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2002HatchSi
06-20-2002, 06:30 PM
I have 17 inch 5 zigen fireballs, and i like them , but people are telling me they look small should i go with a bigger size maybe an 18 or 19?????/ what do u guys think? and also should i keep the white on black? or should i go with a black rim or a gunmetal rim????? if u wanna c some pics im in the member ride #10 from new orleans :)

SBC31
06-20-2002, 06:55 PM
I too got 17" wheels and some people thought they were 16" since the tire size is now 215 /45 17, unlike the older Civic's with 215/40 17. I do wish I did go for 18"ers, but I'm happy with my 17"ers. (see them in the Member's gallery)

I say go fo 18" and lose the white wheels (don't like white on black). Get gun metal in color or regular grey (something like miamijdm).

xlr8
06-21-2002, 05:16 PM
Originally posted by 2002HatchSi
I have 17 inch 5 zigen fireballs, and i like them , but people are telling me they look small should i go with a bigger size maybe an 18 or 19?????/ what do u guys think? and also should i keep the white on black? or should i go with a black rim or a gunmetal rim????? if u wanna c some pics im in the member ride #10 from new orleans :)
if you are going to drive everyday i wouldbt realy go much bigger then 17 maybe 18s. 19s are strictly show, they will change your gearing because they are so big, plus there will be no side wall. i dont think my 17s look small at all. i like bronze or gunmetal on black

02TafWhtSi
06-22-2002, 10:23 AM
Really anything bigger than 17" is not ideal for the street and everyday driving - 18"s are pushing it though - a couple people have em' on theirs right now including our exhaulted founder, DownTheHatch. Ask them about how the 18's ride.

Brenetics
06-23-2002, 01:51 AM
I'm curious too as to how the ride difference is with 18s

2002HatchSi
06-23-2002, 02:05 AM
well the ride with 18's will be alot different u do to a 35 series tires... and its very small......unlike the 17's with a 40 series tires it rides a little better.....

CleanBlackSi02
06-23-2002, 11:14 AM
I'd stick with 17"'s. What performance car has 18's or 19's? Not too many. All of those crazy fast, gutted EG's and EK's are on like lightweight 15's. Granted, they are smaller cars.... If the wheels looks too small, drop it more. Except for you 2002HatchSi, I Know yours is pretty low already. (...and it looks excellent, so don't listen to those people telling you otherwise) Oh yea, 18's will make you slower too. Now who wants that?

IceD out N CALI
06-24-2002, 05:46 PM
Originally posted by CleanBlackSi02
I'd stick with 17"'s. What performance car has 18's or 19's? Not too many. All of those crazy fast, gutted EG's and EK's are on like lightweight 15's. Granted, they are smaller cars.... If the wheels looks too small, drop it more. Except for you 2002HatchSi, I Know yours is pretty low already. (...and it looks excellent, so don't listen to those people telling you otherwise) Oh yea, 18's will make you slower too. Now who wants that?

Do you know if 17 inchers that weigh like 18lbs slow our cars down or not ??

xlr8
06-24-2002, 07:03 PM
any big wheels will hurt your performance, because the weight is more towards the outside of the rim. a 15 inch wheel that weighted the same 18 pounds would give you better performance. but wouldnt look as good. just get realy light wheels and your car will performe better and ride smoother

CleanBlackSi02
06-25-2002, 07:25 AM
Originally posted by IceD out N CALI


Do you know if 17 inchers that weigh like 18lbs slow our cars down or not ??

18 pounds is pretty light. I haven't seen any 17's under like 12ish pounds, but I have seen many that are 30+ pounds (chrome, etc.)

xlr8
06-25-2002, 03:07 PM
Originally posted by CleanBlackSi02


18 pounds is pretty light. I haven't seen any 17's under like 12ish pounds, but I have seen many that are 30+ pounds (chrome, etc.)
mine are 15.6 pounds. i think volk claims they are less, but we weighed them at the shop

DynaSpeed
06-28-2002, 12:59 PM
I too got 17" wheels and some people thought they were 16" since the tire size is now 215 /45 17, unlike the older Civic's with 215/40 17.

Why didn't you just get 40 series tires?


any big wheels will hurt your performance, because the weight is more towards the outside of the rim. a 15 inch wheel that weighted the same 18 pounds would give you better performance. but wouldnt look as good. just get realy light wheels and your car will performe better and ride smoother

Not exactly accurate... please check out http://www.grmotorsports.com/ ... then 'Tech Section' and 'Plus Size Wheels'

You will see that extensive autocross testing on this very phenomena has been disproved. (if we're talking about autocross)

xlr8
06-28-2002, 10:03 PM
Originally posted by DynaSpeed


Why didn't you just get 40 series tires?



Not exactly accurate... please check out http://www.grmotorsports.com/ ... then 'Tech Section' and 'Plus Size Wheels'

You will see that extensive autocross testing on this very phenomena has been disproved. (if we're talking about autocross)
wow that was a great article thanks. i was just talking about the acceleration part not handling, sorry. i probably should have mentioned that. until i read that article i always thought 15s were the way to go for autocrossing, who knew. once again great article

DownTheHatch
06-29-2002, 05:07 AM
I don't bring my car to the track everyweekend and race, I just drive it around daily, this being the case I don't need a 15in or 16in super light wheel, they are definately performance oriented but they look horrible, especially on our Si's. 18in wheels look awsome to me, big rim small tire. The 35 series tire gives you a very hard ride, less cushion than your stock 50 series tire, but from a performance aspect, these tires rarely leave the ground, you feel the effect of the small and rigid sidewall on hard corners going 50mph, they stick like glue.

18's will give you a higher 1/4mile time but on the road, you won't notice a thing. So either you care about that .1 second on your 1/4 time or you care about how your wheels look on your ride.

Now don't jump to conclusions and say that every 18in wheel is heavy, no, there are plenty of big wheels that weigh even less than the stockers. Centerline's RPM and Excel wheels come in 17-18-19in and weigh 13-14-15lbs. Racing Hart is also known for superlight big wheels that look great. And to be quite honest these wheels don't cost much more than your 15-16in light boys.

18in wheels are going to be more pricey than 15in and 16in not only will the rim be more expensive, the tires will too. Expect to pay about $1,500 all together, the ride will definately be worse than stock when you hit bumps, but the ride is smooth as silk on well-paved tarmac.

Let us know what wheels you decide to install.

civic01vtec
07-04-2002, 05:03 PM
Once you go 17" and above you will lose some performance. However most of us don't go to the track every day so we can live with this. I am running 18" konig toxxins and weighed out with just rim at 19.2lbs. If you want 19" rims on a 02' you will not be able to drop it more then 2".