I have a 97 Accord with Stock wheels and suspension. I'm thinking about putting 17's on it. Since the Accord already has a lifted look to it, would putting 17's on it without lowering it make it look like crap? Would it make it look better than the stock 15in hubcaps?

Also, if I later decide to lower it, how would the Eibach Pro-Kits be? Would they give it a noticable drop and improved handling and still allow me to be OK with snow, some country roads, speedbumps, parking blocks, etc.? I was thinking of matching the Pro-Kits up with Tokico Illuminas or KYB AGX....would that be a good combination? Which would be better?

I still want to maintain a ride extremely close to being a smooth as stock or even smoother...is that possible?

Since I wouldn't be going with abnormally large wheels or excessive lowering, would I be OK in the headache department...or would I still run into problems like camber, rubbing, roughness, wearing out seals, brakes, etc.??

THANKS!!!!

You should be fine if you stick close to the setup you just described (I would probably go with the Tokico's). I know what you mean about that "lifted" look Accords have. I put 18's on my 2000 and the car still looks like its riding too high sometimes. Anyway. As long as you dont drop it too far (maybe 2in max) you son't encounter urgent problems as far as rubbing etc. As for the speedbumps, country roads and so forth, it all dpends on your driving style and what part of the country you live in. In Illinois, we don't have very many hills to worry about, but when I'm at school in Tallahassee, FL, the whole damn city is hills, so when I lower my car I'm only droppin it 1" maybe 1.5" if I feel daring cuz I drive too fast to not rub over those baby hills with a 2 in drop.:frown:

Also, when you lower, you gotta think about the front and rear end of the car scraping depending onthe terain of your area. I have scraped the lip of my Accord dozens of times at low speed while going over Tallahassee's hills. Its no fun. So I know I can't put any kind of front end kit on my car (even though I didn't really plan to) If you got a body kit, or plan to get one, andjustable coilovers are the way to go.

As far as the smoothness of your car's ride, don't count on smoother. MAYBE you'll be able to keep close to the stock feel depending on what tires you get, but if you get 17's, you're most likely looking at 215/45-50R/17 tires. The lower that red number, the harsher your ride is gonna be. It won't be horrible (I'm pretty pleased with how my 40's feel) but not stock feel. If you want better handling, you'll get it with the bigger tires and lower center of gravity. If you want to improve it some more, get some tie bars under the hood. It won't be F1 handling, but better than stock. The Accord is no auto-x er, but it can be fun! Especially the 5gens, I had one before my 2000. R.I.P:frown: :icesangel