17's, what is the TRUTH !!!!!!

[Ric 16v]

I'v heard many of people say that 17's on a nova are shit and the handling is crap, and alot of people say that 16's are also shit coz the handling is crap as well so whats going on like !!!!!!! I would have thought a wide wheel i.e. 7.0" would be good for the handling but as some people say it isn't, so whats going on is 17's better or 16's ????? I'm wanting 17's for my car and I'm not 100% convinced they are going to be good on the car, what do you recon ?????????? cheers

[Breeny]

17's = crap handling and good top speed

15's = good handling and good acceleration

16's = in between, a compromise

This should really be in styling but i can't be arsed to move it lol

Ive got 17's on mine cos I don't really race on the roads (in looking at 9 points on my license oops) but i also have a set of 14" Astra gte rims for messing about on track days and 1/4 mile sprints.

[dan16v]

sorry but i dont agree! :(
my 15s were ok for acceleration not to good for corners
my 16s are the same due to the width still being 195
my 17s wernt to good for acceleration but grip/handling was amazin if n e of my m8s post on here they will say my car was mad on 205s there was no real limit to grip as aposed to 16s which feel abit twitchy to me?? :o

[Breeny]

You put the same brand tyres on 15's and 17's i can guarantee the 15's will handle better.

In principle what i said what correct, there are a lot of other factors that determine grip, suspension and tyres being the major deciding factors.

[Ben (lurk75)]

I agree with Breeny

Also with 17"s you lose a lot of your lock, If you want 205 tyres you can also put these onto 15"s and 16"s

I would go for 16"s as this is a happy medium.

[djp_y2k]

go for 16's. They will look cool and handle well.

I never had any problems with the way 16's handled. I couldnt tell the difference between the handling of mine on 16's, and my mates on 15's.

The only difference I did find was acceleration. quicker on 15's, but thats obvious.

[dan16v]

i still think 17s arnt half as bad as peps say my 17s rubbed less than my 49mm speedlines the 17s were 45mm offset i think thats a better off set than 49 aswell
but yea id go 16s my m8s sri is on astra sxi rims i thought they were 17s at first! and the run five n a half j i think in stead of my speedlines which run 6j?? or is it six n a half? ne way they rub alot less!

[Will]

16s is a good compromise for sure, i have 7x16 dropped 60mm on a et49 offset, looks good handles well, just runs slower than 14s/15s, doesnt help with my engine either which will be changed soon with a bit of luck, u can get 17s on yes, but even with rolled front and rear arches its gona be fun on the fronts, aint it breeny ;) and having spent hrs in breenys car i can say it does handle a bit poo, but the car does look the dogs :D check it out at weston :)

Its your call, wot do u want? handling/speed or looks, if you want both thats 16s, if u want handling and speed 15s and if u want looks 17s, there u go in a nut shell :D

[Rich Dale]

If you want proof as to what size wheels/tyres are best for handling, just look at what they use in motorsport......no larger than 15's on Novas 'cos anything larger fucks things up.

[JOEFISH]

15'' are the only wheel that fits a nova properly. Yes U can get 16'' and 17'' with proper offsets but your car is higher and unstable. Tip: 15'' rims and drop the bitch

[wizz kid]

will 17s go on with out arch mods i know they will rub but will it be to much

[Ben (lurk75)]

if you dont like taking passengers! or you wont be able to turn the wheel on full lock.

[Anonymous]

17 inch wheels with give worse acceleration due to the extra weight and diameter.
also will adversely effect your braking, and will ruin the handling.

ultimate corner speeds will be good, but they will react more violently to bumps in the road etc, handling and corner speed are NOT the same thing.

Top speed will be reduced as well, the bigger tyre contact patch causes more drag, only time they will icnrease your top speed is if your car is too low geared to begin with, which isnt a problem with novas generally, in fact, quite the opposite!

For example a 1.3 SR on 17" rims will be unable to use 5th gear at all to accelerate practically.

Chip

[nova dosed]

I found that on my 1.2 15's were amazing on 195/45/15 dropped 60mm the handling was spot on and i noticed no difference in acceleration go for them. I also found fire stone were good tyres not brill in the wet but stuck to the road in dry and were pretty reliable