Subaru Enthusiasts Car Club of the Sierras - View Single Post

JoelK · 2004-04-23, 08:51 AM

I've been looking at rims for quite some time (since my summer tire thread in technical in fact), and I had intended to go used stock WRX or 2000-era RS(with a slight preference to RS) simply because of price. My thinking was that with 225/50/16 tires, it wouldn't make that big of a difference performance-wise between 16" and 17" rims. I couldn't care less about how the wheels look on my car (well, as long as they aren't ugly

).

But 2-3 months later, I'm still looking for rims, and I've got to buy -something- within the next month (at least tires for my stock rims).

Here's my question: I've seen some people that say that most of the time a 16x7" wheel is ideal for price/performance. I was thinking of the Rota Slipstream if I ended up buying new. 13.5 lb. and $500 shipped is the number that attracted me. These 17" Lightstars are 15 lb. and $480 shipped (though tires will probably be more expensive).

Am I right in generally preferring a 16" wheel? Everyone seems to have 17" wheels, and I can't decide if it's just looks or if there is a performance value as well. Someone please enlighten me.

2004-04-23, 08:51 AM	#14
JoelK EJ22 Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Minden, NV Posts: 144	I've been looking at rims for quite some time (since my summer tire thread in technical in fact), and I had intended to go used stock WRX or 2000-era RS(with a slight preference to RS) simply because of price. My thinking was that with 225/50/16 tires, it wouldn't make that big of a difference performance-wise between 16" and 17" rims. I couldn't care less about how the wheels look on my car (well, as long as they aren't ugly ). But 2-3 months later, I'm still looking for rims, and I've got to buy -something- within the next month (at least tires for my stock rims). Here's my question: I've seen some people that say that most of the time a 16x7" wheel is ideal for price/performance. I was thinking of the Rota Slipstream if I ended up buying new. 13.5 lb. and $500 shipped is the number that attracted me. These 17" Lightstars are 15 lb. and $480 shipped (though tires will probably be more expensive). Am I right in generally preferring a 16" wheel? Everyone seems to have 17" wheels, and I can't decide if it's just looks or if there is a performance value as well. Someone please enlighten me.