I changed rims about 1.5 years ago to 18x8 with 235/40ZR-18 and 245/40ZR-18 front/back. I put on Nitto 555 Extreme's all around and the car rides MUCH better on the highway - much quieter and smoother and doesn't "pull" you as the stock 16s can with rivets and grooves in the road. But the car lost it's nimbleness, go-kart feel, and basically all it's handling. The tires stick in the turns but it seems like it has a lot more body roll. I put on a front sway bar and strur tower bar and that helped a lot but it still is not quite as confident in turns as with the stock 16s with Dunlop D40M2s. Do Nittos suck that much, is my car riding higher creating more body roll, are my rims flexing - what's going on here??? Would changing out the tires to S03s help or go upgrade the shocks and springs???

 

I'm running stock rims/dunlops on my FD right now while waiting for the lugs for 18" wheels to be machined. It's a totally different handling car! The 16' stock rims/tires are super-light like the Miatas. The tires' "footprint" is smaller so there's less friction, rubbing in the corners, and it's easy to hang the *** end out, even with my Eibach 1 1/2" kit. The 18"s offer little sidewall flex and squeal when the tire is about to break traction". I don't see how body roll woud be affected, unless it's chassis/PPF flex.

 

I imagine its your chrome wheels, hehe. How much do they weigh?

 

Change your tires too. Get rid of the Nitto 55Slide. The 555 R drag radials are ok but those 555 street tires suck ***. I ran those for a year and can no way compare to the Yokohama AVS Sport i ran after them and the Toyo T1-S I run now.

 

I couldnt think of losing traction with more meat on the tires- try going up to at least a 255 in the rears...

 

do chrome and racing belong in the same sentence?? :p

the handling effects are because of 3 major issues...

1. Tire size: your tires are too tall compared to the stock 225/50-16. i would switch to 225/40-18 in the front, and 245/35-18 in the back if you want to keep the wheels you already have. being lower profile and smaller diameter, they will give you better response and a little better acceleration. if you want to get different wheels, you cant go wrong with a 245/35-18 front, 285/30-18 in the back.

2. Wheel weight: your wheels are probably too heavy. i do not know too much about ICW wheels, but them being chrome adds a few precous pounds, making the car feel much less responsive. not good.

3. Shitty tires: i haven't had any experience with Nitto 555 tires, but i havn't really heard anything good about them. the only tire which is somewhat worth your money from Nitto is the 555 Drag Radial...from what i have heard. get some quality, sticky, max performance tires. you can see the entire list and wide variety of choices at www.tirerack.com .

 

JoeD is a FD tire/suspension specialist and he is absolutely right..........seriously. My fronts are too tall and he brought that to my attention when I got the car.

 

Get yourself a decent alignment!

Personally there is no good reason to have 18-inch wheels on your FD for public road use. There are only three reasons I can use to justify 18s, and both relate to circuit use. Clearance around mondo-sized brake rotors. Clearance from the rear trailing arms. Hoosier Sports Car DOT Radial tire selection for widest possible contact patches.

18-inch wheels are heavy. They force the tire sidewalls to be very short, resulting in a harsh ride quality. 18-inch tires are expensive.

I can't figure out why you all are so gung-ho over 18-inch wheel diameters!

Perhaps it could be that most FD owners are in their 20s, and I'm 35?

 

OK OK so i got sucked in to the look of 18" honestly yes I think 17 are the best all around for the FD. But the damn 18" do look a tad better especially on certain rims.

You ever seen a Manaray S0-6 in 16" look like short stubby nub spokes. Volk AV3 are the same look at Honda's with like 16" look like blah.

Hey at least 18" is the highest normal FD guys go. There is a FD in SD with 20" AND air bags suspension!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!AHAHAH

 

true...18s are more for looks and 17s for performance. but you gotta admit, some wheels just dont look good small.

anything more than 18s is STRICLY for show. for 19s, they dont make tires low-profile enough to even come close to the diameter of the stock 225/50-16s, and even if they did come close, you better prey that your roads are as smoothe as glass so you dont destroy the wheel. look at AARotary...he's got 19s, but his car is a show queen.

18 inch is the limit i would set on the street.

 

ooohh...that must terrorize the Auto-X curcuit! :p

 

LMFAO!!!

 

but you must also mention his speedo will not be accurate.

 

Handling 101: bigger ain't always better.

 

Hey I'm 32 ..just went 18's as many know...have not driven and awful lot...some spirited street stuff so far ! and so FAR..SO GOOD.

 

My rims to look awesome on the FD - yeah, they were cheap - $299 a piece on special (basically Momo copies) but I'm not into looks anymore - I miss my old FD's handling. So what's my best choice -

1) Keep my rims (heavy but nice ) and go with what JoeD said and put some real rubber on them with 225/40-18 and 245/35-18

2) Find some stock rims again and go from there

I'm not a fan of the stock rims and I'm not into spending $500 a rim for lightweight 18 inch rims. I got an alignment - trust me - I thought that was what was wrong at first - didn't do anything. Hmmmmmm

 

I'd do both 1 and 2. Then you'd have a set for SHOW (that goes a little), and a set for GO...(that go really well).

Yeah, I forgot Johnny Bling Bling is an old man like me...The Kinesis are sweet looking 18-inchers and perform BETTER than they look, and those Kinesises look pretty damned good!

I agree that some wheels look better as 17s or 18s too.

The funny thing is, I have 16-inch SSR Integral A2s with stock tire size for road work, and many, many people mistake the 16-inch SSR IA2s for 17s...must be the SSR's long thin spokes, compared with the stock FD wheels' much shorter, broader spokes; both the SSR IA2 and FD stockers are the same dimensions!

I think the mesh style looks the best of all the wheel styles, and I have a much harder time telling the difference between 17s and 18s in those. Perhaps you should all get 17s in mesh?

 

You know a good amount of sports cars come with 18 on em. The Z06 for example has 18s and it pulls 1g. the 787b also has 18s. 18s are not just for show. If you get 18 chrome homie wheels, that weigh 50lbs each, then DUH it WILL be for show!

The Kinesis are a perfect example of 18" racing wheels. Lightweight, strong, and VERY good looking.

Isn't it funny how we are going back to large wheels? Back in the 20-40s, a bunch of cars had big 20" wooden wheels on em :p