17s vs 18s vs 19s

[OpenWheel]

When I puchased the GTO, my mind was made up that I was going do appearance mods only. I was looking at Rim/Tire combinations and decided to wait to see what combinations were working for people without having to roll fenders.

The thing about having power is that once you taste it you want more, so my priorities have changed. I have a head/cam package going in now, so while I wait for my car, I am trying to decide how I am going to get the power to ground without wasting it on tire spin.

I see many beautiful wheels on this site that make me drewl. But with my focus on power to the ground, should I stay with 17s? Or will I not lose anything going to 18s? Can one buy our stock wheels in 17 x 8.5 or 9"? I plan on spending a lot of time at the track, but this is a daily driver for the wife.

I have done a search but there is so much to wade through, I could not find any opinions on the above.

[myfirstv8]

Morning *yawn*
Personally speaking, and Im not a huge racing guru, but I think a lightweight 18" wheel doesnt hurt overall performance of a car. 19s however I think are out of the question. Something that I dont know the answer to is, do they offer a drag radial in anything above a 17"? Granted you could put drags on your stock wheels but then you have to switch them back and forth. I think you need to ask yourself what are your long term plans for the car. Id like to do some decent performance mods but have little interest in racing my car, hence my 18"s. Hope this helps!

[jagular]

I've seen 18 and 19 inch wheels on our cars (17s, too, obviously), and I wouldn't go above 18s. As for performance, it depends on what you're trying to do, but if you plan to lower your car or change the suspension for track performance (not looks), I'd stick with 17s.

[MOPAR Refugee]

I agree with Jagular. 19's just look too big to me...gangsta style with rubber band tires that need smooth roads to prevent damage. 18's look good but I don't believe gain anything but a little brake clearance but add significant cost, weight and fitment difficulty. Check out 2cool's thread for his 17x8/17x9 combo, lowered with big brakes. I think this is the best track/street performance setup...

Shuk WR1s 17x8 and 17x9 (http://www.ls1gto.com/forums/showthread.php?t=207 24)

[OpenWheel]

I agree with Jagular. 19's just look too big to me...gangsta style with rubber band tires that need smooth roads to prevent damage. 18's look good but I don't believe gain anything but a little brake clearance but add significant cost, weight and fitment difficulty. Check out 2cool's thread for his 17x8/17x9 combo, lowered with big brakes. I think this is the best track/street performance setup...

Shuk WR1s 17x8 and 17x9 (http://www.ls1gto.com/forums/showthread.php?t=207 24)


Those do look nice. There doesn't seem to be much out there for us in 17" x 8.5 or 9"

[MOPAR Refugee]

There doesn't seem to be much out there for us in 17" x 8.5 or 9"

I found if you search using a 97 BMW M3 as the vehicle, there are lots of appropriate wheels. The BMWs tend to spec both 17s and 18s with a 40mm offset for 8" fronts, which is perfect for the GTO, and 45mm offset for 9" rears,...though many of these same wheels can be had at 48mm which seems to be the ideal.

Lots of these BMW wheels are expensive, but not all. I figure the 3 main factors are price, appearance and weight (performance). I compromised weight and decided on the ASA/AR1.

I am going to use CSiJason's billet hub spacers to make up the difference in hub sizes (BMW's are bigger), but as 2Cool has pointed out, careful tightening can effectively center a BMW wheel.

[jak112460@aol.com]

Morning *yawn*
Personally speaking, and Im not a huge racing guru, but I think a lightweight 18" wheel doesnt hurt overall performance of a car. 19s however I think are out of the question. Something that I dont know the answer to is, do they offer a drag radial in anything above a 17"? Granted you could put drags on your stock wheels but then you have to switch them back and forth. I think you need to ask yourself what are your long term plans for the car. Id like to do some decent performance mods but have little interest in racing my car, hence my 18"s. Hope this helps!

How wrong you are!!!

[OpenWheel]

I found if you search using a 97 BMW M3 as the vehicle, there are lots of appropriate wheels. The BMWs tend to spec both 17s and 18s with a 40mm offset for 8" fronts, which is perfect for the GTO, and 45mm offset for 9" rears,...though many of these same wheels can be had at 48mm which seems to be the ideal.

Lots of these BMW wheels are expensive, but not all. I figure the 3 main factors are price, appearance and weight (performance). I compromised weight and decided on the ASA/AR1.

I am going to use CSiJason's billet hub spacers to make up the difference in hub sizes (BMW's are bigger), but as 2Cool has pointed out, careful tightening can effectively center a BMW wheel.

Thanks, thats just the kind of info I was looking for. Many more choices now.

[AmesGTO]

I've heard the 19's are too big from a lot of people. So far every one of them that have seen the 19's in person has told me they were wrong and pictures just don't show them well, seems to be a trend with the GTO. I even had one guy last week who saw the car and you could see his jaw drop, he said he really didn't like the rims when he saw the pics on my site, but loved them in person. He had it all setup to send his factory rims out to be chromed and was going to cancel it and go with 19" Beyerns.

But, if I were going for just performance I'd stick with 17's myself, maybe 18's if I needed the braking. It's not to hard to find 18's that are the same or less weight than factory.

[PHiL2]

I am a size queen so 19/s for me ;)

[R Moser]

I have been buying custom wheels for my cars for like centuries and believe me, not all wheels are alike! Have talked with TireRack about Shuk WR1's. They are 72.5 to fit BMW's. TireRack won't guarantee a fit, even with hubrings, but thought they would work. This is from a guy I just purchased a set of 17' Modas from for my black Volvo wagon, so he's eager to sell another set. As you probably know, Arrowhead has 19" ROH Drift r's in 245/275 package for $2050. but 18's are on backorder. Arrohead recommends Toyos, though I would prefer Bridgestone 750's from first-hand experience on my Volvo's. Think both Shuk and ROH look best in silver w/ machined lip. Just need to paint your calipers!

Good Luck

Rob Moser

[dms]

I have tried a lot of wheels and tires, and if you are perfromance minded, this is what I would do:

I would stick with 18inch wheels of very high quality and weight. But most important, I would do a split configuration in wheel width so you canuse a 275/35R18 tire in the rear. Getting almost an extra 2.4inches of rubber on he ground really helps with the traction and handling. The Falken 451's are very reasonable and work well. Have done multiple sets of them. For strenght and light weight and looks, I am very partial to OZ's, but they are alitlle pricey. Can get them in the fitment for a GTO for split and non split configuration. Also, with performace in mind, going to a 14" brake in the front makes a big difference. Judging by your picture under your name, you have a 05. Have done several 05's in split and they dconnect wonderfully. Dyno checked a 05 with 275/35R18 in the rear and it dynoed at 348hp with 70 miles on it. But wheels are such a personable thing. Buy what looks good to you. But if you can get a split, then do it. But if you do, your tires will be more expensive becasue you will have to go up in quality/performance.
thanks
mike
dms

[ksuGTOgirl]

Morning *yawn*
Personally speaking, and Im not a huge racing guru, but I think a lightweight 18" wheel doesnt hurt overall performance of a car. 19s however I think are out of the question. Something that I dont know the answer to is, do they offer a drag radial in anything above a 17"? Granted you could put drags on your stock wheels but then you have to switch them back and forth. I think you need to ask yourself what are your long term plans for the car. Id like to do some decent performance mods but have little interest in racing my car, hence my 18"s. Hope this helps!


:thumbs: yup they do, we have BFG's on the SS in 18s