[rxter]

Found some wheels that I like and the deal looks pretty good. For those of you with 18s on your car please respond to the poll. I would like confirmation from the wheel experts out there that this combo will fit.

Wheels:

Front 18" X 8" 59 offset
Rear 18" X 9" 53 offset

Tires:

225/40 fronts
255/35 rears

And finally, if I am going to 18s, is it silly to use a wheel that does not give me a 10" width on the back?

Thanks for your input.

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[bob blackwell]

If you just want the style of the 18 inch wheels, then go ahead with them. If you want to get significant performance improvement, wait and get at least 10 inch wide in the rear. Good luck, Bob Blackwell.

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[flash]

i have a slightly different take on width - there are actually downsides to going to a 10 rear and 9 front (like i have)

the extra width adds a LOT of load on the suspension - the added grip, and sheer mass causes earlier wear on the components - it also leads to more wander and tramlining - while i am willing to deal with the maintenance and issues, most people probably aren't

for a street car, i think the wheel widths you have chosen are a perfect compromise between ultimate performance and civility

the tire sizes are an excellent choice as well

the offsets are probably going to be ok, though you might decide to add thin spacers (5mm maybe) just to push the wheels outward a bit, but that would be purely an aesthetic choice

i think you have nailed it - congrats

what the heck is NVH?

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[rxter]

Noise vibration and harshness

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[flash]

ah - thanks - this is all really tire related

noise is entirely tire related, and not really to do with 18s

vibration would be balance, and again not specific to size

jarring and harshness though are mostly due to sidewall flex, and the reduction thereof in an 18 (to achieve the same outside diameter as a smaller diameter wheel), and those things depend again largely on the tire - the S0-3, for example, was much more harsh on bumps and deflected a lot more than the AD08 - it's amazing at how much of a difference there is in the feel of different tires - the AD08 feels about the same on the 18s i have as the HZR2s i have on the 17" OEM rims on the white car

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[rhudeboye]

Whats NVH?

I went to 18s last year. It feels a little more planted.
Most disappointing to me was the power loss. Comfort is fine & the appearance is great. Its a trade off I struggled with for quite some time.

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[flash]

see above for NVH

the power loss is usually due to weight increase - this is why it is so important to focus on that - tires don't all weigh the same either - i lost 3# from each tire by changing brands, even in the same size and measurements

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[aslet]

I had a Jetta with 17" Audi TT wheels on it. The thing also felt really planted. This was mainly because they weighed so much they actually planted the tires down, like anchors. You will be better responce with suspension work. Wheels and tires can only do so much. Getting a real good 205 wide tire will be better than a junky 245 wide.

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