Is it just me or do these cars look way better on smaller wheels?

Not a big fan of plus sizing here. I think all the pictures above look better in the smaller diameter.

I like smaller wheels, especially on older cars. I love my 13" Libres on my '72 Capri, and the 14" Rewinds on my '84 Celica look just right to me. But it sure is getting hard to find rubber. Guess most people like the big wheels.

Woody wrote:

qdseeker wrote:

Woody wrote: Cars from the 60's and 70's (even some from the 80's) look much better on 14 and 15 inch wheels.

I agree. People tell me I should put 15" wheels on my '79 CVCC and I look at them thinking "why?." On that car, I would never go above a 13" wheel. I would consider a 14" set up, but don't think I'd go there. I actually prefer the factory 12."

I owned one of those! 14s would look silly. The best looking size for those is 185-70 13. I ran 185-60 13s for autocross and they looked funny.

Agreed. I'm putting 15" wheels on my 1200 ONLY because the availability of street tires for 13" wheels has become abysmal lately It's going to take a lot of fender pulling to make it look right, but I think I can pull it off.

I'm a fan of wheels that facilitate the purchase of cheap, wide performance tires. I.E. 17" wheels on anything with a ~25" tire, 15" wheels on anything with a 23" tire, etc.

Here's a comparison, just for the sake of comparison. My GT6 on 14" minilite knockoffs vs. the same car with 15" superlites. (stock wheels were 14"). I think the 15s look WAY better, even on a car this small

They do look good.

I do like a little "meat" on the tyres.. That GT6 is perfect on 15s

I'm a big fan of +1 diameter wheels and +1" width wheels on anything vintage.

i thought my Nova looked pretty awesome with wheels in a +2 (16X8)size..

DaewooOfDeath wrote: 19 inch big wheels on a Megane 250RS vs 17 inch

I agree, in this case, the smaller wheel looks good, but that is because you are giving up wheel for tire. Most people don't do that.

either way that is the first Renault I thought that looked good. Man that thing is a stunner.

Like to get me some of that!!!

And then you have the modern cars that can be purchased with various wheel sizes. My 2001 Focus could have had 14", 15", 16" or 17" wheels depending on which model and trim package you ordered.

novaderrik, it does look awesome!

nicksta43 wrote: novaderrik, it does look awesome!

yeah, that car was fun.. but it's been gone since Nov of '04..

the new Camaros look best on the base steel 18" wheels... i'd like to see if they would fit over the big brakes on the V8 models..

fast_eddie_72 wrote: But it sure is getting hard to find rubber. Guess most people like the big wheels.

That's why i was experimenting with the 17" wheels. Good streetable 14" tires are basically nonexistent and the pickings are very slim for 15". But 205- and 215-width 17" are pretty commonplace.

Hmm, maybe if I painted the outer diameter of the wheels black so they LOOKED like they were in the 14" range...

Nicer yet would be if someone bothered to make 225/60-14 or 225/45-15 tires again. Or 245/45-15, or 275/35-15, or...

It all depends. In my personal taste, most vintage muscle cars look really good with 17-18 inch wheels.

For example:

and

For a large car, that 17-18 inch zone seems like a sweet spot. For a smaller car, it seems to me like 15 inches is a sweet spot.

17 inches

vs.

15 inches

FlightService wrote:

DaewooOfDeath wrote: 19 inch big wheels on a Megane 250RS vs 17 inch

I agree, in this case, the smaller wheel looks good, but that is because you are giving up wheel for tire. Most people don't do that. either way that is the first Renault I thought that looked good. Man that thing is a stunner. Like to get me some of that!!!

Renault porn

DaewooOfDeath wrote: It all depends. In my personal taste, most vintage muscle cars look really good with 17-18 inch wheels. For example: and For a large car, that 17-18 inch zone seems like a sweet spot. For a smaller car, it seems to me like 15 inches is a sweet spot.

It's not only that.. the muscle/pony cars from the 60s and 70s always looked undertyred. Look how far from the edge of the wheel well that tyre is on the stock charge and look where it is on the modded one

I'm a big fan of proper sizing. My E30 had 15" Momos and everyone kept saying... "that needs some 18s, man."

No thank you, its skittish enough with the camber I have.

DaewooOfDeath wrote: It all depends. In my personal taste, most vintage muscle cars look really good with 17-18 inch wheels. For a large car, that 17-18 inch zone seems like a sweet spot. For a smaller car, it seems to me like 15 inches is a sweet spot.

This is where you and I disagree. That green Charger looks horrible. Absolutely disgusting.

It needs slot mags, 14" on the front and 15" on the rear. From recent experience, this is the perfect wheel combo for the 68-70 Charger.

For muscle cars... skinny 15s for the front and the widest 15s for the rear for the hot rod/dragster look. Nascar style wheel/tire all around for the road racer/ trans am look. For compact cars... no bigger than 15s but I prefer 13s.

I think the key is to fill the wheelwell. Newer car have bigger, downright huge in some cases, fenderwells that need a bigger wheel/tire combo it "fit". Over all I like to see more side wall given the choice. Filling the well width wise is just as important as front to back. This is where most factory pkgs fail, they're too narrow.

curtis73 wrote: I'm a big fan of *proper* sizing. My E30 had 15" Momos and everyone kept saying... "that needs some 18s, man." No thank you, its skittish enough with the camber I have.

I agree with you there. My Ti is on 17inchers and I have NO urge to go to 18 or 19 like I see on some E36ers

ProDarwin wrote: I'm a fan of wheels that facilitate the purchase of cheap, wide performance tires. I.E. 17" wheels on anything with a ~25" tire, 15" wheels on anything with a 23" tire, etc.

To that end, nothing pisses me off more than a car that came with 23.5-24" tire.

Also funny, though... My 1990 MX6 wears 17s, and it looks.... "right."

I've come to the conclusion that most cars look best with about 2.5" - 3" of sidewall. Any less winds up looking like rubber bands, and any more makes the tire look like a balloon.

92CelicaHalfTrac wrote:

ProDarwin wrote: I'm a fan of wheels that facilitate the purchase of cheap, wide performance tires. I.E. 17" wheels on anything with a ~25" tire, 15" wheels on anything with a 23" tire, etc.

To that end, nothing pisses me off more than a car that came with 23.5-24" tire.

Yeah, I know the feeling... I've played with Saturns a lot. They come with a 195/60-15. So do some 240s and older Imprezas. And integras. Just pick the closest size that fits well.