pros/cons of 18x7.5 BE5s sv 17x8 or 17x8.5 on LGT wagon

[ashwinearl]

Hi All,

 

I have in my possession some rare Linea linex BE5 18x7.5 16.8lb wheels for my LGT wagon. I have not put them on yet and they are currently for sale.

 

I've been going back and forth on 18x7.5 vs 17x8 wheels for my 2005 LGT wagon 5MT. My goal is a fun daily driver. I am planning on some sway bars, epic wagon springs, and some koni inserts into KYB

 

The Linex are rare and interesting and light, but I am leaning towards something more subtle, like the tried and true Rays 6 spoke TE37 or similar.

 

Can someone help with pros/ cons of 18x7.5 vs sticking with 17" wheels. I live in northern VA. Roads are ok but there are occasional pot holes.

[Rester5350]

I have a couple of sets of light weight 17s I would be willing to possibly trade. Would be interested in some pics.

 

5- team dynamics Motorsport 17x8 + 48 ( 3 are bnib and 2 have some wear)

4- Bbs Rgr's 17x7.5 +48

[rice_rocket]

If those 18's are really that light, then it's all about look to me. If you have 18" wheels, the rubber on the sidewall will be less, which would mean less rubber lean on cornering. Unless you are trying to fit something larger than a 225 or even 235 width, it can be done on both 7.5 and 8" widths. If your 17" wheels are that much lighter and you're trying to shave rotational mass etc... then stick with it.

 

I myself love the look of larger rims, so I'm running an 18x8 wheel (or maybe it's 7.5 it's a bit foggy) But I'm running 225 width tires with no problems. The newer wheels and tires are lighter than my previous 18" wheels so it's an improvement. I did see a slight performance decrease in terms of pickup, but that might be in my head when I was running 17" wheels with 225 width tires... but the 18" wheels were runflats which were heavier. Cornering, however increased with the super stiff tires.

[ashwinearl]

I have a couple of sets of light weight 17s I would be willing to possibly trade. Would be interested in some pics.

 

5- team dynamics Motorsport 17x8 + 48 ( 3 are bnib and 2 have some wear)

4- Bbs Rgr's 17x7.5 +48

 

If I were to go with 17s I'm interested in 6 spoke like Rays TE 37

 

Here is the link to the for sale listing with pictures

[iNVAR]

I have a set of Volk CE28N 18x7.5 +47 that I need to get rid of in the near future, but 2 were damaged by a pothole so need to be repaired.

 

The other 2 are in great shape and still have rubber on them, maybe 80-85% tread left... but not really useful since they are General Exclaim UHP 225/40 and they are discontinued.

 

Anyway....I really just want to get rid of them since I'm moving and they're just occupying space in my garage and I'd probably let them go for super, super, SUPER dirt cheap (you won't believe the price) because of this, and because of the damage. If you're interested, I'll clean them up and take pictures ASAP along with pictures of the damage. Also, center caps need to be fixed up with a new inserts/emblems since the embossed stickers are messed up.

 

These are amazingly lightweight at about 14-15 lbs... even lighter than the TE37s I think?

 

Also, as far as the pros and cons:

 

Pros of 18":

Looks nicer

Lower profile means stiffer sidewall which means less roll/flex during cornering

 

Cons of 18":

Less protection for the rim as I sadly found out

Tires more expensive

Harsher ride

Rim material usually weighs more than rubber so 18 vs 17 usually weighs more overall after putting on rubber.