I know 17x7 wheels are lighter than 17x8, but is there any other advantage to have the narrower wheel? I notice TRD and Impul both supply 17x7 rims for Toyota and Nissan, respectively.

 

A wider tire will make high speeds more stable and may help in handling. However, you are making more patch contact to the ground and are dragging, in a sense. This will reduce your acceleration. That's all I can think of. I have 17 X 8's but I figure the differences are marginal and I really like the look of the Lexus GS400 wheels.

 

I have 17*7s. I chose them for reduced weight, and you still get that big wheel look. With 17*8s the fender gap is smaller and they do look better, but you sacrifice a little performance. I was willing to give up a little bit of the look for better acceleration. The 17*8s will be a bit more stable at speed, but not much. My car feels very stable at hi speed. If the road allows, I can happily cruise at 130 mph with no worry.

DW

 

Anyone have any pics of their rims????

 

how do you figure that 17x8 inch wheels have a smaller gap between the tire and top of the fenderwell than 17x7... assuming they are using the same size tire the width wont affect the overall diameter of the wheel and tire combo.
PS just got my 17x7 Konig Verdicts on yesterday with 235-45-17s if anyone cares

Neal

 

The 17" 2k SE rims are 17X7s. They don't 'close' the fender gap, but the greater 'metal in the wheelwell' look helps to visually close the space/gap. I would suggest the mud flaps to help visually 'pull down' the car. I think mine looks good without having to lower the car.

 

You're right in a way. When comparing a 17*7 wheel to a 17*8 wheel, the actual fender gap is not reduced, but it appears to be more so with a 17*8 wheel because the *8 dimension "pushes" the wheel further out, making the fender gap appear smaller. The same tire on a 17*7 rim, like the 235s, the tire is wider than the wheel. But with a 17*8, they are almost parallel, making the "fill" effect better. If its all about "the look" for you, 17*8s are better. Performance wise, the 17*7, or even 16*6.5 (the stock 97-99 SE dimensions) will make your car perform better in terms of acceleration and braking.

This relates to another point. You know how the 95-96Maxes are faster than the 97-99s?? Well, that is most prbably due to these facts;

1. Motoring mags usually test the sport version of a car, in our case, the SE.
2. The 95-96 SEs came with 15" wheels standard. The 97-99s came with those gorgeous 16" star wheels.
3. I put 15" wheels on my car in the winter. Bad weather grip is much better than my 17s, and I most definitely feel better acceleration with the 15s.
4. You know Jeff Ketch's website?? Mr. Megamax?? Well, when he had his Gen 4, his best timeslips were done on 15" rims.

 

yeah i agree that making the wheel "stick out" more will make fill the wheelwell better, now I understand what you were getting at. thats something that can also be handled with offset...

Neal

 

Yep, light wheels make a HUGE difference in acceleration at all RPMs. I use to have 17X7s and got rid of them and bought a set of very light Kosei K1 16X7.5s (15.5 lbs). With the same mods, my car ran 15.2s@92mph on the 17s and with the 16s I'm running 14.7s@94. On my stock 15s (a little heavier than the K1s) with bald RSAs I was running 14.9s@93. I'm very serious about performance so a wanted the best performing setup. Sure, the 16s don't look as aggressive, but having the wide 7.5" rim makes the wheels look bigger and increases the lateral contact patch. My car handles damn good with all season 215/55 Yokohama Avid V4s and hooks up hard off the line. I can leave at 4000 rpms on the street with little spin and barely chirp 2nd. At the track, I went from consistent 2.4s down to high 2.2s. I love it.


Dave