Wheel purchasing Dilema

[AkinaGod]

I currently drive an 02 Civic SI EP3 and have two questions.

I find it difficult to find online sites that sell 14" wheels. Do you know of any? I want them for street use but I will eventually get some for track only so sites for both racing and street would be nice.

secondly I have an issue with finding specs for wheels. I find this stupid because weight is important to consider when purchasing for performance but most sites don't give the exact weight of their wheels if at all. Why? And where can I find out how heavy Trackstar 4's are? <---Main question--- 15" ones.

Thanks in advance.

[HondaFreak]

Opinion time!
I don't quite understand "why" you would want 14" rims. There is NO, NONE, ZERO benefit to such a small diameter rim. Stock 05 EP3 is 16x6.5, I believe. Any smaller than that is 1) going to look ugly 2) will spin more than likely instantly under even a stock A3 motor. Pointless IMO.
I have the "wheel weight" pdf. The rims your mentioning don't show in that PDF. I have 17"x8" Enkei RPF 1's with a 235/40/17 tire. The 17"x8" Enkei's only weigh 15.6lbs a piece. Which is pretty damn light.
For performance use, a 16" rim is good, but a 17" rim is better. There was an article in GRM (Grass Roots Motorsports) where they outfitted a 330ci with 16", 17" and 18" rims. Bottom line is the 17" rims did the best in the slalom and braking categories. 17" rims for track and 16" rims for the street, IMO.

Christian

[Lucid Moments]

Christian,

He has an 02 and it came with 15 X 6.5 originally. Also, he may not be road racing autocrossing. For drag racing when rotational mass is vital, and you actually want very soft sidewalls then a 14 may be a better choice.

To the OP, sorry I can't help you on the wheel weight. As for a source for buying wheels I've always had good luck with Tire Rack and Edge Racing.

[DarkSiRacer]

Dude I gave up reading your(HondaFreak) post... All I see is numbers... lol


Seriously though, Can you link up that wheel weight pdf on here? I'm interested to see that...

[HondaFreak]

Christian,

He has an 02 and it came with 15 X 6.5 originally. Also, he may not be road racing autocrossing. For drag racing when rotational mass is vital, and you actually want very soft sidewalls then a 14 may be a better choice.

To the OP, sorry I can't help you on the wheel weight. As for a source for buying wheels I've always had good luck with Tire Rack and Edge Racing.

He did mention wanting something for track and street. I don't know if track means drag or road course. I didn't know that the earlier models came with 15's, eeeewwwww. I can only assume that at some point the OP will add power, if he does, 14's and 15's are going to be sold fast.
EP Hatch wouldn't let me upload the PDF so it's here at another most AWESOME site. Wheel Weight PDF (http://www.k-series.com/forum/showthread.php?p=83028#post83028)

Christian

[itchy5]

there are some 14 inch mugen 4 lug in the classifieds forum

[AkinaGod]

Nah, I am not interested in used. Thanks though. Is it tirerack.com and edgeracing.com or what for their site? I will still search for it but for anyone else brushing over the forum some quick links would probably be good. As for HonaFreak. I am a noob. Admittedly. But I get frustrated when I ask a question and don't get an answer rather than an oppinion. I see that you got proof for the 17" wheels but as far as I know that could be good just for the 330ci. Not saying it is, not saying it isn't. I am just saying that I was told 14" wheels for touge racing (Before you comment on me being a noob wannabe racer, I may not know mechanics and such but I am actually really good at controling my car) track would be good. If not could you refer me to somewhere that tells me why 17" wheels are best? Stock on an EP3 are 15" and I just don't like the look of a larger tire. It starts getting heavier and there is too much "wheel" IMO. I also need low profile tires because I noticed that when I got a different tire with a thicker wall it feels WAY less agile than my last set. I feel like there is more body roll and even a bit more pitch when I brake with the new ones I got.
Ok, so where was I going with this? Oh, yea. Still need some sites. Ill check the two given by Lucid. Please hold oppinions if you can and just give facts and answers. I know there are things I don't know but if you know something I don't please PM me about it. Don't change thread topic for sake of others as well as I. Other than that could someone answer why 17" wheels are better? (PM that answer to me) Sorry that was longer than I intended.

[Lucid Moments]

Okay, sorry your last post just came across wrong. I don't do spoon feeding for one. For another you are contradicting yourself. You want small wheels and low profile tires? They don't mix cause together they will mess up your overall gearing. Small wheel = tall sidewalls, bigger wheel = smaller sidewalls.

Also, you just mentioned why 17" wheels can be better. Because with 17" wheels you use a lower profile tires to give better steering response. There is an argument to be made that the larger wheel makes for greater rotational mass and slows the car down. Its a trade off and you just have to decide for yourself what you prefer in that respect.

Also in the US Touge racing also usually means street racing. Is this true in your case?

[AkinaGod]

Okay, sorry your last post just came across wrong. I don't do spoon feeding for one. For another you are contradicting yourself. You want small wheels and low profile tires? They don't mix cause together they will mess up your overall gearing. Small wheel = tall sidewalls, bigger wheel = smaller sidewalls.

Also, you just mentioned why 17" wheels can be better. Because with 17" wheels you use a lower profile tires to give better steering response. There is an argument to be made that the larger wheel makes for greater rotational mass and slows the car down. Its a trade off and you just have to decide for yourself what you prefer in that respect.

Also in the US Touge racing also usually means street racing. Is this true in your case?


No no no. I didn't contradict myself. I was told to get 14" wheels which goes to my original question, Where can I find them? I didn't know low profiles and 14" wheels ruin gears. Had no idea. Spoon feeding? It would be best to post links not just brand names. Its not spoon feeding it is just easier. It takes you an extra 5 seconds per link. I think that is just getting a bit obsurd to be using the words "spoon feeding." I never answered my own questions. If 17" wheels are better then explain why which I see you did, thanks. If 17" wheels are that good then I guess I will be saving for 17" rather than 14". I don't understand why people get so bent out of shape when I ask a question, don't get an answer, DO get an attitude, reply maturely stating there is no need for that, and then get more attitude. So, to stop this from escalating I ask that we drop this and move on with the topic at hand. I won't reply to any more negative talking, out of respect for this forum.

Ok, so. 17" wheels. Great rotational mass, but more stable... What makes it more stable? What makes it more stable than 14"? Would it be good to go from 15" wheels to 17" wheels? I test drove a car with 17" wheels and it handled REALY poorly. It was a Pontiac Solstice FYI. I fealt the wheels were too heavy and bulky. Like it was hard for the car to turn the wheels. I don't want to get that same effect with my car. Which is another reason why I wanted 14's. I just thought that an extra 2 inches ment that much difference in handeling so I thought going down would give an opposite effect. That and a bunch of people told me 14's handled better than 15's. I understand weight plays a huge role in this too so light weight 17's probably work great by what you guys are telling me, right?

Street racing I do, but I don't do drag. I do downhill with a group of people and the walls on my tires feel akward. New tires and they don't feel the same at all but they are the same size. Different brand though. So I guess what I need to look at is 17" low profiles? Does that work? Or would 15" low profiles do fine too?

[jtyler05si]

they are trying to say that 14's will give you a large sidewall, therefor lots of tire roll. and 17's will give "low profile" meaning less tire roll. less tire roll is where they get more "stearing responsive".
personally, i think 17's are too big for our car... of course, just my opinion. you risk scraping definetaly with 17's. i have an 05 so it came with 16's. i find them to be my favorite. if i ever get new wheels, i will get 16's. never curb them, and i like the way they handle. some guys on here swear by 15's.
i dont know enough about the weight issue to pitch in on that but there cant be that huge of a difference between 16 and 17, but what do i know...


oh, i wouldnt use the solstice for judgement on wheels and responsiveness.

i have always used tirerack for my tire needs... sorry no new links

hope that was a little helpful...

this thread is kinda messy

[HondaFreak]

You have to decide between 2 evils.
1) Large side walls, quick spin up from low rotational mass. 14" or 15" spins up quicker.
2) Low profile side-walls, slow spin up from large rotational mass. 16" or 17" Handles better
www.tirerack.com or www.egderacing.com

I left a link in my other post for you. That's the wheel weight pdf. It lists wheel weight by size.
If I had a stock EP3, I would choose 16" for handling, F- how quick it spins up. Honda's are not cars for straight line hero's out of the box, they are handling cars. You may get beat to hell by a Kia in the straights, but when you hit those turns your Honda pwns most.
It's really your choice.
I can't find an online article at GRM about the wheel size differences.

Christian

[jtyler05si]

You have to decide between 2 evils.
1) Large side walls, quick spin up from low rotational mass. 14" or 15" spins up quicker.
2) Low profile side-walls, slow spin up from large rotational mass. 16" or 17" Handles better
www.tirerack.com or www.egderacing.com

I left a link in my other post for you. That's the wheel weight pdf. It lists wheel weight by size.
If I had a stock EP3, I would choose 16" for handling, F- how quick it spins up. Honda's are not cars for straight line hero's out of the box, they are handling cars. You may get beat to hell by a Kia in the straights, but when you hit those turns your Honda pwns most.
It's really your choice.
I can't find an online article at GRM about the wheel size differences.

Christian

well said, sir.

16 ftw

[Drew1d]

I'm getting confused,
Are you keeping the same aspect ratio for the wheels? Meaning, if you go down to 14's you want your tire a little bigger so your Speedometer is the same? Or do you want small tires also so your transmission can turn them quicker?

I would think with a larger tire (rubber, not rim) it would cushion the ride a little more. It would flop a little more on turns. (Unless you really pump up the tire pressure)

I run 17x7 now. The .5 extra really gives a lot of grip on dry ground. And the low profile tires make my suspension feel stiffer and more precise. (I'm on stock springs so it's not uncomfortable) And since they are 205/40r17, the tires are pretty light, and the rims are cast pretty light also. But if you have really stiff springs, I'd say it's not worth it.

The only thing I'd say about smaller rims, is make sure they fit over your brakes. Aside from that, it's mostly preference.

[jtyler05si]

click hither (http://www.ephatch.com/forum/showthread.php?t=45694). its a link to a poll, in fact it should be on the same page as this thread because people have been recently posting on it.
so far 16 is winning. :mwink:
one vote for 14:mrolleyes:

[oldschoolimport]

Opinion time!

For performance use, a 16" rim is good, but a 17" rim is better. There was an article in GRM (Grass Roots Motorsports) where they outfitted a 330ci with 16", 17" and 18" rims. Bottom line is the 17" rims did the best in the slalom and braking categories. 17" rims for track and 16" rims for the street, IMO.

Christian
not necessarily a rule of thumb, its different acording to which car you have. the older hondas were almost always faster on a 205/50/15. the rear drive, v6, 330 may have liked 17s better, but that doesn't mean that I need 17s on my 86 Si track car.

[FCobra94]

the rear drive, v6, 330 may have liked 17s better, but that doesn't mean that I need 17s on my 86 Si track car.
Agreed. That article was stupid anyway. Instead of using "Plus sized" wheels + tires, maybe next time they can test a set of 15's that use the same width tires as the 17's they are comparing them too. Of course a 17" tire is going to grip and respond better compared to a 15" tire when plus sizing; that's common sense.

For the OP, Konig makes a few 14" wheels:

http://www.jlbmotorsports.com/rims/konig-list.html

But then again, you're stuck with a 6" wide wheel :mfrown:

My suggestion: find a nice/light 15x7 wheel (Konig, Rota, OZ, Volk, Kosei etc.) and stuff a 225/50/15 on there and you should have the best of both worlds :mcool:

The Enkei RPF1 is 15x7 and only weighs 9.5 lbs. That's just as light, if not lighter, than most readily available 14x6 wheels without spending an arm and a leg on the more "exotic" ones:

http://www.tirerack.com/wheels/WheelCloseUpServlet?target=runWheelSearch&initialPartNumber=3795704941B&wheelMake=Enkei+Racing&wheelModel=RPF1&wheelFinish=Black+Painted&showRear=no&autoMake=Honda&autoModel=Civic+Si+Hatchback&autoYear=2003&autoModClar=&filterSize=15&filterFinish=All&filterSpecial=false&filterBrand=All&filterNew=All&sort=Brand

There comes a point where you start to split hairs, and spending twice as much on a set of wheels just to shave a pound of weight off each corner of the car starts to get a bit silly IMO. It's not like the EP is a light platform to start out with anyway...

[AkinaGod]

thanks jtyler and honda freak. That makes sense. I guess i thought that when I go down to 14" wheels I would get lower profile wheels with it. Not like racing low because I would be driving on the streets but lower than your average side wall. I will take a look at 16"s but could I keep 15"s and go with a lower profile tire? Would that work just as effectively? Yea I saw that PDF. I saved it too. When and where do they update new lists of those?
Drew, if I kept the 15" size I got now but got new wheels with 15x7 rather than the ones I got now which are 15x6.5 would that make a noticable difference in the rain? I noticed my car slides A LOT in the rain. But that was with stock all weather tires.
Thanks FCobra Ill look into those. Thanks for the help guys.

[walkingturtle]

I believe SSR wheels makes smaller wheel sizes than what you see regularly. Don't quote me but I think they even make 13 inch wheels.
Cuz I have been looking at buying something like this also.
here's the link. www.ssr-wheels.com
here's a pic too of something i saw that might catch your interest.
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y162/LB1919/ga03.jpg (http://www.more-japan.com/SSR_mk3.php)

[AkinaGod]

That little car with the yellow wheels was badass in a cute kind of way. Thanks for the link.

[walkingturtle]

welcome

[MugsyTheGr8]

5zigen also makes smaller than 15" wheels for k cars, but i havnt seen them at any of their regular dealers