17 or 18 wheels.. which do you prefer?? Help me make up my mind!

[Roadkill]

I've been looking quite a bit at both 17" and 18" stock polished 5 spokes to upgrade my 3 spoke to. I was hoping i could get some input from the list as to what people prefer and why. Putting aside the fact that 18" tires are currently cheaper, please tell me why you'd prefer one wheel over the other, or what the benefits of running a 17" vs 18" or vice versa. I'm pretty torn between the two designs, I like the 18" for the large spokes and clean lines, but at the same time like how 17" have their lugs hidden and the ribs within the wheels. I've scrounged a couple of pictures from the galleries for comparison.

The 17"

The 18"

Thanks!

 

[Viperzilla]

I can't help with advice on which to get, but I like the 99-02 wheels better, the lines of the wheels match the car. mu $.02

 

[Marv S]

you don't have to mess with popping off center caps on the 99-02 every time you auto-x, track, re-torque, etc.

 

[Austin]

Go with the newer 18 inch wheels. They would look killer with the purple.



Austin

 

[SapphireGTS]

When I get my new wheels I may have a set of 01s to sell. (they should be here this week but will probably be here next week)

Any interest?

 

[Snakester]

Both styles/sizes look great, but I prefer the larger 18" wheels because visually they fill the Viper's wheel wells better to my eyes, and make the car look newer.
But if you are a racer, the affordable and super-grippy Kuhmo tires are only available in 17" sizes now.

-Dean.

 

[Viperzilla]

Sapphire, you must post pic immediatly after being put on the car. The only exception is if you immediatly shine them up if need be, but everything must be IMMEDIATE!!! We can't wait, I want to see what wheels you got since I'm in the dark.

 

[SapphireGTS]

Will do. They are nothing special. I stuck with 18s. Tires get a little crazy $$ when you go to 19s or 20s.

Go bucks

But for the purple R/T I think the stock 18s (like I am selling) would look the best in comparison to the 17s. Although the 17s look the best on a blue and white GTS.

 

[emo]

The stock 18s would look perfect with that color.
I like the high polished look of the 18s.

 

[Chuck 98 RT/10]

I guess I'm the only one that thinks the style of the high polished 98 17s is better looking and overrides any benefit of the 18s.

That being the case I'd like to buy a set of 17's. $500. Hey, supply and demand right?

 

[ViperJoe]

anyone with 18's they want to part with, please send me a PM

 

[Roadkill]

anyone with 18's they want to part with, please send me a PM

Hijacking my thread eh?

I oft wonder if the 18"s are so popular because they are the "new" style.. I got a bit tire crazy in the past few weeks and bought a set of both styles that i pictured, so ultimately i guess i can try one set for a while, then the other and decide which i prefer, worst case scenario keep em both..
I initially was going to keep my 3 spokes for autocross racing but 3 full sets of tires is a bit of overkill for me.

 

[ViperJoe]

Hijacking my thread eh?

What...... me? LOL! <

 

[Casey]

Someone mentioned this in another thread a while back, but I love the look of the '96-'98 polished 5 spoke! I only wish they were 19". IMO the '99+ 18" wheels don't have much to them, but they're 18", and fills up the wheel well just a bit more.
If only I could get some 19" in the exact same style as the '98s.

I guess that means I prefer the 17s, but wish they were bigger!

 

[Viperfreak2]

Anything that fills up the rear wheel well. It's HUGE! Look at an M3 and tell me I'm wrong.

 

[Viperzilla]

I still like the 99-02 18s if they were 17s even if the 96-98 17s were 18s. I just like the more subtle, flowing look to them. But then I'd have to wish they were 18s.

 

[Edward 96GTS]

If you ever decide to do a brake upgrade, the 18's will allow you to install the Stop Tech big brake kit. The 17's won't.

 

[jcaspar1]

Actually the StopTech Big Brake kits (both 2 and 4 wheel) are available in kits for 17 and 18" wheels.

I also like the 17" look much better. I would love to upgrade to 18"s if they came in the 96-98 style. They remind me a little of the Crager SS's I had on my 69 Mustang Fastback. I don't think the 18" wheel/tire combination is any larger in diameter than the 17"'s so I would not expect any additional filling of the wheel wells with 18"s

 

[malcoll]

Comparison.... same RT.... 1996

First with stock 17" wheels....

You must be registered for see images

Then with OEM 18" wheels

You must be registered for see images

If you ask me... I can't see ANY difference in amount of wheel well space taken by the 18" over the 17" wheels.... but I do like the looks of the 18" over the 17"?

Personal preference!

 

[Snake Bitten]

If you ask me... I can't see ANY difference in amount of wheel well space taken by the 18" over the 17" wheels....

Look at the front wheel well spacing...I can see the diff...

 

[Newport Viper]

I love the 17" look. Looks tougher.... see what I mean in the pics above??? They really show off the Eradispeed rotor's for all you posers!

 

[ruckdr]

Roadkill,
Check out this post for 18", 2002 wheels on my white RT/10.
Click on my avatar to see the 17", stock wheels. I added the 18" this past winter.
http://vca2.viperclub.org/forums/showflat.php?Cat=&Board=UBB14&Number=288941&page=0&view=collapsed&sb=5&o=&fpart=1

Later,

 

[MannyC]

I totally agree with Maui -- the 17's just look tougher and more aggressive. The 18's are more streamlined and elegant, like you would see on a luxury car. Perhaps I think that because I have seen so many Lorenzo rims that look just like the 18's on all the 'ghetto' BMW's in L.A. The RT/10 just looks mean and tough with the 17's, and some of that goes away with the softer touch of the style of the 18's, IMO.

I was in Cancun this past week, and happened to pick up one of those import racer type magazines that cater to most of the asian cars. I don't remember the name of the mag off the top of my head, but there must have been about 30 pages of ads for wheels for racing applications. Not many of them seemed to come in the size of the viper, but some did, and the wheels looked darn good (like the 17" wheel, but in larger sizes (18 and 19's) -- and they were very, very close to the look I was after. I am going to do a little more research, as I would love to get an 18" or 19" wheel with the same style as the 17" wheel you posted above.

My RT/10 had a handful of things done to it while I was gone, and I haven't yet gone and picked it up yet, but I did have the 17" wheels chromed and I had the car lowered slightly to reduce the wheel well gap, yet maintain driveability here in San Diego (where the roads are pretty good, anyway.) I'll post some picks soon (after I pick her up.)

Manny

 

[Gerald]

Also keep in mind. I just called EVERYWHERE once my Kumho's came in to find a shop that would install 17" tires. I could NOT image how much harder it would be to find a shop that could do 18" wheels. I didnt' want to go to the dealership as I didn't want to wait 3 days without my car

Gerald

 

[ruckdr]

Gerald,
Believe it or not, I had my 18" rims and new pilot sports mounted at a BMW Dealership. They have one of those new, never touch the rim, tire machines, plus I was there observing the whole time.
Later,

 

[Lee00blacksilverGTS]

It's not hard to find a place to mount 18's anymore in a large metro area, it was a few years ago, but jeez, look at all the 20-24 stuff floating around now on SUV's, bigger seems to be the future and tire/wheel dealers are stepping up.

 

[Snake Bitten]

Gerald,
Believe it or not, I had my 18" rims and new pilot sports mounted at a BMW Dealership. They have one of those new, never touch the rim, tire machines, plus I was there observing the whole time.

Porche dealers have the lowdown on 18's and 19's as well...

 

[malcoll]

If you ask me... I can't see ANY difference in amount of wheel well space taken by the 18" over the 17" wheels....

Look at the front wheel well spacing...I can see the diff...

I guess you are right... I was looking at the rear wheel well area... I can't see much difference in the rear?

 

[lleone]

If you ask me... I can't see ANY difference in amount of wheel well space taken by the 18" over the 17" wheels....

Look at the front wheel well spacing...I can see the diff...

I guess you are right... I was looking at the rear wheel well area... I can't see much difference in the rear?

What's the deal here? Are they both Pilots? The 275/40/17 and 275/35/18 both have a height of 25.7 inches. The space in the wheel well should be the same. What am I missing?

Lou

 

[Chuck 98 RT/10]

I think it's an optical illusion. "Blingers" like SnakeBitten (I'll catch crap from him for this one) would notice some trival illusion.

BTW SB, my stock stereo suddenly goes out sometimes. I think it doesn't like the sudden blast of bass or something. What's the problem? (There I gave you some ammo).