Thread: 17's vs 15's. Pics inside.

Not sure if this is the correct section - there isn't really a wheels section. (mods feel free to move if required)

I currently have 205/40/17's on my restored N14 with an all motor vvl build inside.
I am contemplating going to 205/50/15's on the original Dots wheels for this car. The dots wheels below are photoshopped onto the car and perhaps a bit bigger than their actual size. But let me know which one you prefer, and secondly, if the 15's are a better idea in general.

Well those 17's do look nice but, The 15's will definetely handle WAY better than those 17's and I'm sure they will ride smoother too

I prefer the look of the 5-spoke wheels (a rarity for me) and I do believe a 15" wheel would perform better for you. Without knowing the weights or sizes of everything though we can't make a final judgement on performance.

I for one have always been a big rim fan. 90% of the time my car always had 17's as I feel they look best, but as of recent I have decided to go with a 15" wheel due to the great choices in tire selection.

I think you can't go wrong as far as looks regardless what wheel size you choose.

Car looks great BTW. Very damn nice.

I'm also leaning towards stock at this stage.

The 15's are 6.5J and the 17's 7.5J. Actual weight quite similar, although with 205/50/15's on it may be even or even slightly heavier with the 15's.

It's not my daily so I reckon the fun/handling and perhaps slight gain in accelleration may carry more weight.

Thanks man. Please ignore the uneven stance. Had the front raised up to clear the dyno when the pic was taken. It's sorted now.

As far as what we like or prefer, thats all based on opinion,

but

17s will handle way better than the 15s. The 17s have less side wall which makes them stiffer which has less side wall distortion on corners and they are on a wider rim, which will give it a larger foot print on the road. The 17s also allow the car to have a wider track which increases handling. That is the truth.

now

15s will have a smoother ride because of more side wall on the tire, which absorbs the shock from imperfection on the road

You are mixing up rim diameter with width/offset. I will take a wide 15" any day of the week over a 17" of same width to race on.

I actually had 17x9s and 15x9s at one point with tires to race on... Guess which ones I got rid of?

I don't think 6.5J and 7.5J are offsets?

Adreas is right about the 17" wheels performing better, but that is assuming you get the same diameter tire for both. I don't think anyone with these cars ever does that properly though. They always go with taller 17" tires, which defeats the purpose.

Looking at the tire size choices though, I see he plans on keeping the same diameter. So the wider 17" wheels with the same diameter tire should be the performance winner. They just look crappy. Convex wheels? Bleh.

I am not mixing up rim dia an offset. The 7.5 wheel has to have a lower numerical offset to clear the shocks vs the 6.5 wheel. This alone gives the car a wider track. Even if the wheels had the same offset the 7.5.in wheel equipef car woul have a 1 in wider track