Wheel Help

[slugger]

I've read through as many threads as I could regarding wheels for my 1996 C280.

Basically, I travel a fair amount on the highway and side roads each day, and I would really like to upgrade my stock 15" wheels to 17" for better handling. The thing is, I really don't want to sacrifice too much comfort because I enjoy that aspect of the car.

If I switch to 17" wheels without lowering the car, will the ride still feel as smooth? I would like to gain a little more handling without sacrificing too much in the way of comfort.

Is this possible? Any input here is much appreciated!

[jnolte]

this will be just fine, and it will make your car look a whole lot better also ;)

[kameraguy]

Depends on what you mean by smooth or better. By virtue, you are not going to have the same comfort going from 15" to 17". The thinner sidewall of the tires will mean less buffer between shock from the road to the rims. So your ride will be harsher due to this.

If you don't change your suspension, it probbaly won't be too bad. But if you've never driven a car with larger wheels then you might think the difference is huge.

Unfortunately you can't expect to keep comfort when going for a larger wheel setup. But the added stability from reducing the sidewall flex of the tires might be exactly what you want and hence the tradeoff is acceptible.

You should try and drive a friend's car with this setup. Or even test drive a car with 17" wheels at the dealership. That's the only way to know for sure.

But honestly, 17" is nothing compared to say 19". I did go from 17" to eventually 19" and 19" was HARSH! In contrast 17" is smooth like a baby's bottom :)

[jnolte]

15"s= dont look good, bad performance, nice ride
17s= look better, still light weight, better performance, okay ride,cheaper tires
18s= good balance of looks and fitment, ride is harsh but still some forgiveness.

19s= heavy, look hella good, harsh ride, bad fitment and rubbing. tires are mad $$

you choose

[neema12]

Just curious, how are 15s bad performance, is it because they have body roll from all the air in the tires?

[c_lee]

same dilemma as mE!!!!

i commute 63 miles each way to and from work every day -- but don't like my stocy 16s. so gonna upgrade. I debated over and over again between 17s and 18s and whether to lower or not.

The way i see it is (correct me if i'm wrong), is that 202s generally sit pretty high. Meaning there is a lot of gap. My experience with honda's is that if you just get bigger wheels without lowering the car a bit, the gap is still gonna be there. Just getting big tires won't close off any open spaces --> and this kinda looks ugly IMO. low profiles with all that gap just makes the wheels looks smaller.

I've done a lot of searching on this forum and the concensus seems to be that using eibach prokit to drop 1.2" all round with koni adjustables doesn't really sacrafice the comfort of the stock ride. It gets a little stiffer, but along with it you get better handling and a lot better look!!!!

so...if you can sacrafice a little bit of comfort -- lower that babee!!

as far as for me - I am gonna put on 18" staggered setup with a prokit drop.!!! i'll post some picks when i'm done should be in the next 2 wks!

ooo sooo happy!!!! :D