Advantages to Bigger Rims?

[RanKether]

Hi All!I've finally saved up some spare cash to buy a good set of tires and rims. I do a lot of driving (probably around 100 miles per day) so it's important to me to have a good, safe set of tires and something that looks good too. My question is what's the advantage to going up in rim size? I've been looking at TireRack.com all day between 16" rims (stock) and 17" ones. From my understanding the 17's allow you to mount bigger brakes and have better cooling at the result of a rougher ride, but since I'm too poor to buy bigger brakes is there any advantage for me to really go up in rim size at the cost of a comfortable ride? I drive a LOT in Hollywood/LA where there are potholes that can swallow whole cats so I'm not looking to go bigger than 17".Thanks!

[keithvibe]

the GT came stock with 17 inch rims.. you will be fine with those. you will see better handling on wet and dry pavement because if it.I wouldn't go any bigger than 17's if your looking for comfort

[prathman]

Most people keep the overall tire diameter about the same so the speedometer/odometer readings aren't affected much and so everything fits right. Therefore with a 17" rim you have a smaller sidewall height and less room to compress when hitting a bump or pothole - i.e. a rougher ride. But the smaller sidewall also means the tire can't tuck under as much when going fast around a turn so the tread stays in better contact with the road and you get improved handling. If you plan to autocross or similar events where handling is critical then go for the bigger rims. But for normal driving I don't see a functional advantage although many opt for the larger rims for the appearance. Personally I prefer the ride of my old Nova/Corolla with its 13" rims to that of our Vibes. And replacement tires tend to be significantly less expensive for the smaller rims.

[northvibe]

17"s will give you a good look and functionality. but if you want comfort 16's but they just look small with that huge wheel gap.

[Raivis]

Quote, originally posted by keithvibe »the GT came stock with 17 inch rims.. you will be fine with those. you will see better handling on wet and dry pavement because if it.I wouldn't go any bigger than 17's if your looking for comfortnot all gt's my 03 has 16 personally i would either get better looking 16" or use thatmoney to buy a really nice set of tires. i strongly recomend fuzion hri they stick to the road nicely

[Merzbow]

Bigger is better as long as it is tastefully done. Stay away from chrome, it pits, it rusts, it's time consuming to take care of and it looks ugly in my opinion.18's are a perfect size for the appearance. Getting 17's would almost be a waste because they don't look much different than stock. 18's you feel more bumps in the road but on the other hand, you should know you are driving a car and not a cloud you know? I love it personally

[Sublimewind]

I have some 17's with good tires (about 3-4k total on them) that would look great on the Vibe... If interested... Price would be right, under 1k in fact... Well under.. Wheels chopped from the Subie, to the Vibe...

[NibCrom]

I can't see the point of getting anything bigger than 16s or 17s unless you're getting bigger brakes.

[Kamikaze]

I went with 18's, not for bigger brakes, but b/c the price is right, I like the look of a bigger wheel and a lower profile tire (even though ride comfort can suffer, (I didn't notice a difference))I think for appearance wise 18's are the way to go, and you don't compromise too much comfort.If cost / tire wear is your concern, stick to a 16 or 17... in my opinion if you are going to upgrade to different wheels (rims) why would you upgrade to the same size just different look? you might as well keep what you have on there... so I would say go with the 17's... it's a happy medium.If cost is a major concern (burning up the tires and having to replace them) you can't beat the price of the 16's... my 18's cost less per tire than my 17's.

[kevera]

16" aftermarket rims look small.

[northvibe]

brent did it all for looks, fo sho. chicks digg 18's

[Kamikaze]

Quote, originally posted by northvibe »chicks digg aftermarket 18'sFixed for you North...(you need to get some Aftermarket wheels ha ha ha)

[Merzbow]

The point would be looks my friend. Vibes are not race cars nor track cars so there is no need for performance upgrades unless you go F/I, thus no reason for bigger brakes. The Vibe is best as an "all show no go" car as they say.I agree with Kamikaze and Kev. Why replace the stock wheel with wheels of the same size? You may as well not bother because at that small of a diameter (16") the style of the whee; you get really doesn't matter because it still looks small and boring lol. It makes it look like your stock wheels got stolen so you bought a cheaper set of after market wheels to replace them IMO.

[RanKether]

Thanks for all the advice, Sublime, those rims look pretty good, I'm looking at some Motegi SP10s (I like the darker wheel look... but not black since I have an all white monochrome Vibe) and they're decently lightweight for their price. If you want Sublime, shoot me an email at bjbautis@gmail.com and we can talk about your rims becoming mine

[vibebob]

I upgraded to 17's with a shorter, not low profile, tire and didn't affect the speedo

[hskater26]

Quote, originally posted by Merzbow »Stay away from chrome, it pits, it rusts, it's time consuming to take care of and it looks ugly in my opinion.that was rough bro......

[wyatt89]

I honestly think my stock 17's are drop dead disgusting looking as far as styling goes but they have a nice tight ride and awesome handling. I would just stick with 17's and stock tire size...

[waveresponder]

i went from stock 16's to 18's...and I actually think the vibe rides smoother...at first my dad didnt agree with me...but now he does....maybe its just me...as long as you avoid the potholes, follow the speed limit, go slower over the bumps....18's juz look hotter than the 16's IMO