15x6.5 215/60/15 29.9 lbs. $764

16x7 225/50/16 40.2 lbs. $740

17x7 225/45/17 42.2 lbs. $860

17x7.5 235/45/17 43.8 lbs. $872

Which one of these wheel & tire packages
will give the best handling, small & light
or big & heavy.

 

It all depends. Motor Trend in the mid nineties did a plus 1,2, maybe even 3 test on a BMW 5series. That was when the BMW came with 15inchers. The best compromise was probably plus 1, maybe it was plus 2, I can't remember. Anyway cornering/slalom was best with the largest tires-but then again those were the most sports oriented-Pirelli P-Zeros. Heavy tires are harder to acclerate-so bigger were slower, except maybe for the plus 1s that gave better starting grip. Braking is tough to say because heavy wheels will be tougher to slow-but compounding factors are ABS interfacing with the different diameters, etc. Heavier tires are going to make the ride worse. Personally, I'd go for 16s. But then again the 17s don't weigh much more. I'd work on upgrading the suspension also.

 

IMO + 1 is normal but on the max having 65's maybe + 2

 

having been on mine with 15s (205/65/15 and 215/60/15)
16s (225/50/16)
and 17s (235/45/17),

the handling on the 17s is superior in every way to the 15 and 16". acceleration, braking, and cornering are all much better. the only drawback is rain traction, since the tire is so much wider.
I would also venture to say that the better braking and acceleration are due to the wire tread being able to stick to the road- even though I can still spin them all the wya through 1st and part way through second.

 

215/60s look pretty good on the stock rims...they buldge just right to give it a sportier look than the 205s, if you dont want to upgrade rims, then this is a great option...

Brian

 

The bigger the rims, the more rotating mass. That means slower launches and poorer braking. Big rims look better but actually slow your car down. Read the MaxFaqs on this website. The 3rd generation VE with 15's is slightly faster than a 5th generation with 17's. Even though the 5th generation has 32 more horsepower.

 

That's assuming your brakes aren't up to par or you're limited by power.

I run 0.3 sec better on my 25lb (53lb each with tire!!) 17s in the 1/4 mile than I do when I run my light 16s.
it's a traction problem.

Same with stopping the car- you're limited by the tires, NOT the wheels.

Honestly, you'r enot going to see much difference between a 15 and a 17" in overall times if you keep the same skinny tires as what's on stock rims. once you go wider, you get so much more traction... same with going to a larger wheel- they give you a much stiffer sidewall, which benefits cornering much more than the weight savings of a 15" wheel.

 

I just put on my 18's 2 weeks ago (going from stock 15's as my winter wheel set) and I honestly could notice no discernable difference in acceleration (granted, my 18's are fairly light - 19lbs each). However, fluctuations in temperature produced more differences in acceleration than the wheels. So, I say if the 17's aren't disgustingly heavy (>25lbs) then go for them. They'll look nicer and handle better.

 

So even if the 17x5's weigh 14lbs. per wheel more than the 15's, the 17's are better over all.

 

Well I guess all the cr@p on the old MaxFaqs was full of it. It actually said a 3rd generation (92-94 SE) with 15's was faster than a 5th generation with 17's. I always thought it was fishy and it even showed a chart. I guess too many 5th generation Maximas proved the MaxFaqs wrong.

 

http://www.machiii.net/wheels/rota_subzero.html

17x7.5 - 16.5 lbs. per wheel - $550 per set (yeah, $550 for 4 wheels)

 

In terms of pure power, yes, having 15's vs the 5th gen 17's will put more power to the ground. However, in terms of real world application, the difference is not as pronounced as those dyno graphs lead you to believe. When I weighed my stock 15's with potenza 950s, the weight was closer to 50lbs (wheel and tire) than 40. Also, people who replace the 5th gen tires with something lighter will shed weight. Small differences in the wheel weights (which Stevtec states are estimates to begin with) give large differences in estimated curb weight, since you multiply by 8. Bottom line, unless your number 1 priority is reducing rotational mass, then getting 17's is probably the overall best combinations of looks, handling, and performance. You just need to ask yourself what is most important to you. I didn't mind taking on a few extra pounds of wheel weight when the trade-off was making my Max look 10x better with 18" wheels on it. Catch my drift?