18's on a spec v

So I'm getting a bonus in January... the rims I have on my car right now (stock 03 spec v rims) are a little bent so I'm getting some vibration in the stearing wheel. I also need new tires soon. I'm hoping to kill two birds with one stone. I've been looking at some nice rims in a magazine that I have, but I don't know if I should go with 17's or 18s. I'm sure 18's with low profile tires would work well on a spec, however, I'm also going with a 1.2 front 1.5 back eibach lowering springs with tein shocks around the same time. Would the 18s work without rubbing too much considering I would be taking some of the overall wheel/tire diameter off with low pro tires ? Also, with that work done, how much of a handling difference do you think I would feel? Any gains from the lightweight rims? I'm going to be working with around 1500-2000+ dollars, so If anyone has any suggestions, or better ways to spend my money, I'm wide open for suggestions. Thanks

are you sure your rims are bent? If the steering wheel is vibrating, you may just need an allignment/rotation. Check out www.tirerack.com

get 17s. its too small a car for 18s

I'm sure they are bent. I've had several allignments and rotations. The last time I went to get my tires ballanced they said that my rims were bent. You can even see a very minor bend in one of them if you know where to look. Slideways, when you say 18s are too big for the sentra, do you mean compatability/performance wise, or are you saying you think they would look bad?

18's and a drop probably isnt a good idea, that wheel well is tight enough as it is stock, i went low profile on my tire with a 17 rim and it looks like a 2 inch drop would make things as low as you would want to go, another inch of wheel diameter may rub, also 18's no matter how light are going to slow you down, it will make your gears taller though which may help in first, but they are going to add weight as only a few 18's are lighter than 17's but happy hunting if you can find them, point of story it wouldnt be something i would do but im sure you could make it work

both.

Thanks for the input, 17's sound like the way to go.

he could always raise the car...but thats not going to happen. btw, check out this site that sideways gave me when deciding on rims. its their weight. the stock ser 17s weigh 24 pounds.

www.wheelweights.net

if i were you id get some 17x7.5 wedssport tc005s. nice as shit wheels that look awesome on a b15.

http://www.tirerack.com/images/wheels/wedssport/swap/weds_tc_005_gry_ci3_l.jpg

[QUOTE=slideways...]if i were you id get some 17x7.5 wedssport tc005s. nice as shit wheels that look awesome on a b15.

No doubt they look great, but they aren't what i'm looking for. I like the 5 spoke/pattern style. Know any good sites that I can search through? Idealy I'd like a darker coal colored grey.

you can do tires.com, wheelsnext.com, ebay if all means. there's plenty out there. you can do a little interactive flash thing for the sentra on tires.com. go under wheels and you'll find it.

Most people seem to go with 18", however if you roll your fenders a tad, 19"s aren't a problem to run.

18s, and going up to 19s? yes sure it can happen, but im pretty sre he doesnt want to put that big of a wheel on his car that i can run door to doors with him. mind you i have a 2.0 roller-cam sentra. the b15 was made to have a 15' 16' wheel base. anything larger than 17s is a mere for looks and no go in the wheels department

now sayin that you have a nice car as well, but the whole 19' is a little too much for most of our tastes for a mostly stock b15.

btw, welcome to af :)

18s, and going up to 19s? yes sure it can happen, but im pretty sre he doesnt want to put that big of a wheel on his car that i can run door to doors with him. mind you i have a 2.0 roller-cam sentra. the b15 was made to have a 15' 16' wheel base. anything larger than 17s is a mere for looks and no go in the wheels department

now sayin that you have a nice car as well, but the whole 19' is a little too much for most of our tastes for a mostly stock b15.

On that note I also have a set of 16" wheels that are really on MOST of the time. Sure the 19"s are heavy, however those are mainly for show.

Really though, even if he gets 18" wheels, VS the stock spec V wheels they'll probably still be lighter. It really depends on what he wants to go with. Somewhere between 17-18 seems to be what most people shoot for on b15s.

this is just me, but if i had a spec and was choosing wheels for performance, id almost even get some 15" spoon SW388 wheels with 205/50/15 rubber. say what you want about brand loyalty, the spoon rims are ridiculously light and strong(8.6lbs each!)

EDIT: call me a noob but i forgot if the spec has 5x114.3 or 4x114.3 hubs... spoon rims are 5x114.3

this is just me, but if i had a spec and was choosing wheels for performance, id almost even get some 15" spoon SW388 wheels with 205/50/15 rubber. say what you want about brand loyalty, the spoon rims are ridiculously light and strong(8.6lbs each!)

EDIT: call me a noob but i forgot if the spec has 5x114.3 or 4x114.3 hubs... spoon rims are 5x114.3

4 lug, I'm not sure if you can fit 15" wheels on the brakes or not. Maybe, however I can't think of anyone with a specV with 15" wheels. If they fit, it' be close.

good point. at least for sure they wont fit over the brembos. my b14 had 15" wheels stock that barely fit over nx2000 brakes.
in that case, id get 17s. 16s are just too hard to find good tires for to be worth it.

good point. at least for sure they wont fit over the brembos. my b14 had 15" wheels stock that barely fit over nx2000 brakes.
in that case, id get 17s. 16s are just too hard to find good tires for to be worth it.

I have 16" wheels for daily driving. No problem, I run 215/55/16 on them, however my fenders are rolled. 215/50/16 would be fine on a 16x7 rim.

Big wheels on a small car are a mistake. It feels like you're rolling around on wooden wagon wheels sometimes. Thank god I only got 17's and not 18's. 15 or 16 is an ideal size. Anything bigger just makes your car slow and uncomfortable.

but the point is if you have a spec V with the brembo brakes, theres no way your fitting 15s over some 4 piston brembo calipers and huge 12" rotors.

It really depends on what all you want.

If you want looks mainly, 18" wheels is probably your best bet, however you can do 19" with slightly rolling your fenders.

If you want performance then 15 or 16" wheels are best, unless you are brembo equiped. In that case some 16" wheels MAY clear, however 17" will be your best bet.


Then again, my 19" wheels do weigh LESS then the stock spec V wheels. It all depends on what you go with.

Sounds like the 17" wheel is ideal then. I def don't want to go any smaller than that, but I don't want to slow down my car either. For performance and style I couldn't see going with anything else but 17's. Thanks for the help.

As long as the width and offset are the same as stock and you have the right size tire, it doesn't matter what size rim you have on there. The only differnce would be the ride quality. Like some said before, you will get a better ride quality with smaller rims. Also there are plenty of people with 15's on there sentras. 15's will fit as long as you don't have the brembo brakes.

As long as the width and offset are the same as stock and you have the right size tire, it doesn't matter what size rim you have on there. The only differnce would be the ride quality. Like some said before, you will get a better ride quality with smaller rims. Also there are plenty of people with 15's on there sentras. 15's will fit as long as you don't have the brembo brakes.

it matters in that larger, heavier rims will make a car slower and handle worse...and ride quality is affected by the tire not the rim.

it matters in that larger, heavier rims will make a car slower and handle worse...and ride quality is affected by the tire not the rim.

you can get lightweight rims that are 18". i understand that ride quality is affected by the tire not the rim, but when you change rim size your tire size is going to change also. the bigger the rim, the lower the profile of the tire. while you can get higher profile tires, it's gonna throw the speedometer off and it will cause clearance issues.

bigger rims = taller gears = slower sentra unless blown or heavy work done. just basic bolt on's it wont help at all.

you can get lightweight rims that are 18". i understand that ride quality is affected by the tire not the rim, but when you change rim size your tire size is going to change also. the bigger the rim, the lower the profile of the tire. while you can get higher profile tires, it's gonna throw the speedometer off and it will cause clearance issues.

ok i didnt realize you were just simplifying your words.