Are the differences between 15" and 17" rims significant?

[Revo513]

As above.. are the differences really significant in terms of

 

- fuel consumption

- noise

- pick up speed

- comfort

 

asking this question cos scared might have a rough ride with the sports mazda 3 that comes with 17" rims. personally havent drove a car with 17" rims before

[Mk1gti]

- fuel consumption (goes UP)

- noise (level goes UP)

- pick up speed (SLOWER)

- comfort (level goes down by a bit)

[Revo513]

yar i know ...but what i really want to know is.. is it SIGNIFICANT? that means will the driver feel the difference easily? or dun really feel any difference at all?

hmm

[S2P2]

if this is the first time you are driving this new car, how to feel the diff with nothing to compare? unless you are driving it now on a 15' then decide to go 17' then you will feel it what.....

[Skywalker]

There are always difference as I had experienced changing from 15" to 17".

 

1. Fuel Consumption - slightly more, around 10-20km less per tank due to more surface contact & resistant between tyres & road surface thus need more power to move the car.

2. Noise - noisier due to thinner wall (less rubber), less absorption. Whether or not you use the most quiet tyre available it does not help a lot, other than wearing ear plug

3. Pickup speed - refer to point 1.

4. Comfort - refer to point 2.

 

But the good points are better appearance of your car and better handling & stability.

[Skywalker]

The best way to compare is to test drive a car with 15" and one with 17" to feel the different at least on noise, pickup & comfort. Fuel consumption have to complete a full tank to compare.

[Revo513]

yah la.. the car haven arrive yet so as u said nothing to compare lor, but just wanna ask the experts here mah.. hehe

[Virus]

[reply]

yar i know ...but what i really want to know is.. is it SIGNIFICANT? that means will the driver feel the difference easily? or dun really feel any difference at all?

 

Personally upgrade 15" to 17". Feel different in slower pickp, but cornering more stable (less body-roll). As for FC, in fact mine was improved. (maybe my 17" is lighter than previous 15" )

 

As for noise, it will depend on the tire used, not the rim size. For comfort, slighty harder ride (very very little).

[S2P2]

difference certainly have lah. but significant or not it all depends mah......if i drive a very powerful car from 15 to 17 i may say not significant mah....anyway, since yours is 17 stock, you can be sure you dunno the diff since never drive on a 15 before...comparing car to car. btw, make sure they set you speedo right, dun afterwards your speedo show salah speed

[Mk1gti]

All said and done, would highly recommend 17s on the M3 together with the bodykit. Chio bu!!!

 

FC goes up and comfort level decrease but they are only a small increase or decrease. It depends on individual preferance though.

 

But high speed stability , cornering and attraction factor .

 

[Soya]

how significant is actually quite subjective as we all hv different level of tolerance. but based on my own experience, did a +2 rim upgrade on a 1.6 b4 and would say the diff is certainly noticible. more drag, noise, comfort take a backseat (ride more jiggly), and FC goes up abt 5-10%. but on the plus side, handling is sharper, steering feedback is better and looks . if the plus points is wat u r looking for, you've hv no regrets. otherwise, save the money and stick to 15".

[Revo513]

hmm .. thicker tyres will have a more comfortable ride?

[Revo513]

hmm..anyway to check if the speedo is set correctly with respect to rim size?

[S2P2]

tell your SE to set it.

[Mk1gti]

Thicker tyres in terms of side profile or thread width??

 

Thicker side profile, Yes.

 

Thicker thread width, No.

 

But a thicker side profile on 17s is not recommended when it is bigger than the stated recommended profile.

 

195/65/15 can upgrade to 225/45/17.

 

Going any bigger than 45 on 17s will upset your speedo reading.

 

Edited February 19, 2004 by Mk1gti

[Eddieang]

yes, having a bigger wheel would means you travel longer distance per RPM, may be looking and lead to wrong calculation on FC & speed.

 

Better to recalibrate the meter after the change, otherwise kanna caught by speed camera also don't know why.

[S2P2]

tell him lah....i already very happy with my stock 16 lah

[Revo513]

Actually, test drove the MZ3 basic sedan (15") and the MZ3 luxury sedan(16") and found that not much difference at all. In fact, i felt that the 15" gave me a harder ride than the 16".. perhaps the roads in Ubi are more unfrenly than Henderson roads . Hope that the sports (17") won't give me too much headache..