PROS & CONS ON 16" vs 17" RIMS

[sickhonda]

I own a 91 Honda Accord SE and willing to upgrade to aftermarket rims but will hold off on lowering the vehicle for now since it's not ideal in my location. I live in the currently developing area of the Poconos, where the road is still dirt due to daily constructions (construction vehicle traffic tearing the road and leaving gaping holes or craters, not potholes.) The paving of the road will not happen until the community is totally completed...two to three years from now, I hope. Anyway, I have my mind set on one particular style 16" rim but it was not available for my application. All the other styles to choose from on 16"'s are not that appealing. Now considering 17" rims simply because of greater number of choices. I need to know the real PROS and CONS between the two sizes to help me decide. Which one will provide an ultimate ride (w/tire size of 205/50-16 and 215/45-17)? Sure don't appreciate a bouncy ride. How will they affect my steering (some also mentioned speedometer reading)? Which one will feel sluggish on the road? Not lowering my car...which one will look better? What about gas mileage? Fill in anything else that I'm missing.:

[strodda]

well i think without lowering they will both look kinda ugly, you'll have nice rims, but a huge gap. this was my car before lowering.

of course its stilla big improvement over stock.
as for performance, you wil get alot better handling, from what ive noticed. and eventhough you can get lighter wheels, lowprofile tires will be heavier(told to me by honda_99).
to keep stock specs you should get 40 series, not 45. although i did get 45 because i wanted a little thicker sidewall, i dont want my rims getting that close to the ground. it shouldnt affect ride quality as far as bumpiness goes, if anything you might feel big bumps a little bit since youre tires are gonna be 1/4 the size, and that might act as less cusioning. and if you dont have already you may as well get all the strut/sway bars for added stiffness.

[sickhonda]

Strodda,
I do intend to lower it eventually but not while the road is in the condition that I described, for the meantime, I can live with the ugly gap. How low is your vehicle now (front and back)? What type springs and camber kits are you using?
I commute to NYC in a daily basis and I just want to add more performance and handling into the vehicle. Yes, I do have the strut/sway bars for body stiffness in cornering. I'm considering the 45 because of the same reason as you, but is the ride really more bouncy, as compared to 15" stock rims? Is having more grip on the road reduces your gas mileage? Will steering be a factor?
BTW, how did you re-wired your bumper lights to stay on like that. I could sure use that on my drive to Pocono, PA as a back up to my headlights...ten miles in from the highway, all tree lined road and no lamp post in sight.

[strodda]

i never measured for myself, but theyre suspension tech. springs, supposedly 2"f/1.8"r. i put in an ingalls kit in front, and washers in the back(just a shot in the dark, but i got it down to -.5) which is good enough for me. as for the tires lowering the mileage, a tiny bit if anything noticable. it also depends on how you inflate them. if you leave them a little soft like you should, it make for a better ride, but adversly affects mileage. pump them up like rocks, and the ride will feel stiffer, better mileage... but it can also be dangerous to pump up lo-pro tires to the max.

and for rewiring, heres what i did.
the "always on" bumper lights are powered by the inside of the two corner bulbs. then i got a pair of 1156 bulb sockets, and wired those to the original bumper light 12v wire. then i drilled and installed a second light into the bumper lense. so at night i have the blue bulb always on, and when i signal the amber bulb next to it flashes.
like so...

[sickhonda]

You simply spliced and connected the wire on the corner lights...great idea, thanks!!! So far no problem with wiring overload?

[strodda]

no, i didnt split anything. i cut it off. each bulb has its own 12v.

outside corners stayed stock. and i switched the 12v of the bumper and inside corner. then i moved the inside corner down to the second hole in the bumper lens.

stock:
outside corner-blink
inside corner-always on
bumper-blink

after rewiring:
outside corner-blink
inside corner-blink<---__ switched 12v
bumper-always on<---

[sickhonda]

Originally posted by strodda
no, i didnt split anything. i cut it off. each bulb has its own 12v.

outside corners stayed stock. and i switched the 12v of the bumper and inside corner. then i moved the inside corner down to the second hole in the bumper lens.

You think splicing to the existing inside corner wire will not work? So that I don't lose the inside clear corner lights. 5W (about .42 amps) for each 194 bulb and 27W (about 2+ amps) for each 1156 bulb. Roughly close to 6 amps in total. You think that will overload the 12V wiring or pop the fuse?

[strodda]

you can, i had it that way originally. but when you hook the bumper lights to the inside corners, your signals will blink fast, and i hate that shit. the only way to keep the regular signal pace is to hook another bulb up to what was originally for the bumper signals.

[sickhonda]

:sun: Just want to thank you strodda!

Finally decided to go with the 17" rims with 215/45 tires. Lowering it might not be a good idea at the moment since winter is just around the corner. I don't want to drive a snow plow, if you know what I mean. I can only wish that I live in your area...summer all year long. I just have to live with the space, which I personally, don't think is that bad anyway.

I also managed to install the extra bumper lights. Lots of modification involved. The aftermarket 1156 socket I bought was not an easy fit on the back since it was hitting the retaining frame. I ended up trimming it down halfway just to clear it. BTW, I did the connection with the inner corner lights and not experiencing any rapid blinking problem. Maybe it has something to do with me grounding each individual socket to the car frame.

Once again, thank you!

[strodda]

np sickhonda.
what rim/tire set up did you decide on?
and good job on the extra lights, youre alot smarted than i am. now that i think about it, i used the same ground wire. i never thought about grounding it to the frame instead, i bet that was my problem. although now im thinking about taking the blinking bulbs from the bumper and moving them to the inside edge of the upper grill. im just stuck cause i dont know how to secure them there with some sort of sealed container, since it would have to protect from water. at least a little bit.

[sickhonda]

Its really the wifes car that I'm playing around with. The car that we use to commute back and forth to NYC from Poconos,PA, in a daily basis. As we all know, Pocono is well known for snow and ski resorts during winter months.
The car, being an immaculate Accord SE, has a luxury trim which she would like to keep. I was simply after a clean looking, slightly modified Accord. Originally considering Axis Ne-O, but I ended up getting an MKW MK-12 17" rims in CHROME...yes, in chrome. Somehow,chrome is making a big comeback here in the East. My old Navigator is equipped with a massive chrome rims as well. Anyway, for the tires, I got Nitto 450(215/45), because its an all season tires. Capable of good traction on snowy roads...relying on several neighbors opinion, of course. I'll find out soon enough when we get our first snow. The combo makes the car look sharp and getting a lot of praises from the neighbors, considering that its an old car. wife's happy, I'm happy. Might even consider getting myself another fourth gen. Accord just to modify it my way.

[J-Frog]

For me, lowering the car wouldn't be wise. If I got better rims, I wouldn't mind the big "ugly" gap in the fender wells. I bottom out on driveways sometimes at STOCK height. I see no point in lowering my car, or getting rims larger than 17" (we also have some roads with massive potholes).

[cowgod]

depending on your ride, weight and handling you want, you can go with any size 16",17", even 18"

advantages with 16's :
- if dropped -2" - 2.25" / no need for camber kit 300$ ( CANADIAN )
- looks sleeker and tires and mags are like 25-100 dollars cheaper
- car has room to be dropped even more 3.5"- 4 "


anyway, choose a nice 17, but don't forget a camber kit