How many of you are running 15" wheels?

[tkm]

I'm definitely going to get new wheels for my ep, but I am seriously considering 15" wheels as opposed toi 16" wheels. 15's are cheaper and have cheaper tire selections too.

Probably go with some 15x7's for the width, but with the car lowered (GroundControls on the way), I'm thinking 15's will look ok.

I guess at least I am not downsizing from stock size, which is good.

[ep3guy]

Originally posted by tkm
I'm definitely going to get new wheels for my ep, but I am seriously considering 15" wheels as opposed toi 16" wheels. 15's are cheaper and have cheaper tire selections too.

Probably go with some 15x7's for the width, but with the car lowered (GroundControls on the way), I'm thinking 15's will look ok.

I guess at least I am not downsizing from stock size, which is good.

i am probably planning on getting 15" slipstreams. tires are a lot cheaper than 16s. im currently on neuspeed race springs, i hope 15s will look good, still kinda deciding whether to get 15s or 16s.

[Suk02Si]

I'm also looking into Spoon 15's, only 8.5lbs! Sounds good to me;)

[CleanBlackSi02]

Check out my poll:
http://www.ephatch.com/forum/showthr...&threadid=3431

[tkm]

I am amazed at the number of people who want 18's for their car. Bye-bye acceleration, no matter how light the wheel is.

[IceD out N CALI]

Originally posted by tkm
I am amazed at the number of people who want 18's for their car. Bye-bye acceleration, no matter how light the wheel is.

true-thats why lightweight 17's are a good balance and probably what i'll opt for :)

[02blksi]

I have 15 inch slips (flat black)
I chose function over BLING BLING. :) --joe

IMO - the best tire size for 15's and for our car in general is
205/50/15's!

[hamlet9634]

I originally was going to go with lightweight 15's (the Konig heliums in bronze were great for my last car.. only 10.9 lbs), but since the brakes that are getting prepared for the car (Docofmind's two piece set-up is actually on my car) won't fit under 15's, i HAVE to go with a larger size.

as far as wheels go, the trick is to go with the smallest size possible that will clear your brakes, then go as light as you can in that size. I made the mistakes of going with big wheels in the past. Slows you down, makes the car clunky to drive (reduced turn in, less power on the ground, more unsprung weight, etc. etc), and even worsens your braking.

If you guys are staying with stock brakes, 15's are the way to go. If you want big brakes, they should still fit under 16's. 17's are only for looks, let's be honest. And what, exactly, are we compensating for with giant wheels? (any truckheads with 22 inch chromes reading this?)

[hamlet9634]

by the way, i'll be running 16x7.5 kosei K1's with a 32 offset. I'm not sure if they'll fit, but they weigh less than 15lbs each, have enough room for huge brakes, and will be painted flat black (maybe gunmetal) to run on my silver EP. When i get the brakes and wheels on the car (if they fit.. crossing fingers), I'll take pics for you guys.. well, actually docofmind will.

and 205/45 yokohama parada spec II's probably will be running on the wheels. I'm a big fan of the falkens, but the 215/45/16 might be too much rubber on the civic, and they are HEAVY tires anyway. 23lbs for the 215/45/16 vs just under 20lbs for the 205/45/16 yokos. Overall diameter of the wheel/tire will be an inch less than stock, which means the speedo and tach will be off, but it means i'll have more power on the ground. Good tradeoff, no?

[tkm]

I've noticed a frightening trend with the ep's is people putting 17's or bigger on the cars. I mostly started this thread to see who would agree that 15's are plenty.

15's or 16's here. No more. All that money spent on large wheels can be put toward performance parts or driving schools.

And hamlet, no such thing as too much rubber, especially when running a 15 or 16. Great grip and acceleration rule.

[hamlet9634]

the "too much rubber" comment was based on the fact that i'm running a 7.5 inch wide wheel with a 32 offset. I haven't yet put the wheels on the car to see what kind of clearance I have, but i'm worried about fitting all that rubber inside the wheelwells with the offset that i have.

though i'd PREFER to run a 215/45 azenis tire (the only size they come in 16's), I may be forced to go with yokos (either paradas or ES100) in the 205/45 size just to make these things fit without rubbing everything all to hell.

there ARE downsides to lots of rubber, though: #1 weight. The azenis in 215/45 weighs 3-4 lbs more PER TIRE than the 205/45 yokos. #2, more tracking in grooved roads. #3 more noise. #4 reduced turn in and steering response.

gotta weight the pros and cons, though.. more grip is NICE..

[goy091]

for 16" wouldnt a 205/50/16 tire be used rather than a 205/45? for + sizing i thinkg the 50 profile wont throw ur speedo off. the newer 7th gen civics have larger wheel wells so thats why more people are hopping on to the 18" rim. personally the largest i would put would be 17", but theyd have to be damn light. 15" seems to work fine for my GSR. im ordering a 16" wheel for the EP to fill al ittle of the gap, but for track events i think a 15" would do fine. plus the tires for a 15" are a lot cheaper than a a 17" and easier to find than a 16", 16" tire selection is very limited.

oh btw, where did you get you K1's thats the wheel im looking for! or if you wanna sell them :D

[CleanBlackSi02]

What do guys think is the stickiest tire with our stock sizing 195/60/15? I was planning on 205/55/15 Kumho 712's since they don't make 'em in a 60 series...

[tkm]

I wouldn't call a Kumho 712 "sticky".

I think the S-03 and SP8000 comes in that size, and both are far superior to the 712.

[goy091]

i think most people who opt for a 15" wheel use a lower profile tire. ie 205/50/15, itll throw your speedo off a little. as for a sticky tire S03's are nice but expensive, and since almost everyone looks at bang for the buck ill plug the Falken Azenis in 205/50/15