I’m looking for technical help or recommendations on: 17 vs 18 inch wheels
Im interested in other people’s experiences fitting 18" wheels to their NC.
I had RX8 wheels on my NC with 225/35 tyres. The tyres were only £55 each. It did feel like it was wearing steel toecap boots because the alloys are much heavier.
Switching back to the standard 17" wheels with good tyres, £90 each, the level of grip and cornering speeds are so much lower. I’m getting undsteer where there was none with the bigger wheels. It feels much less planted and more skittish.
Does this match other’s experience?
Any recommendations for light and cheap new or second hand 18" wheels?
I suspect the choice of tyre is more likely to explain the difference. Smaller wheels and tyres often feel better - reduction in unsprung weight and less tramlining.
Not sure when you have been experiencing understeer , Road or track … but I would guess that like been mentioned tire choice and suspension setup and alignment to be the biggest factor that could be masked by bigger rubber . Never experienced under steer on my road MX-5 even on track and even on 3 wheels . The stock 17” sport wheels are 7.7kg and are hard to beat without spending lots of money and in the pic I am running 205s ….
I’m fortunate to live in the middle of nowhere with very tight and technical well sighted country roads.
It gets driven very hard.OE pads are lasting 18k on average and rear tyres 15k.
I guess i was suprised how much more confidence the bigger wheels give. Admittedly it doesn’t flow as well. You have to manage mass more and set the car up more for a corner. Akin to larger big power rwd cars owned previously.
But then you can really lean on it and it just seems to dig in harder.
Sorry, nothing personal , and I know everyone says it but 'technical ’ when applied to bends alway makes me smile.It makes slow corners sound as if they demand huge skill.
I’ve run on 18" wheels since 2013. Lowered suspension, road race set up, very hard driving and have been more than happy with the handling. I only did it for looks but not disappointed.
