Not only is it lighter, it's cheaper too! hehehe

Thanks.

 

Advisable, yes. You can do it. What's your goal? If you mean buy a set of 16" light as hell wheels with slicks on them to take to the track...that's great. Keep your stock rims and switch them out for the track. However, if that's not your goal...I would say the car would not improve in appearance if you downsize the wheels.

 

yes... if you race at the track, go with 15" light wheels and for snow tires also, go with 15" or 16".

 

I'm seriously thinking about it for performance reasons as well as cost effectiveness.

My reasoning behind this thought is because i'm very sure lighter wheels will help the Max become more "peppy" off the line - which is what i do most in Houston traffic. And thus, no need to rev as high to get going = gas efficient.

Also, since it's a smaller sized wheel/tire then it won't cost me as much to get these lighter wheels.

Oh,since i'm in Houston no need for snow tires either.

So, aside from the appearance factor, there's no other disadvantage to this am i correct?

 

A 16" wheel/tire combo will offer a smoother ride due to the taller sidewall. However with the taller sidewall the car will lose some of it's handling performance.

 

If you want i can trade you my stock GLE rims for the 17's

 

Other than the odometer accuracy. You will no longer report your speed or mileage accurately unless you manage to put tires on your new rims with an identical circumference, which is unlikely. This is the same problem faced with upsizing wheels as well.

 

Good point. Handling, IMHO, is the stock Maxima's achilles heel.

Hmm...

 

Thanks for the offer but i'm looking at getting some aftermarket wheels. I might sell mine tho, not sure yet.

 

handling is a pretty big concern... you can get lightweight 17's, but they cost $$$

 

Aside from the SSR and the Volk's, what other light wheels are there? Doesn't have to be the lightest of the bunch but at least something more manageable than the stock 17's on the Max?

It's hard finding a 5 spoke or 6 spoke with center caps that actually look good and weight in at a good number on the scale.

 

Konig makes smoe good-looking, relatively light wheels. They may not be as good as SSR or Volk, but they are cost effective. Also try OZ, Enkei, and TSW.

 

not all 16s are lighter than 17s...unless u are keeping the same wheel and just downsizing it...some 16s weigh more than 18s...

it's do-able...but why???

 

What most road racers/autocrossers try to do is fit the smallest possible rim around their brake calipers. This will help with gearing, acceleration, and gas mileage.

Bigger rims cannot be more beneficial than a smaller rim if the rim/tire combo weigh the same.

Also, taller sidewall does not necessarily equate to worse handling characteristics. It just depends on the tire you get. I have 15x7.5 rims with 205-50-15s v700... It has a stiffer sidewall than any 35 or 40 series dot tire.

BUT, you have to take into account, can you handle looking at your car with some 15" rims on it with that amount of wheel gap? Granted, it's superficial when thinking of performance, but, you WILL have to look at your car when going to drive it.

Stay away from 17s, 18s, or 19s if you have performance in mind. Their sole purpose is to look good. Yes, you can get a light-weight 17" rim, but, then you have to pay $100+ for each tire.

My adive: find a light-weight 16" rim (stay away from konigs, i only hear bad things from people about their rims... Konigs are the Audiovox of rims). Put some nice Supra Estcas or something with a threadwear better than 300 (better being lower) and smile around each turn you make.