheels are generally stronger and lighter than cast wheels. Lightwieght cast wheels have a tendancy to be weak. Enkei Racing wheels are cast but also strong.

trust me on this. you will not regret paying for quality rims.

^^ Great Link

If you're looking into a few different tire sizes, this little Applet is going to be indispensable:

http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html

finally someone posted that up, haha.

seriously though, put in your sizes and stuff and you may come to find out that your 225 won't actually be wider once it's mounted and on the car.