GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

16's or 17's Which wheel size is best for a Vibe? Why?
I may try to find a cheap set of chromies on Craigslist.
chiadog

size will depend on your preference of looks and comfort

17's look nicer and have a wider tire (typically), but the ride will be firmer as there is less tire than a 16" setup

16's will ride nicer due to a taller sidewall, but will look small (generally) and you usually can't/won't fit as wide a tire on them

i prefer 17's as the ride is still good and i found on my GT 205 tires weren't wide enough...

16's result in a better ride and don't look too bad, as can be seen in my signature.

16's look good with the factory ride height, as shown in many example including my own:




17's might not look good with the Vibe so high:

aesthetically, i think 17's look very nice, but with our fine Michigan roads, i don't think i'd want anything bigger than a 16". there are times i wish i had 15's...

Depends on how you drive. I drive like I stole it so I went with 18's and low profile tires for the summer and factory wheels and good snow tires for the winter.

Consider the weight. I saving up for some 17s that are lighter than the factory steel wheels which are 19lbs ish. 17s will look sharp.

I would love to go with 17s but since 17s have less tire, more noise??? I think im going with 16s. I dont want anymore road noise than I have already. Would the ride be noisier with 17s over 16s?

In my sig... Summer 17's vs Winter 16's... Each summer tire/rim weighs about 10lbs less then the steelies/winter tire.

And here's a little summary of the two different tires:

Firestone Winterforce, fully studded 205-55-16
Tire Wear: 3 winters, about 35000kms. Started throwing studs this spring. 5/32 left. They will be replaced before winter.
Dry Grip: 6/10 Ok but not spectacular
Wet Grip: 4/10 An easily controlled 4 wheel drift when you push too hard on wet pavement.
Snow Grip: 10/10 Hands down, no compromise!!! Youtube search - "Winter Freeway Driving"
Ice Grip: 8/10 w/ Studs.
Road Noise: 2/10 They're loud!
Rolling Resistance: 3/10 Very open tire and very heavy too.
Price: 8/10 One of the cheaper tires on the market.

Hankook Ventus V4 205-50-17
Tire Wear: 6/10 My first set lasted about 50000kms. I'm not nice to them...
Dry Grip: 10/10 for my car. Push them as I do, they don't let go!
Wet Grip: 10/10 when new. They don't hydroplane even in standing water! 8/10 at the wearbars!
Snow Grip: 4/10 Believe it or not light snow isn't too bad and you can get around if you're careful.
Ice Grip: 0/10... ever tried running on a frozen lake while wearing bowling shoes? Yeah......
Road Noise: 8/10 Tires are quiet... for a poorly insulated car...
Rolling Resistance: 8/10 They're pretty good!
Price: 10/10 for the first set... 7/10 for the second set as I didn't get a good a deal as the first go-round.

depends which vibe you got....the GT is born with 18's so it wasn't really a problem for me slapping 18's on mine....i even lowered it....believe it or not these eibach springs ride better than my originals...the only problem i have is the 2 degree of negative in the rear as a result of lowering it....as far as I've checked i can't find any camber kit to solve the issue.

theres what it looks like