I agree that you can definitely feel the difference. Instantly. I mean, in an Impreza you can easily feel when one tyre is 2psi down.

What I was trying to say though was that as going for larger wheels increases the overall weight, and therefore reduces acceleration slightly, was the cornering benefit worthwhile on normal roads.

p.s. Tanstaafl - Obviously I was destined to be in that top 2%, only an evil troll swapped me at birth for someone named McRae. Life just ain't fair.

What I was trying to say though was that as going for larger wheels increases the overall weight, and therefore reduces acceleration slightly

not if the 17 is lighter than the 16 =]

matt: who makes those rims?? never seen a design like that before.

http://www.usacomp.com/th2.htm

Compomotive TH220

I really should get some new wheels for my cougar... I need snow tires first tho... I wish I could have afforded a WRX, I bet those go great in snow. $5k more than I paid for my cougar though. The next car (5 years from now when my warenty is up) will be something like a WRX, A4 quatro, or a 325ix. 5 years is a long way off...

It's not just the weight though, but the location of the weight. Different designs - spokes vs. mags, etc. - will affect the location of the mass in the wheel itself. You could have a 16 pound 16" wheel with most of it's mass at the outer edges, and a 20 pound 18" wheel with most of it's bulk near the axle. The heavier wheel (due to the distance of the mass from the center) may very well be easier to spin.

matt: who makes those rims?? never seen a design like that before.

ain't they sweet?

they are Compomotive TH2 1775 $360 a piece.

Oh please God, or Santa, or whoever, please bring me these wheels...

Sure... and then you can enjoy spending an hour every Saturday morning with a toothbrush scrubbing brake dust off of 480 discrete surfaces. (20 spokes, each split into an inner and an outer portion, three visible faces on each spoke, 4 wheels.)

No thanks... I'll stick with my nice chrome 5-spokers.

tanstaafl.