18 INCH Wheels Fans

How can you compare a BMW with 18's to a Prius with 18's? They will be nothing alike. I recently had a Z4 Sport, but that doesn't mean a thing. The suspensions are worlds apart. The Prius with 17's is as rough or worse than my BMW was.

 

I ditched my TRD 18"s (225/40/18) because of their weight. they looked great, but they were 25lbs unmounted, and closer to 45-50lbs mounted. handling improved, but at the cost of acceleration and an increased braking distance. The mpg dropped a whopping 7 mpg (averaged over a couple tanks and regular driving). The prius just doesnt have enough power under the hood to negate large amounts of unsprung weight (unsprung weight has a greater affect on a car's handling than the equivelant weight sitting inside the car cabin)

my opinion:
18"s are for looks, unless you can afford a set of 18"s that are as light as/lighter than stock (stock prius 15"s weigh something like 15lbs unmounted). So, If you can live with the trade off, then cool....for me, I'm going to save up for some SSR type F 16's (11.6 lbs unmounted). they don't look terribly uncool, and I'd much rather have some sport looking rims and a quicker car, than a slower car that looks (subjectively) cooler...
the type F 17"s are 15lbs, but if im gonna pay that much for wheels, i'd like a performance boost too.

 

The third gen prius has a big body so 18's would look really good. Robert on this forum has 18's and his car rocks! With that in mind, if you really like 18's go for it... If performance and MPG come into play get a lighter set of 18's.... Goodluck

 

I'm with you with the big wheels thing.... I've got 21"s on my M5. Although they're heavy, I've got more than enough power to negate the weight disadvantage.

However on the Prius, there's no way I would run something a lot heavier than the stock setup. Since the Scion tC has similar offsets you can look them up on Tire Rack. I guess the OEM 17" wheels on the V weigh around 23 lbs (not exactly sure) I would want to stay under that. I'm thinking about sub 18lbs and running thinner tires, 205s or even 195 if the wheel is narrow enough.

Problem is that the Prius is the wife's car and I'm not sure she'll appreciate me modding it more than the HID kit.

 

I am looking to change out my 17's which have already been done once when it comes time to replace the tires. I replaced the factory 17's with some Enkei EKM3's which are 4lbs. lighter than factory. I am up in the air between 18"-19" wheels. They will be expensive being I will only go with something that is lightweight. Am very seriously considering Advans or something of the like. You just need to be smart about your choice and be willing to pay for it.

 

Shawn, did you notice any difference in acceleration and braking distance with the lighter wheels? What are your overall impressions comparing lighter wheels vs stock ?

 

I'm sure you can get 18s without much of a performance hit if you are willing to spend the money.

The 15" Yokohama weigh 18lbs on 14 lb stock rims for a total of 32lb with a tread width of 5.7". I put on motegi sp10 weighing 17lbs with continental 205/50R17 20lb tires weighing a total of 37lbs with a tread width of 7". The stock V tires and wheels weigh 44lbs with a tread width of 7.2". I'm sure you can get 18s with less weight than the stock V wheels and tires, the tread width will be 8.2" so they will have a bigger contact patch and higher rolling resistance.

 

I would say there was a slight change in acceleration for the better. I mean 16lbs. total isn't a huge amount off the rotational weight, but I am completely happy with the way my car accelerates and that's after coming from a 375hp Camaro SS that I had done work to before I got rid of it. It doesn't accelerate like the SS did, but I was pleasantly surprised how well my little Prius moves. Never worried about getting on the freeway, passing someone etc. The new wheels once I switch to 18's after these tires are done are less than 17lbs. Advan RZ's. I'm sure there I will definitely notice a difference.

 

It's not just the unsprung weight but also the design of the wheels that impact fuel economy. Some posters with 17"/18" rims that are lighter but less aerodynamic compared to factory 17" have reported getting bigger mpg hit than stock level V.

 

Yours looks like I want mine to look--size relationship of body to wheels much better than stock. Would the 18s from a Lexus RX work?

 

Also don't forget that where the weight is located will make a big difference in acceleration/braking, too.

Even if the 15" and 18" wheel have the same overall weight, the 18" wheel will have a lot more weight farther away from the center of the wheel, so it will still "feel" heavier.

Same for tires - a 23 lb 15" tire will "feel" a lot lighter than a 23 lb 18" tire because the weight will be closer to the center of rotation.

 

What about issues with un even tire wear with 18 inch wheels?
Will you need an aftermarket camber kit when putting 18 inch wheels on the 3rd gen prius?