ericdwong

I was riding on Momo Arrows 17" with very bald 235 40 17 Michelin Pilot SX tires for a while. Anybody who was at the DC meet at Univ. of MD woulda seen my failed attempt at a burnout. In frustration I had the car going sideways. Since the tires were already destroyed, the sliding got the tread down to the belts. There was also a very strong vibration. So today, almost 3 weeks later I finally got off my lazy horse and put my stock 16" 97-99 SE wheels with 225 50 16 BFGoodrich GForce T/A kdws tires. Right now I like the 16" ride much better then the 17s. No vibration, the car tracks straight, much better straightline traction but the best part is the ride is about 100x improved and I dont feel every jarring bump in the road. The road noise with the Pilots was constant and it was a pain in the *****. The wheels are also lighter so the car is noticeably faster. That plus the cold weather, I cant wait to go back to the track. F those heavy 17" rims! Maybe I shall sell these and invest in more speed parts.

The only disadvantages:
1) My car has lost its bling bling look
2) The steering response is slower
3) I think absolute handling isnt as great either

SuDZ

Yeah the stock rims are almost 9 pounds or so less then MOMO's. No wonder why it feels lke your accelerating a bit quicker.

SuDZ

Frank Fontaine

I went from 16" to 18" and noticed no difference, even with the 20mm extra width and 2" less sidewall. Maybe, just maybe the car can hold more g's on curves, but other than that zero difference. The Maxima has such a soft suspension and steering that it wont give any better/worse road feel no matter what's there. Plus, there is a lot more tire technology today than 5 years ago. If 18's were that bad you'd never see them as OEM on luxury cars like the 745i. 16's look shrimpy now, every car has them even Grand Ams and Aleros which of course outhandle our maxes like there's no tomorrow!

redmaxpa007

iTrader: (21)

put the momos back on after you get tires

darrick

I felt a big drop off in power stock 15 to17 oh man ,but it rides better to me so the 17's stay

ericdwong

Hehehe you do not have to explain to me the downfalls of this car, I am very aware of them However I'm on sprint springs and with those plus the 40 series tires and no subframe connectors (yet) the car was downright painful to drive around. I'd love to get a new car or even new tires for these rims but I'm a poor college student with no money and no job. I'll probably drive on the 16s for a while and if I can find some $ maybe I'll buy new tires for the momo's. But I cant stand the fact that the car brakes and stops worse then it did before, although the look of the rims is killer.

Dave B

Frank-

You obviously don't understand that late model suspensions are designed around running the heavier and larger rim combos. Things like the suspension's unspring weight, shock valving, and spring rates are adjusted to compensate for the larger rim and unsprung weight. The 4th gen Maxima was not designed 17+ rims therefore there are ride quality issues when you run rims larger then 16s. The ride quality becomes worse as the upsprung weight increases and the tire/rim width increases. When the temps drop below 60 degrees, most performance tires get extremely stiff therefore attributing to a harsher ride. Also most of us have lowered suspension with stiffer shocks and higher than stock spring rate which increase the harshness of a larger rim.

Using BMWs as examples is a HORRIBLE comparsion. The car is designed for the large rim. You pay for the superb engineering and BMWs are designed with a ton of wheel travel, soft springs, and stiff struts, which dramatically reduces the harshness of the rim. Contrary to popular belief, BMW rims are not light. The 18s on the M3 weigh 26lbs. As for Aleros and Grand Ams outhandling us, where do you get this info from?

Larger rims, especially ones that weigh more than stock, WILL SLOW YOU DOWN on average. That's the hard truth. How would you know anyways? As far as I've read, you don't go to the track therefore all your data is based on butt dyno feel. Plenty of us have been to the track to test the difference between running larger rims and on average, you will be slower.


Dave

lophix

iTrader: (3)

my feelings exactly. Are there actually any rims that are specifically lighter than stock, with larger rim size? how much does stock weigh anyways (talking 4th gen 15s)

ericdwong

I think my stock 16s with the kdws tires are still kinda heavy. I picked up a Subaru 2.5 RS's wheels the other day and they were so so so light. Hmm whats a good looking and light rim?

darksands

Same here. my tires on my 17's were bald so I put my stock rims back on and I feel like it was a bit faster. I wanna get tires that are a little thinner noe to see if I go even faster. My 17's are about the same weight as my stock rims, does 1 inch make that much of diff or is it just me?

SteVTEC

I like my 16" 97-99 SE stockers

Vyrus

iTrader: (4)

I think I am going to downsize to 16" as well. Anyone know of a 16" rim that looks as good on the Max as the '97-'99 SE wheels?
Thanks,
-Cyrus

ivolley

iTrader: (1)

The 5th Gen 5 spoke rim looks good on a 4th Gen If I were to go back to a 16in wheel I would choose that one. The 4th Gen 5spoke looks a little "thick" the 5th gen spokes are not as wide. I think that is a good looking rim.

DA-MAX

iTrader: (10)

it still looked sweet...the crowd liked it!

max2acs

momo arrows are some of the heaviest aftermarket wheels out there. terrible for acceleration and performance. old too

kickyoazzz

CLASSIC!!!!! NOT OLD!!!!!

Cumalot

iTrader: (8)

You guys think 16" Rota Subzeros would look good? I know they're light, so that's good because I can use them daily and run them at the track too.

redmaxpa007

iTrader: (21)

but they look good..

Frank Fontaine

Just curious, would a car that came with 18's or 19's from the factory do better at the track with 16's? The physics part of it doesn't add up, so the only thing I can think of is the method of making cast aluminum wheels is cheesy with Japanese cars (outcome is heavy). Though the Z has a forged rim available I believe. All I know is that for the street 16's look awful, and the truth is on the street there's no difference between a 16 and a 18 as far as a Maxima goes. the 18 just looks up to date.

njmaxseltd

iTrader: (19)

I just did the same thing this weekend. To tell you the truth, I love the way my car rides now. It feels like a Maxima should feel. Like a cross between a sports car and a luxury car.

I may even sell my 17's in the spring and stick with 16's from now on.

Lime

me have?

Cumalot

iTrader: (8)

I went from 15s to 18s and now back to the original 15s. Ride is much better and smoother. With the 18s, there wasn't much wheel travel left, so whenever I hit a bump even a small one I would feel it. Plus, it seem like the wheel/tire itself would hit the fender each time I hit a bump, I could hear what sounded like a scratch from there. I thought it was because I took off the bumpstop from the rear passenger side and/or maybe the bumpstops are worn. Well, now with the 15s back on, no sound like that at all. Back to the way it was. I'm happy I put the 15s back on. I'm not really into show anyway. Btw, my 18s are for sale.

Y2KMaxGXE-R

iTrader: (4)

I also went from 15" to 18" and the difference in ride was huge. SInce my 18's do not weight a lot (22lb/each) the difference in acceleration wasnt that significant. I put my 15" stockers for the season, and my car started feeling like a Buick LeSabre again Cant wait for the spring to come.

OgreDave

iTrader: (1)

I went from 16s to 18s and back to 16s for a couple days (while I put my new 18s on) and have changed wheels a trillion times since, but always stayed 18s. My 18s are pretty light .. so in comparison to the stock 16se's .. bout the same.

I did notice a diff from the 18x8 ADR Kasai's (22-23lbs?) to the 18x7.5 TE37's (17lbs?) .. and as for comfort .. hah my car creeks .. comfort? Plz, I think my dead azz wheel bearing has more on my comfort than the wheels .. if I get off my butt n fix that, it'll do much more than changing wheels

But my ideal size is 17x8 or 17x8.5 .. I'd like more grip, but remain light, and clear bigbrakes ... still searching

hlh0501

iTrader: (1)

mine weigh in, with tire at 40lbs. my 300zxTT 16's, with tires (245's) weigh in at 41-lbs.. my 18's (245's) weigh in at......... 51-lbs and there is a VERY noticeable difference with them on the car..

My old 17's (konig tantrums-225's) I dont know the weight, but they felt to perform about the same as stock or 300zx wheels.. they also rode almost like stock.. my 18's are harsher ride and slower