18'' Ride quality???
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From: Somewhere in the MA
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18'' Ride quality???
okay soo i wanna get rims.... alot of you say 17'' cause of the ride is alot better than 18''... who has 18'' and doesnt think its that bad???
the lower the profile tire you go, the more bumps and stuff you're going to feel in the road because there is less tire & air to absorb impacts. So typically, that's why the larger wheel diameter you go, the more vibrations you're going to feel.
Yes, it's an Acura EL
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From: 416-905, Ontario, Canada
Rep Power: 368 I've had them all from 15 to 19, I actually miss my 19's and even on my Megan coilovers and 215/35 rubber I didn't mind the ride. I'm on 18's in the summer (again 215/35) and I'm just fine with the way it rides. Most will disagree but I guess I'm more tolerant of the bone-jarring bumps and such.
Personally I went back to 16's from 17's. I hit a pothole wiht the 17's and bent the rims, I find you have to be way too careful with super low profile tires or you will get into trouble, I had enough of taking every railroad track or ramp into a parking lot slow. Depends on your needs I pu on an easy 70K a year so I won't sacrifice ride quality anymore. Too bad you can't get both.....
Personally I went back to 16's from 17's. I hit a pothole wiht the 17's and bent the rims, I find you have to be way too careful with super low profile tires or you will get into trouble, I had enough of taking every railroad track or ramp into a parking lot slow. Depends on your needs I pu on an easy 70K a year so I won't sacrifice ride quality anymore. Too bad you can't get both.....
Lol........sorry I should have posted KM, I am in Canada that translates to around 44,000 miles, although if you consider that the majority of these miles happen during the week that's roughly 200 days or 220 miles a day. Ontario is a big province and in my career I have seen alot of it, so yes it is insane some days....I bought the car new in Aug 2003 and am coming up to 230 KM's......
The civic is a perfect car to pile the miles on, it can take it and does not give an ounce of problems, still runs like the day I bought it.
The civic is a perfect car to pile the miles on, it can take it and does not give an ounce of problems, still runs like the day I bought it.
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From: New Orleans
Rep Power: 330 i went from 18s to 16s. i loved how my 18s looked on my car, but driving to work every day downtown ruined it for me. I love my 16s now 
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From: Virginia Beach, VA
Rep Power: 251 I've got 19" wheels and while they're dangerous if you hit potholes, etc., the look is absolutely worth it. However, I'm on a stock suspension, so the ride quality isn't that bad. There's a huge difference between 17" and 19" with stock suspension, but not as bad as some rides I've been in.
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Rep Power: 237 I've got 18s they aren't bad at all in terms of ride quality, but you have to be a lot more careful about how you drive and what you drive on. They can get bent or dented really easily if you don't pay attention. In fact, I found that one of my rims was dented the other day and got really mad. I don't think I can ever settle for anything less than 18s anymore tho. I have 215/35 tires on them, so I think I will try 215/40 tires next time to prevent any further damage. All in all they are great, they look hot.
Its all up to the tire size and brand. you can have 16-17-18 with 30-35 tire and they are going to ride like sh_t. but on 16-17 you can get up to 45 maybe a 50 tire on there (depends on the drop) which will make the ride more comfortable while 18 i don't think you can put any thing higher than a 40 without making the car look like its 4x4. i have 215/40/18 falken and the ride is not bad.
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From: Colorado springs
Rep Power: 0 I am rolling 225/40 on 18 with my '02 civic and I LOVE them, you gota get used to them but once you do you wont want to roll any other way, switched back to stock for winter and can't wait till the snow stops to get back on my 18's
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From: Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
Rep Power: 0 I used 15's - 18's... My favorite looks is on the 18's. I don't mind the ride even though I'm riding on Tein Flex coilovers (Spring Rate of F 12K, R 14k). But since we had snow, there's alot more pot holes everywhere! I'm kinda not liking the roughness... So I just bought some 16's... Need tires though...
I notice that turning is a bit more quicker with lower profile tires... There's less flex in the sidewall...
Oh and another thing is, tires are more expensive when you have bigger rims!
I notice that turning is a bit more quicker with lower profile tires... There's less flex in the sidewall...
Oh and another thing is, tires are more expensive when you have bigger rims!
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From: Fort Worth, Texas
Rep Power: 0 If you're contemplating if the roads are bad where you live, wait til you drop your vic on some 17s or 18s. Every little flaw that the road has will be noticed. I've ridden on 17s with stock shocks and tokicos and the ride has been pretty rigid throughout. I can handle the ride though, but after years of driving on your wheels its hard to keep them perfectly round, which then leads to alot of vibration on the freeway...
I wish the suspension setup was better on our cars. G35s and such roll around nicely on 18s and 19s pretty low.
I wish the suspension setup was better on our cars. G35s and such roll around nicely on 18s and 19s pretty low.
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From: PHX,Arizona
Rep Power: 0 I have 18" rims with a 215X40 18 tires the ride you can feel it a bit more but i dont mind it i have gone on road trips on them it didnt bother me. if i had to choose between 17s or 18s i would still choose 18s just my opinion.
Last edited by svtec; Feb 16, 2007 at 07:08 PM.
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i have 215/40's with 17's and approx. 1.5'' drop and the ride is not bad at all and the streets where i live aren't even very good. Sometimes i think 18's look too big on a civic especially if it is lowered, thats why i like my set up i guess. haaa
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From: Salem,New Hampshire
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i got 18's before and i dont mind going back to 18's when the snow is over..17 is good to drive in if you looking for ride confort...you can feel everything on the road with 18's then a 17's....
18's are sexy to drive in..
17's is good to drive in..
the problem is do you mind feeling every single thing on the road when you drive or you just want to feel a little..
18's are sexy to drive in..
17's is good to drive in..
the problem is do you mind feeling every single thing on the road when you drive or you just want to feel a little..
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From: Wilkes Barre,PA
Rep Power: 0 in my opinon 18's look much hotter than 17's. When I had 17's on my vic I always wished they were bigger, but it also depends on the way you are setting up the car, 17's may flow better with the car. As far as ride quality, it will suck. If your baseing your decision only on ride quality then I would go with the 18's, you get used to the ride.
