Advise please... Dunno what to do?!

[adrian]

Hi all.... and a happy new year...

Maybe you fellow petrol heads can help me.

I am in the process of pricing and deciding on new 17 inch wheels for my motor. Probem is I am kinda temped by the look of 18 inchers too. I have narrowed it down to 2, the OZ Superleggra and the SSR GTIII (which I think I would have to ship from the states but dunno)

Here are the options

17 inch OZ
http://homepage.eircom.net/~adriangraha ... oz17_1.jpg
http://homepage.eircom.net/~adriangraha ... oz17_2.jpg

18 inch OZ
http://homepage.eircom.net/~adriangraham/s2000/oz18.jpg

18 Inch SSR GTIII (not available in 17 inch)
http://homepage.eircom.net/~adriangraha ... /ssr18.bmp
http://homepage.eircom.net/~adriangraha ... sr18_1.jpg

Which leek best do you think??

ALSO, any of you FTO folk run 18 inch rims.... are they not exactly meant for irish roads? Do you reckon they take their toll on a stock car over time?

Thanks,

Adrian

[kevinod]

Only my opinion, but I don't fancy the oz one, very bland... the other one isn't bad at all though.

Kev.

[AL]

im not too keen on either, i think brands such as ENKEI & KONIG, would look great on your car, 18" for sure.

also try this link, top notch japanese wheels, very expensive though www.rayswheels.co.jp




AL

[soc]

Based on the above pics (and on looks alone) I'd go for the 18" Oz's. I think the SSR's are the wrong side of "bling" and reckon subtle works best on an S2000. I was having a similar problem as I couldn't decide whether to get 17's or 18's for the golf (RS4's or BBS CH's).

Somethings to bear in mind when making the choice

1) Are you going to lower the car because if not then 18's could make the car sit higher and give it that 4x4 look - the pic above of the grey S2000 with the 18" OZ's looks like it's been lowered.

2) How much are you willing to sacrifice the ride quality for looks? I assume you're considering 18's for looks.

3) Will fitting 18's effect the handling on the S2000?

At the moment I think I've settled on 17's because, although I'm lowering the golf and I'd like 18's for the looks, my main concern is to fit a much wider wheel/tyre combo without sacrificing the ride too much - so I've settled for a 17x40x225 which I've been told is a good combination on the golf (with 18's you really need coilovers which mean 35 profile rubber and a rock hard ride)- reckon the 17's won't be too bling, bling, boy racer yet subtly bigger in diameter than stock and with much wider rubber. Now I just need to decide - RS4's or BBS CH's (no pictures handy right now though).

[CJ]

I think the SSR's are the wrong side of "bling" and reckon subtle works best on an S2000.

I would tend to agree here, the same is true for the FTO IMO. I'm not a fan of 18"s I think they can look out of place on a lot of cars and the ride quality tends to suffer quite a bit. Add that to the increased cost of 18" tyres and you'll see yourself shelling out a nice few quid once a year or 18 months.

CJ

[adrian]

Thanks all.

Yea, I am swaying towards the 17's too to be honest. I drive up to Monaghan a bit so I think 18's would be wrecked too!!

Infact, I am looking at getting a set of OEM Honda 17 inch wheels as the S2K for a facelift this year to include these.

Problem seems to be that not alot of wheels fit the S. I need 17 X 7 front and 17 X 8 back and with offsets etc etc needing to all be right I appear quite limited in choice.

What do you think of the OEM 17's from a 04 S?

http://autos.yahoo.com/newcars/honda_s2 ... NLTEmbW8QF


I like em...but they are about 1400 for the rims alone..I may get a used set though....

[CJ]

Adrian, this might give you some ideas in the short term:

http://www.modifymycar.com/

CJ

[adrian]

Cheers mate!