I am looking at getting rid of the stock wheels but I am reluctant to give up ride quality. I am debating on staying with 15" wheels but in a style similar to the RS1 type wheels or going to a 16". If you are running 16's can you comment on pros and cons? Have they affected gas mileage? Have the maintained ride quality? What type tires are you running? Anything elser that you may have notices after switching to 16's. Thanks for your input. B

 

ooo i would like to know too. I would like to get a tires that are a little bit wider that the doughnut stocks. I just don't want to lose any gas milage. can 18 inchers fit our cars?

 

Yes, 18 inchers fit

 

IMO 17 is the best fit for comfort and killing that crazy wheel gap.

 

I've had 15's, 17's, and 2 sets of 16's. I love the ride quality of the 16's, and they don't give up too much in the handling department.

 

So in your opinion 16's give about the same ride quality as 15's? Also 16's with the correct size tires will maintain my mpg? Can you tell me is your xA lowered? What setup are you running to lower it? Also what grille is that? Thanks, B

 

He has a stock grille, Tein S-techs, Yes you will maintain around the same MPG if you dont drive like a mad man. Yes 16's are the way to go in my opinion.

 

I did plenty of research before buying my wheel set up. I'm still waiting on 2 of my wheels to come in from Japan(distributer sent out 4 wheels to me 2 months ago.. one of them ended up was USED / bad , so I had to send that one back to them.) The wheels I went with are approx. 15 pounds each vs. the stock steelies are about 19-20 pounds each. The weight of a 16" tire will be about 1-2 pounds heavier then a 15" tire. Also, outer roatating weight of a wheel(the tire) is more important weight in terms of get up + go/ ummmmphhh - the lighter the better. At the same time, I went with a 205/50- 16" tire... a bit heavier then my 15" stock tire... but I'll have much better cornering grip .

 

I'm running a 205/50R16 tire. My wheels are 15.5 lbs each. Much lighter than my winter setup which is steelies and a 195/60R15 tire.

I had Tein S-techs installed, I'm now riding on Progress coilovers. Pics to follow.

 

i got 17s and eibach sport line springs am not sure of the wheel at the moment but the ride is awsome i love it

 

 

I've got 16's with 205/50-16's and lowered on TRD springs and stock shocks.

I immediately noticed a slight decrease in gas mileage ~2-3 mpg. I don't have a problem giving up a few mpg to have the wider, stickier tires that handle so much better than the stock Goodyears, as well as the looks of the wheel. I was averaging about 34.5-35mpg before my 16's, afterwards I've been averaging 32-32.5mpg. I have the optional 15" aluminum wheels - for winter - and my 16" wheel/tire combo is heavier. I recently mentioned in another post on a similar subject that three things to consider when swapping wheels and tires is the kind of tire and width of tire you're switching to, and total weight. Pretty much any 16" wheel will move you from the stock 185 to a 205 width. The wider your tire, the bigger the contact patch which, in turn, means higher friction which can cause decreased gas mileage. However, this is probably going to depend more so on the type of tire you choose. Performance tires will have a softer compound which equal higher grip/greater friction and a greater potential for decreased gas mileage. All season/touring tires will have harder compound, in turn generating less grip and less friction causing less of an impact on fuel economy.

Weight is the biggest factor, especially on our cars. An extra couple of pounds may not seem like much when you've got a V8 under the hood, but with our minuscule 1.5L engines, weight can have greater effect. Keep your unsprung weight down and your mileage will be fine.

Going to a larger wheel is going to be a compromise - better grip and handling, but most likely more weight so fuel economy can decrease, unless you can afford a lightweight wheel, and even then you still end up putting a heavy performance tire around it which will hurt acceleration.

 

Also.. forgot to mention, but going from a good 15" tire, which costs about $60-70 to a good 16" tire, which costs about $70-90 .... not too much of a price jump/difference= $10-15 per tire difference. Now, when your going to a 17" or 18" tire... thats when price jumps. You'd be lucky to find a decent/good 17" tire for about $100-110 ea. Not to mention, the larger the wheel, the lower the profile of tire(ex. 40 series on a 17" ) .... thus a harsher ride the lower the profile/series.

 

I was on 16's for a while, and that was comming down from 17's w/ a 45 series tire.
Ride was def. smoother (not that i really cared), but i also liked the look a helluva lot better than the 17's.

I was rocking a set of the GT3s

 

Whoa dude, there's a couple of ghosts looking at you car! Lol, anyways, I'd say if you want to maintain comfort then get 16s but if you want to look good at the expense of some ride quality, go up to 17s. That's basically what everybody else said so I hope this thread has answered your questions.

 

i'll go with 15 or 16 with staggered offsets

 

I've seen a couple of xA's with 17" wheels in person, and personally I think the larger wheel looks out of place on this smaller car (disproportionate). A 15" or 16" is a great way to go... least costly, less weight... overall better bang for the buck. Its not all about looks, gotta keep the performance in mind.

????? Ohhhhh, does anyone know- if using a 16" wheel on a xA with a +42 offset , would I need wheel spacers on the front/rear ?? I believe the answer is yes... but will only need 5 or 10mm spacers. ?????

 

I'd suggest a 10mm hub spacer on the rear, but you should be fine up front.

 

Thanks for the heads-up info. on the hub-spacer on rear!! How much are those- ea. ?

 

Here, jump on this deal. I have to back out.

http://xateam.com/forums/showthread.php?t=642