dieseldakota

Alright the car I picked up for cheap came with 2 18'stockers and 2 17' base g35 rims. So I'm looking for some rims. First step is looking for a set of 18' stockers for cheap locally, so far no success though.
So this leads me to search aftermarket. I like the RPF1's for their lightness and I like the looks, pricing isn't to bad either.

Now roads are notoriously horrible around here, potholes and tons of rough cracked highways, I was thinking about 17's over 18's for both comfort and less likely to break a rim in a pothole. It also has the benefit of being cheaper which fits my university budget just fine. I will be at stock ride height as well, at least for the foreseeable future. Don't need to be wide I'm thinking 8 or 8.5 max.
here's a pic I found of 17's obviously not at stock ride height though.


Is my thinking pretty sound does this sound like a good path to take?
I tried to copy the how to pick wheels thread and translate it into 17 inch, offset shouldn't change so I'm thinking 17X8 +35 offset, sound about right?
tires would be 235/45R17, sound about right?
any suggestions or comments?

TrickWilliams

That would work just fine with those specs. Your not going to like the look on stock suspension on

17's though. I would just step up to the 18's. IMHO you will like it a lot more. The ride wont suffer

much.

dieseldakota

Why would 17's look that much worse on stock height? It's not like stock height is extremely high.

TrickWilliams

Only because I know I hate it. The one year I ran my 8 in the snow I had some snow tires on 17's

and I hated it. The stockers looked better. To each his own, if you want to run 17's run 17's, its not

going to effect the car much either way. 17's in my head are for guys trying to save some weight,

or guys who want to go super low.

TFRX8

Lots of options out there regarding rims. I just picked up a set of 19 inch Momo v10's - they look alot different than the stock wheels. I like the look of the stock wheels, so I was torn about getting these, but after they were installed, I think the right decision was made. 17's might look a little small, but do have their advantages.

dieseldakota

I'm not going to lie I'm still on the wall trying to decide. I

17's
-More tire to protect the rim in this pothole ridden hell I call home.
-There are many, many tire joints in some of the highways here so if you hit 500 or so of these bumps a day the small improvement in ride quality over one bump might become alot larger over many.
-Cheaper initial cost, 1730$CAD to my door, RPF1's 17X8 +35 with cheapish Falken FK-452 235/45R17(150$ each)
-Cheaper future replacement tires
-Worse looks

18's
-Better looks
-higher probability of breaking a rim regardless of how careful you drive around here
-higher initial cost, 2265$CAD to my door, RPF1's 18X8.5 +30 with not quite as cheapish Bridgestone Potenza RE760 245/40R18(215$ each)



Considering living in an area with bad roads what would you choose? I need to make up my decision soon and I'm struggling because even with all the functional and budgetary positives of 17's a large portion of rims is still looks which the 18's will definitely take.

TFRX8

I kept my entire set of stock wheels/tires, just in case I hit one of those sinkholes/potholes - I won't get rid of those until I have a spare Momo wheel as a backup. Whatever you get, if they aren't readily available, you may consider getting a 5th rim - Pittsburgh has really, really bad roads - the worst I've ever driven on. I think people spend more time watching for potholes than they do other cars on the road.....

dieseldakota

It would be a good idea but I'd probably just toss on one of the ones on now and order a new one. Unfortunately a set of stock rims isn't a great option, the 8 I picked up had two stock 18's and two 17 inch g35 rims. Pretty much the reason I'm rim shopping in the first place. stock rims should be the cheap option but the ones I've found on kijjiji need tires as do mine and after used rim purchase and new tires I'm pretty much at the 17 inch RPF1's cost. I figure might as well upgrade to some lighter rims

dieseldakota

I think I've pretty much decided on 17's because of some of the other issues with the car it will never be the best looking car, so I will focus on function.

TFRX8

Function is smart - good luck. I hope you find a nice set.

dieseldakota

I'll probably just buy them new from 1010tires, which is basically tire rack but without and importing border crossing bullshit for us Canadians.

dieseldakota

is a 17X8.5 +30 to aggressive for a stock ride height? I know lowering gives you camber which lets you run a more aggressive offset. for those to lazy to do the calculations this offset will be 2.3mm farther out than the 9.5 +45's that all the lowered guys use. I know in the how to choose wheels thread he doesn't recommend any lower than a + 35 in 8.5's.
The other option is 8.5 +40 which may not be quite as flush but will definitely fit. for some reason they are listed as half a pound heavier than the +30's though?