CustomMax

I currently have 18inch Giovanna Barletta's on my 1996 Maxima SE. I had them put on the day I bought my Maxima and have never driven the car with stock wheels. I am looking into purchasing 18 inch Niche Bella's that are slightly heavier than the Barletta's. My question is, does the chrome rims effect performance that much (slow the car down) or is the difference between having Silver and Chrome rims minimal? I appreciate any responses, thanks.

Bearcats

Dude,

I don't know the answer to your question, but your Maxima sounds unbelievable. How much money do you have invested in it, and do you have any pics?

Good luck

CustomMax

Thanks a lot for the praise man. Believe it or not, i bought it with a lot of the mods. The tint was already done, the sound system was already there as well as the visor TV. I had the dash TV put in and all the lights. The lighting ran me about 350-400 just for the neons and strobes. And the custom switch panel built into the dash was 200. Everything else, i.e...clear lenses, K&N, Greddy Y-Pipe, i purchased off of ebay at a bargain prices. I'm actually planning on uploading a few pictures with my buddy's camera after I put the bellas on, probably by Thursday. I'll be sure to put them up and let you check it out. Thanks again.

Gotrice4

Niche's are heavy in chrome.... and if u changed back to stock u probably would feel a difference in acceleration...but sounds like ur into the show scene, so why worry?

CustomMax

One other major thing was done before I even purchased the car. The white leather interior was in there already. The guy said he paid 3000 for it at some shop in Miami. I don't know about the price, but it is definently a sharp feature.

CustomMax

I am more heavily into show. And I wouldn't think of giving up my rims for anything. However, I am curious, because every once in a while somebody will pull up next to me trying to get me to run them. I was just curious how big a difference it makes. I've talked to people that have barely beaten some types of cars, and I wanted to know if the rims would make the difference in the finish in a close race.

1997 Maxima SE

you dont alwas have to have chrome for show man last car show i went to i saw benzs with 20's and stuff but they weren't chrome only a gs with 20's in chrome

aren't bellas old now??? thought they were truck rims??? whatever floats your boat... wish i had to money to get chrome (wouldn't get it tought i'd go buy some food )

where did you get a greddy y pipe??? how come i never heard of a greddy y for the max??? all i hear about is stillen and cattman...


i say you should goto a dealership and test drive a maxima with stock rims and see if you feel the difference yourself

cyclemax

iTrader: (1)

The chrome plating doesn't add any appreciable weight to the wheels but most chrome wheels are just heavy designs to begin with. Add the larger diameters and you will slow your car down a little, could be the difference between winning and losing, especially in a hi-way type roll-on.

SPARK

The Chrome slows your car for sure. I added 17" on my car about 2months ago and when I took it on the highway I noticed a big difference. When I had stock rims I had a nice take off and when I would put the pedal to the floor you know what happens, you get that nice burst. Now all I get is a loud scream and then it kicks in. I still love my chrome

Washington DC Maxima

I'm not sure if it's the chrome or the rim size that has affected my speed.. I have had rims in Chrome and that Fake chrome that Tire Rack sells(both 17" rims) and my car feels just as slow... At the Track 17" rims have added 2 tenths to my average 1/4 times..

cyclemax

iTrader: (1)

It must be the chrome then....perhaps it's the layers of nickel, copper, and chromium creating a magnetic field that opposes the wheel rotation, thus slowing down your car.

Seriously though, the chrome plating doesn't weigh that much. Typically, chrome wheels are the chunkiest and heaviest designs, the ones that look "pimpiest".

TJ

I 100% believe one of the main reason's the 97-99 4th gen's are slower than the 95-96, is because of those 16 inch wheels. Going up in size to 17 or 18 inch wheels slows you down even more.

Those larger wheels look very cool, but what's even cooler is when you bust a Prelude VTEC's *** at a light. I personaly cant risk performance for looks. Why not just get a different style of 15's, and keep the car low. Are jumbo wheels that important for looks? All show and no go sucks!

Synki

Anytime you increase the size or weight of the rim, you car's performance suffers. I think every inch you go up you drop about 5hp or so. Of course w/ heavier rims it slows the car down too. There is more mass on the end of the axles making it harder for the get up to speed faster. Going from my stock 15" steels rims to my 5 stat 16" rims then to my 16" chrome rims, i never really noticed a difference. That is just me though.

97GLES

iTrader: (5)

i got 18" chrome wheels and i rather be all show and no go. my max runs 20's in quater mile.

BippuBenji

iTrader: (4)

I have just taken off my chrome 17's for the winter and put the stocks on and I really realized the difference it does to the performance. I agree with everyone that says they do slow it down pretty much.