18" or 19" ?? best mix of looks / performance?
07-07-2010, 09:19 AM
#1
Drifting
Thread Starter
18" or 19" ?? best mix of looks / performance?
I'm looking into upgrading my wheels / tires. My tires are due for replacement and I don't want to stay with teh stock 17" wheels.
My goal is to make the car ride sportier, handle better, but not become totally bouncy and unlivable for daily driving. I'm looking into selling my boxster - so I want the RL to be more fun to drive - so I'm going to use some of the money I pocket off the sale to buy wheels/tires and new suspension..
I'll likely do aspec and then put on either 18" or 19" wheels. I"ve seen pics of 20"s and they look too big for my taste.
I think 19" wheels seem to look the best visually - atleast from pics I've seen here..but I wonder if 19" might be too big for optimal handling. I know you an go "too big" in terms of adding unsprung weight, etc and you can overlaod the suspension, and make a car handle worse.. there was a recent car mag article where they put various tires/wheels onto a car and tested it's handlinga bilities... the car improved up to a point...and theni t actually lost handling at the extreme sizes..
anyone here run their car on both 18 and then later on 19" and have an opinion as to whether there was an appreciable difference on either in terms of driving? handilng ? comfort?
are there big diffferences in tire selection in the sizes?
does the price jump drastically from 18" to 19" such that I'd be spending hundreds more for tires? If I do put on bigger wheels - given that I live in so cal - I'm not going to put on long lasting all seasons...I'll probablh put on some kind of higher performance summer tire..which means theyw ill wear out quicker and I could be putting on rubber everyh 12-18 months.. especially if it handles better and is more fun tod rive..i'd be pushing it quicker around on/off ramps.
i know also, that some wheel styles look bigger/smaller depending on how they are styled. wheels with big lips can look smaller vs wheels with spokes that extend all the way to the exterior edge.. so some 18" wheels might be visually simlar to a 19"..so I could go with an 18" wheel that looks "big" for it's size if I wante to go 18" but make it loo larger than it really is??
i like the stock aspec wheels. i htink they look nice. not too aggressive, but nice.
the wheels that were on that visionaly racing RL - the FS-01 AME - those are gorgeious. most beautiful wheel I think I've seen - but I have found them to be very $$ like $500-600/wheel which is far more than I will spend.
I want to spend no more than $200-250/wheel if I can.
I"ve seen the Ronjon wheels - most of his 18" wheels are in that price range.
the harrow looks good and comes in 18".
the legends look nice and can come in 18 or 19.
I'm also tempted to toss on the aspec aero /body kit... so not sure if any of you feel tha tthe car looks funny with the kit on 18s and does itneed 19s to look more balanced..one the body kit si on?
I think 19" woudl look better..but I just want to make sure I wouldn't be hurting handling, etc or forking over way too much money rfor wheels/tires for somethign that may not really be the b est idea...
thanks guys.
My goal is to make the car ride sportier, handle better, but not become totally bouncy and unlivable for daily driving. I'm looking into selling my boxster - so I want the RL to be more fun to drive - so I'm going to use some of the money I pocket off the sale to buy wheels/tires and new suspension..
I'll likely do aspec and then put on either 18" or 19" wheels. I"ve seen pics of 20"s and they look too big for my taste.
I think 19" wheels seem to look the best visually - atleast from pics I've seen here..but I wonder if 19" might be too big for optimal handling. I know you an go "too big" in terms of adding unsprung weight, etc and you can overlaod the suspension, and make a car handle worse.. there was a recent car mag article where they put various tires/wheels onto a car and tested it's handlinga bilities... the car improved up to a point...and theni t actually lost handling at the extreme sizes..
anyone here run their car on both 18 and then later on 19" and have an opinion as to whether there was an appreciable difference on either in terms of driving? handilng ? comfort?
are there big diffferences in tire selection in the sizes?
does the price jump drastically from 18" to 19" such that I'd be spending hundreds more for tires? If I do put on bigger wheels - given that I live in so cal - I'm not going to put on long lasting all seasons...I'll probablh put on some kind of higher performance summer tire..which means theyw ill wear out quicker and I could be putting on rubber everyh 12-18 months.. especially if it handles better and is more fun tod rive..i'd be pushing it quicker around on/off ramps.
i know also, that some wheel styles look bigger/smaller depending on how they are styled. wheels with big lips can look smaller vs wheels with spokes that extend all the way to the exterior edge.. so some 18" wheels might be visually simlar to a 19"..so I could go with an 18" wheel that looks "big" for it's size if I wante to go 18" but make it loo larger than it really is??
i like the stock aspec wheels. i htink they look nice. not too aggressive, but nice.
the wheels that were on that visionaly racing RL - the FS-01 AME - those are gorgeious. most beautiful wheel I think I've seen - but I have found them to be very $$ like $500-600/wheel which is far more than I will spend.
I want to spend no more than $200-250/wheel if I can.
I"ve seen the Ronjon wheels - most of his 18" wheels are in that price range.
the harrow looks good and comes in 18".
the legends look nice and can come in 18 or 19.
I'm also tempted to toss on the aspec aero /body kit... so not sure if any of you feel tha tthe car looks funny with the kit on 18s and does itneed 19s to look more balanced..one the body kit si on?
I think 19" woudl look better..but I just want to make sure I wouldn't be hurting handling, etc or forking over way too much money rfor wheels/tires for somethign that may not really be the b est idea...
thanks guys.
07-07-2010, 11:32 AM
#2
Safety Car
I always have an opinion, so here goes...
I'm looking into upgrading my wheels / tires. My tires are due for replacement and I don't want to stay with teh stock 17" wheels.
My goal is to make the car ride sportier, handle better, but not become totally bouncy and unlivable for daily driving. I'm looking into selling my boxster - so I want the RL to be more fun to drive - so I'm going to use some of the money I pocket off the sale to buy wheels/tires and new suspension..
IMHO, no matter what you do with the RL, you are not going to get anywhere near the Boxster in terms of handling...the RL is just too big and heavy a car...they are built for two different purposes
I'll likely do aspec and then put on either 18" or 19" wheels. I"ve seen pics of 20"s and they look too big for my taste.
Agreed, and 20's are too heavy also. The 245/35-20 profile will also be more likely to give a stiffer ride, something you are trying to avoid, although it may be OK with the standard suspension which is really too soft in my opinion. Search the threads for those that have installed 20's
I think 19" wheels seem to look the best visually - atleast from pics I've seen here..but I wonder if 19" might be too big for optimal handling. I know you an go "too big" in terms of adding unsprung weight, etc and you can overlaod the suspension, and make a car handle worse.. there was a recent car mag article where they put various tires/wheels onto a car and tested it's handlinga bilities... the car improved up to a point...and theni t actually lost handling at the extreme sizes..
Agreed, I think they look great, but unless you go with forged wheels, they will be heavier. My experience shows that dropping unsprung weight in the wheels makes a huge difference in the entire handling, and acceleration department...now it is unlikely that you will be dropping the kind of weight I did, but the point was well illustrated in a recent Car and Driver article...the lighter 18's can be pretty light The new 2010 Enkei PF01's are 18 or less pounds in 18x8 with a 42 mm offset. I guess whatever you do, try to keep the weight of each wheel 24 lbs or less, and you should approximate the weight of the 17's, including the tires. Try not to go heavier or you will start to get that effect you read about in the Car and Driver article...
anyone here run their car on both 18 and then later on 19" and have an opinion as to whether there was an appreciable difference on either in terms of driving? handilng ? comfort?
Yes, the 18's were more comfortable, but the sharpened handling of the 19's was a fair trade off. The difference was not so great that you would always notice it. My comparisons were a bit unfair, but they were 18's and 19's as you asked.
1. Standard PAX Suspension with PAX wheels and PAX equivalent 245/45-18 vs BBS RE forged wheels and Yokohama 255/40-19 Advan S4 UHP all season. 19's were stiffer, but not overly so, it mostly sharpened the handling, and the car was noticeably lighter on its feet in any turning maneuver, acceleration and braking because the PAX units were 92 lbs heavier. The car definitely moved off the line more quickly with the lighter wheels, as verified by a passenger who asked me if I had done anything else to the car besides change the wheels and tires.
PAX suspension is the same in the front as standard non PAX suspension, but the rear shocks had a different calibration, softer, to accommodate the heavier PAX wheels and tires...
That being said, I have also run both sets of the same wheels on A-Spec suspension, and the 19's with the A-Spec are decidedly more sporty and less cushy luxury. Body roll is well controlled now, but at the expense of luxo cruiser ride. My wife, who loves the ride of her Toyota mini van does think the RL with A-Spec and 255/40-19s is now kind of rough, but she does not complain about it all when she drives or sits in the front seat, but does notice more jounce in the rear seat. To me, the sharper reflexes are well worth the A-Spec upgrade
are there big diffferences in tire selection in the sizes?
Huge differences in tire selection, just look on the Tire Rack in 245/45-18 vs 245/40-19 as a simple illustration, though living in SoCal, the choice of summers is pretty good in both sizes, but there are price differences...
does the price jump drastically from 18" to 19" such that I'd be spending hundreds more for tires? If I do put on bigger wheels - given that I live in so cal - I'm not going to put on long lasting all seasons...I'll probablh put on some kind of higher performance summer tire..which means theyw ill wear out quicker and I could be putting on rubber everyh 12-18 months.. especially if it handles better and is more fun tod rive..i'd be pushing it quicker around on/off ramps.
Pretty much 18's are less expensive and more available than 19's in both tires and wheels. Do the Tire Rack survey to get an idea. Probably won't be even one hundred per set of tires, but it will be definitely hundreds over a few sets, if you change them out once every 12 months
i know also, that some wheel styles look bigger/smaller depending on how they are styled. wheels with big lips can look smaller vs wheels with spokes that extend all the way to the exterior edge.. so some 18" wheels might be visually simlar to a 19"..so I could go with an 18" wheel that looks "big" for it's size if I wante to go 18" but make it loo larger than it really is??
Have not really studied it that much
i like the stock aspec wheels. i htink they look nice. not too aggressive, but nice.
Agreed, but they can be kind of pricey...though with a now limited market, they should be dropping even more in price
the wheels that were on that visionaly racing RL - the FS-01 AME - those are gorgeious. most beautiful wheel I think I've seen - but I have found them to be very $$ like $500-600/wheel which is far more than I will spend.
Agreed, and hard to find. Made for AME by Enkei with the MAT process
I want to spend no more than $200-250/wheel if I can.
I"ve seen the Ronjon wheels - most of his 18" wheels are in that price range.
RJ makes nice looking wheels and he stands behind his products.
the harrow looks good and comes in 18".
the legends look nice and can come in 18 or 19.
I'm also tempted to toss on the aspec aero /body kit... so not sure if any of you feel tha tthe car looks funny with the kit on 18s and does itneed 19s to look more balanced..one the body kit si on?
I think 19" woudl look better..but I just want to make sure I wouldn't be hurting handling, etc or forking over way too much money rfor wheels/tires for somethign that may not really be the b est idea...
Agreed, 19's look better, but your potential for better handling, both in terms of available rubber (the most important part of the equation) and lighter weight and cost is in the 18's. This negates the cost issue somwhat, but if you get 18x9 instead of 18x8, you could go 275/40-18. 18x9 will be heavier, and more expensive than 18x8. See Slawek65 18x9 BBS RE and his set up.
However, there are alternatives to forging, such as some Enkei's (such as PF01) which are a combination of cast with MAT rim rolled hoops (similar strength to forging with less cost).
thanks guys.
My goal is to make the car ride sportier, handle better, but not become totally bouncy and unlivable for daily driving. I'm looking into selling my boxster - so I want the RL to be more fun to drive - so I'm going to use some of the money I pocket off the sale to buy wheels/tires and new suspension..
IMHO, no matter what you do with the RL, you are not going to get anywhere near the Boxster in terms of handling...the RL is just too big and heavy a car...they are built for two different purposes
I'll likely do aspec and then put on either 18" or 19" wheels. I"ve seen pics of 20"s and they look too big for my taste.
Agreed, and 20's are too heavy also. The 245/35-20 profile will also be more likely to give a stiffer ride, something you are trying to avoid, although it may be OK with the standard suspension which is really too soft in my opinion. Search the threads for those that have installed 20's
I think 19" wheels seem to look the best visually - atleast from pics I've seen here..but I wonder if 19" might be too big for optimal handling. I know you an go "too big" in terms of adding unsprung weight, etc and you can overlaod the suspension, and make a car handle worse.. there was a recent car mag article where they put various tires/wheels onto a car and tested it's handlinga bilities... the car improved up to a point...and theni t actually lost handling at the extreme sizes..
Agreed, I think they look great, but unless you go with forged wheels, they will be heavier. My experience shows that dropping unsprung weight in the wheels makes a huge difference in the entire handling, and acceleration department...now it is unlikely that you will be dropping the kind of weight I did, but the point was well illustrated in a recent Car and Driver article...the lighter 18's can be pretty light The new 2010 Enkei PF01's are 18 or less pounds in 18x8 with a 42 mm offset. I guess whatever you do, try to keep the weight of each wheel 24 lbs or less, and you should approximate the weight of the 17's, including the tires. Try not to go heavier or you will start to get that effect you read about in the Car and Driver article...
anyone here run their car on both 18 and then later on 19" and have an opinion as to whether there was an appreciable difference on either in terms of driving? handilng ? comfort?
Yes, the 18's were more comfortable, but the sharpened handling of the 19's was a fair trade off. The difference was not so great that you would always notice it. My comparisons were a bit unfair, but they were 18's and 19's as you asked.
1. Standard PAX Suspension with PAX wheels and PAX equivalent 245/45-18 vs BBS RE forged wheels and Yokohama 255/40-19 Advan S4 UHP all season. 19's were stiffer, but not overly so, it mostly sharpened the handling, and the car was noticeably lighter on its feet in any turning maneuver, acceleration and braking because the PAX units were 92 lbs heavier. The car definitely moved off the line more quickly with the lighter wheels, as verified by a passenger who asked me if I had done anything else to the car besides change the wheels and tires.
PAX suspension is the same in the front as standard non PAX suspension, but the rear shocks had a different calibration, softer, to accommodate the heavier PAX wheels and tires...
That being said, I have also run both sets of the same wheels on A-Spec suspension, and the 19's with the A-Spec are decidedly more sporty and less cushy luxury. Body roll is well controlled now, but at the expense of luxo cruiser ride. My wife, who loves the ride of her Toyota mini van does think the RL with A-Spec and 255/40-19s is now kind of rough, but she does not complain about it all when she drives or sits in the front seat, but does notice more jounce in the rear seat. To me, the sharper reflexes are well worth the A-Spec upgrade
are there big diffferences in tire selection in the sizes?
Huge differences in tire selection, just look on the Tire Rack in 245/45-18 vs 245/40-19 as a simple illustration, though living in SoCal, the choice of summers is pretty good in both sizes, but there are price differences...
does the price jump drastically from 18" to 19" such that I'd be spending hundreds more for tires? If I do put on bigger wheels - given that I live in so cal - I'm not going to put on long lasting all seasons...I'll probablh put on some kind of higher performance summer tire..which means theyw ill wear out quicker and I could be putting on rubber everyh 12-18 months.. especially if it handles better and is more fun tod rive..i'd be pushing it quicker around on/off ramps.
Pretty much 18's are less expensive and more available than 19's in both tires and wheels. Do the Tire Rack survey to get an idea. Probably won't be even one hundred per set of tires, but it will be definitely hundreds over a few sets, if you change them out once every 12 months
i know also, that some wheel styles look bigger/smaller depending on how they are styled. wheels with big lips can look smaller vs wheels with spokes that extend all the way to the exterior edge.. so some 18" wheels might be visually simlar to a 19"..so I could go with an 18" wheel that looks "big" for it's size if I wante to go 18" but make it loo larger than it really is??
Have not really studied it that much
i like the stock aspec wheels. i htink they look nice. not too aggressive, but nice.
Agreed, but they can be kind of pricey...though with a now limited market, they should be dropping even more in price
the wheels that were on that visionaly racing RL - the FS-01 AME - those are gorgeious. most beautiful wheel I think I've seen - but I have found them to be very $$ like $500-600/wheel which is far more than I will spend.
Agreed, and hard to find. Made for AME by Enkei with the MAT process
I want to spend no more than $200-250/wheel if I can.
I"ve seen the Ronjon wheels - most of his 18" wheels are in that price range.
RJ makes nice looking wheels and he stands behind his products.
the harrow looks good and comes in 18".
the legends look nice and can come in 18 or 19.
I'm also tempted to toss on the aspec aero /body kit... so not sure if any of you feel tha tthe car looks funny with the kit on 18s and does itneed 19s to look more balanced..one the body kit si on?
I think 19" woudl look better..but I just want to make sure I wouldn't be hurting handling, etc or forking over way too much money rfor wheels/tires for somethign that may not really be the b est idea...
Agreed, 19's look better, but your potential for better handling, both in terms of available rubber (the most important part of the equation) and lighter weight and cost is in the 18's. This negates the cost issue somwhat, but if you get 18x9 instead of 18x8, you could go 275/40-18. 18x9 will be heavier, and more expensive than 18x8. See Slawek65 18x9 BBS RE and his set up.
However, there are alternatives to forging, such as some Enkei's (such as PF01) which are a combination of cast with MAT rim rolled hoops (similar strength to forging with less cost).
thanks guys.
07-07-2010, 02:00 PM
#4
Drifting
Thread Starter
thanks for the info guys.
I was not trying to get "boxster" like handling from the RL...that will never happen.
Although I do think the RL is a pretty capable car...the boxster is much more responsive and can transition in turns TONS better..although on a single turn..say a tight onramp or a 90 degree turn, the RL would do pretty well keeping up due to AWD... the RL holds it's line amazingly well... but once the road got twisty - the boxster would leave it in the dust..
I really don't want to sell it, but I'm considering it. I just don't drive it a lot and I have other things I want to spend the money on. I figured if I sharpened up the handling in the RL to make it a bit more fun, it would be enough to keep me happy until I upgrade to something else.. I fantasize about the new M3 sedan, or an RS4...
I'll look around and some nice 18s. Enkei makes a nice 18" that's not too heavy..and on closeout.. the SC05...I know someone else here on AZ put them on their RL..I saw pics and it looked nice. lowered on aspec or H&Rs it looked good.
these are 209 each. not bad and they are 24.4 lbs each.
I was not trying to get "boxster" like handling from the RL...that will never happen.
Although I do think the RL is a pretty capable car...the boxster is much more responsive and can transition in turns TONS better..although on a single turn..say a tight onramp or a 90 degree turn, the RL would do pretty well keeping up due to AWD... the RL holds it's line amazingly well... but once the road got twisty - the boxster would leave it in the dust..
I really don't want to sell it, but I'm considering it. I just don't drive it a lot and I have other things I want to spend the money on. I figured if I sharpened up the handling in the RL to make it a bit more fun, it would be enough to keep me happy until I upgrade to something else.. I fantasize about the new M3 sedan, or an RS4...
I'll look around and some nice 18s. Enkei makes a nice 18" that's not too heavy..and on closeout.. the SC05...I know someone else here on AZ put them on their RL..I saw pics and it looked nice. lowered on aspec or H&Rs it looked good.
these are 209 each. not bad and they are 24.4 lbs each.
07-07-2010, 03:40 PM
#5
Burning Brakes
The wheel that's had me going (other than the OZ Ultraleggeras I could never justify) is the Enkei NT03+M, which in 18x8,5x120 is just over 19lbs and has a very high performance legacy. 300 each, dammit.
07-09-2010, 05:43 PM
#6
Drifting
Thread Starter
do those fit our cars? I've only reall wheel "shopped" on tirerack's site...but I guess there may be a lot of possible wheels that fit that they don't sell...
those look nice!
of course the AME FS-01s are my favorites..wow those look cool! too bad THOSE are like $600/wheel for the j19s and maybe 500/wheel for 18s..
Moda made a really good knock off but not in a size/bolt patter that fits the RL.. bummer.
Trending Topics
07-12-2010, 06:41 PM
#8
I say go baller and spend 4k+ on forged 20's. 
lol
seriously though, for looks handling 19's and 18's will not really be noticeable and in the end will not have the impact visually that you are looking for.
Is your car lowered at all?
lol
seriously though, for looks handling 19's and 18's will not really be noticeable and in the end will not have the impact visually that you are looking for.
Is your car lowered at all?
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