Wheels: 15's or 17's

Bjorn · Post by **Bjorn** » Thu Apr 10, 2003 11:27 pm

Which is the true best all rounder? (Looks, performance, weight etc) or perhaps a different size?

Neil F · Post by **Neil F** » Fri Apr 11, 2003 12:15 am

Hi,

I like 15's on my coupe as they are very progressive and easy to drive on, I've driven 220's / Coupe's on 17's and they are probably just as grippy but there's not the same feedback from them, so 15's for me, even if it is just for the 'comfort' factor.

Cheers

Neil

Post by **Stu** » Fri Apr 11, 2003 8:32 am

I am going to say 15's for my Coupe as well. Mainly because I just like the VVC rims. They are also less common due to the fact everyone else goes to 17's.

May have to follow suit though if the new brakes don't fit under them

Stu

Mark · Post by **Mark** » Fri Apr 11, 2003 8:54 am

15's on my cab - 17's in my shed!

I definately prefer stealth - and bigger wheels tend to draw the Idiots in their XRfreei's & RS Turbots - and I just cant be bothered any more!

Though my NSX brakes dont fit beneath 15's!!

Mark

chris · Post by **chris** » Fri Apr 11, 2003 1:36 pm

i think that 16's are probably going to be the best all rounder, thats what i'm going to try next when the funds permit, running on 17's and the ride is harder than on 15's

think 16's will give that little bit more comfort

Raistlin · Post by **Raistlin** » Fri Apr 11, 2003 5:26 pm

and I just cant be bothered any more!

Mark,

You're surely not getting past it are you? :wink:

Paul

Grant620 · Post by **Grant620** » Sun Apr 13, 2003 10:16 pm

On a Coupe/Hatch - 15s might be the ones (unless you have superlegs - you git Beej).
On a 600, well, that is a different story.
17s for sure - maybe 18s - Hopefully somebody will have 18s as a comparison?

mkandy · Post by **mkandy** » Mon Apr 14, 2003 4:50 pm

15's were much better on mine, much more nippy!

18's for the show factor though....the ride isnt that bad but you really notice the performance difference!

NZ Rover 220 · Post by **NZ Rover 220** » Sun May 04, 2003 6:34 am

Haven't noticed any obvious performance defecit with my new 17s. Main reason for going to that size was the cost - got them nice and cheap

Also means I can fit bigger brakes under them - important for me when competing in motorsport events. However, due to limitations when it comes to race rubber (ie road legal slicks), I will eventually be getting a set of 16" motorsport rims for when I'm hillclimbing. Will still fit over the 309.7mm rotors and will be much stronger han your normal aftermarket rim.
Would still prefer to keep to 15" purely for the stealth mode but bigger brakes dictate otherwise.
Gary

MGTurbo · Post by **MGTurbo** » Sun May 04, 2003 11:13 am

Well i cannot comment on 17's but i was on 16's for a while.. And with 40 profile tyres the ride was logger, the handling much worse despite the correct offset and the mixture of tyres despite being Goodyear and Yokoham didn't grip at all and caused very dangerous torque-steer. Now back on the 15's, it handles, the speedo doesnt over read,it ride is nice and comfy and my tyres grip.. Some cars are ok on bigger wheels, mine not so.

Gareth

CVPiper · Post by **CVPiper** » Mon May 05, 2003 12:23 pm

I would have to say the 17's on mine. I haven't had 15's on it tho? Only standard 14's. Now i have less roll from the tyres, and comfort is fine cos it has adjustable suspension, i think if u have a heavy car e.g. Mine or say a 620Ti, then the roll in the tyres is more noticeable, now i have got rid of that it is much improved response in the steering.

Craig

Grant620 · Post by **Grant620** » Mon May 05, 2003 1:09 pm

As you Craig, I went from 14s to 17s on my Celica and it was a very different car. I was on std suspension for a while, and it was silly, coz the suspension was moving SOOOO much due to the extra stifness of the 17" tyres that the dampers were bottoming out on corners!!
On the Ti, again, the difference between 16s and 17s was phenomenal (spelling!), depsite only going from 50 to 45 profile rubber.

Post by **TomcatDan** » Thu May 08, 2003 8:32 pm

I've had 15's and 16's, I liked the 16's, suited my hatch very well, though I have been persuaded not to put the kerbed bastids that were missing a cap on my coupe

andy_notts · Post by **andy_notts** » Sun Jun 01, 2003 9:47 am

i would have to say 17s only cause 15s on my ti would look stupid

im currently running standard rover 16s 6 spokes at the mo but i wouldnt mind the 17s off the 820 turbo

Akuma · Post by **Akuma** » Thu Jul 17, 2003 10:38 pm

i found that with the 17's i have got, its made a difference to the car. It actually holds to the road a lot better possibly due to the width and weight. Performance wise it has suffered a lot although I will say its down to mine being an Auto as it has a problem picking up from stand still.
Looks wise 17's are better IMO as they really make the car stand out.

Insomniac · Post by **Insomniac** » Fri Jul 18, 2003 9:37 am

I must admit, I went from 14's to 17's. I never really noticed a difference in acceleration with it only being a 1.4 and I can still out-accelerate most (but not all) 1.4's on 15" rims anyway (including a 1.4 Corsa Sport on 16's with silly money spent on the engine) so I guess its not that bad.

If I had more power under the bonnet it might have been a different story.

Performance: Okay

As for looks you can't beat a nice set of 17's. Especially with my MK3 as low as it is, I think they're perfect. There's a lot of low MK3's round my way with 15's and even 16's but the size of the arches just demand 17's! IMO

Looks: Great

Comfort, well that a different story, I was driving about with standard suspension for ages and the differense in the ride was terrible! Especially on the roads I drive regularly... Now I've got the AVO's its a slightly different story, but still a harsh ride at times. But I suppose you've got to put up with that if you want your car to look as good as possible...

Comfort: Poor

So in total:
Okay + Great - Poor = Okay?

I'd not have anything less to be honest, my 1.4 may be vastly underpowered in comparison to the rest of the rover range and may suffer as a concequence, but I want it to look good and 17's do it for me :wink:

Nom620TI · Post by **Nom620TI** » Fri Jul 18, 2003 11:22 am

Akuma wrote:i found that with the 17's i have got, its made a difference to the car. It actually holds to the road a lot better possibly due to the width and weight...

...but only on a glass-smooth surface. On an average UK road, your road-holding ability has been significantly reduced, by both the extra weight of the rims, and the much-reduced tyre-wall - remember that your tyres are an active part of the car's suspension.
On a road car, bigger rims are a compromise between ride/handling, and looks. You can't have both.

PJF220 · Post by **PJF220** » Sun Jul 20, 2003 11:28 pm

Well it has to be 17's for me. They look better, they cost less to replace (like for like comparison I did at my mate's tyre shop). The other bonus is I no longer scrape the zorst on speed humps as the 17's raise the car up a small bit. My car is lowered 40mm. I cannot say I have noticed any performance loss. Handling seems just as good, if not better IMO, though the tyres are still pretty fresh so not pushed it yet.

oliver · Post by **oliver** » Sat Aug 02, 2003 5:18 pm

Gotta say the old 5 spoke 15" GTi wheels look the part for me, they don't scream race me (thank god, because it isn't really upto racing, i lost to a lowend Ford Focus

a while back)

The tyres grip, and only ever consider sliding in moist conditions (i'm talking about A/B/country lanes here, not race tracks), i'm running Avon ZV1s, i tried Yokohama A539s and they were nearly on par, but disintergrated much faster!

It might look more meaty with 17"s on, but as i said, thats not what i want

All i can say, is the 15"s arn't bad for Â£35 plus tyres

200_COUPE · Post by **200_COUPE** » Sun Aug 10, 2003 11:11 pm

Well i've now got 17's the rides a bit harder, but i dont think it makes that much differance 2 the handling.
I did think it looked a bit meaner just lowered on the rover 15s, its got a mynheer spliter on the front now so without the extra hieght of the 17s it would probably be scraping on the floor.
It hits e nuff speed humps as it is, i have 2 respray the bloody thing about 1nce a month!

MGJohn · Post by **MGJohn** » Fri Oct 17, 2003 10:13 pm

I like the look of the 17" straight spoke alloys on the MG ZS. The OEM 15" six-spokes on my Tomcat look a little undersized for the car.

The handling of the ZS is a delight. I've only driven briefly a ZS with 15" wheels but the handling with the 17" ones is superb. I wonder if these wheel and tyre differences play that much of a part in the handling - or is the ZS such a nice handling (but still ordinary) car irrespective of wheel size.

Best of all cosmetically... the MGF 5-spoke VVC alloys .... on the MG Montego.... sets the car off a treat ....

ADSVVCCOUPE · Post by **ADSVVCCOUPE** » Sat Oct 25, 2003 4:14 pm

has anyone got 18"s on there coupe. if so what mods need to be carried out to still allow a 40mm drop?

Post by **SubCat001** » Mon Nov 24, 2003 12:46 am

As I dont use my car as a daily driver I prefer my 17's to the original 15's. Ok I didnt run Identical rubber on both sizes so its not definative, but the 17's on a good road feel grippy and give more feed back(steering feels less inert). There is no noticable loss of performance and the speedo reads accuratly. Though on the downside there more tramlining and ride on bad roads borders on appaling.

Daily Driver= 15's
Something for the weekend= 17's

HA54SYM · Post by **HA54SYM** » Mon Nov 24, 2003 1:26 pm

Had the OEM 15's on my VVC, when I got it and they where nice, but a bit small. The ride was spot on though.

Then went for 17's, as in above pic :wink:

, and PI springs, looked good but tramlined. Much better grip though, but probally the tyre brand. Goodyear F1's.

Now gone to Gmax setup, rides higher with much reduced tramlining, a good comprimise me thinks.

Ed

Tallbloke · Post by **Tallbloke** » Sat Jan 17, 2004 12:38 pm

Sorry but it's got to be 17's!

Especially on Coupes as It suits the car so well. Lowered on 17's is how the car should have looked as it left the factory

stuartm · Post by **stuartm** » Sat Jan 17, 2004 9:48 pm

15" for me,17" too slow!
I like a car that has acceleration :twisted:

jase · Post by **jase** » Sun Jan 18, 2004 1:22 pm

16's for me. Cant get the brakes inside 15's and they look silly on low profiles. 17's are to big, heavy, mess up the gearing and dont support lowering the ground clearance to well.

I run 17's tho coz i want std rover rims. comprimises...

J

Tallbloke · Post by **Tallbloke** » Sun Jan 18, 2004 1:28 pm

I was Running Std Rover Alloys on a 40mm drop & used to catch the Back Box on speed humps etc. Putting the 17's on raised the Car just a fraction & it's never happened since.

Also my 17's actually weigh less than my std rover ones so it's win win there.

So the down side is slightly less acceleration - but only a mini amount but then I get more grip round the corners!

oh and the look superb!

Mule · Post by **Mule** » Wed Mar 17, 2004 2:39 pm

i just wish certain magazines hadnt given everyone the idea that 17's are the smallest wheels you should have on your car.. ive got 17's on mine with eagle F1 tyres and it still doesnt handle as well as it did on 15's with crap tyres.. if people didnt laugh at me then i would still have 15's on now (and be saving a fortune in tyre costs

)

smile · Post by **smile** » Wed Mar 31, 2004 6:53 am

I've got Supertourismo 17's on mine now... and its got noticably more traction, but its a hell of a hit to the performance..

Are these alloys particularly heavy? they are a lot heavier than my 7spoke SEI alloys

....but they look good

madhaggis · Post by **madhaggis** » Wed Mar 31, 2004 7:30 am

I like my 15s. I may in the future go up to 16s but im not sure. My mate has 17s on his 220, There was one night we were coming home and it began snowing heavy. Once the snow was lying the car couldnt handle worth a logger. At one point i was pushing the car up a hill with stupid little corsas overtaking us no problem on 14" Steelies! On a 2nd occasion in the snow he ended up with a VERY Kerbed Wheel.

Bob.

Mule · Post by **Mule** » Fri Apr 23, 2004 2:42 am

200_COUPE wrote: without the extra hieght of the 17s it would probably be scraping on the floor.
It hits e nuff speed humps as it is, i have 2 respray the bloody thing about 1nce a month!

I think i must have massive tyres on my 15's then as when i took my 17's off i had to jack the car up higher to get the 15's on! :roll:

suzanne420GSi · Post by **suzanne420GSi** » Tue May 25, 2004 9:52 pm

You guys have completely thrown my loyalty here.
I have a Rover 420GSi '97 (new shape). I was going to get a set of 17's when money permits. Now however i am wondering if just lowering her would be a better option as i do enjoy the comfort factor and so do the kids. HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :wink:

Do i lower the car and leave the wheels, do i do both. 15's at present
nice ride and beefy exhaust with a basic induction kit. Although i shall be putting a cold feeder on her soon. No i have not named the car i just get sentimental about cars that's all

Craig and Karen · Post by **Craig and Karen** » Wed May 26, 2004 9:50 pm

We have put 17s with 205/40ZR17 tyres on our 400 and had it lowered and we have not had any problems apart from on full lock the front tyres catch the inner arch ever so slightlyand the ride still feels the same to us.

gwanhaz · Post by **gwanhaz** » Wed May 26, 2004 9:57 pm

na 17s are better on coupes cos they go but, for ride comfort 15s cos there only 15s if you curb them then it wont matter cos there only 15s