Downsizing to 17s

[derbo]

derbo, what are you lowered on?

Ground control coilovers.

[YoRuddy]

Do you give up a lot of handling responsiveness with 17's? What are the main benefits of smaller diameter rims?

[zj96sc]

my main driving desires to pick up 17s (arc-8s in particular) are lower unsprung, much cheaper tires, and more sidewall to absorb crappy roads. beyond that, aesthetically i personally prefer the look of more meaty tires and sidewall, but that's not really why i'm interested in doing it.

[derbo]

less weight overall per rim, and cheaper tires are my main goals for downsizing.

[yura]

Interesting thread. My OZ Ultraleggeras are in pretty rough shape, so I might also look into downsizing to 17's once those tires are worn out...

[acontzhp]

less weight overall per rim, and cheaper tires are my main goals for downsizing.

+1

[M0nk3y]

less weight overall per rim, and cheaper tires are my main goals for downsizing.

Moment of Inertia fun!

[zj96sc]

my main driving desires to pick up 17s (arc-8s in particular) are lower unsprung, much cheaper tires, and more sidewall to absorb crappy roads. beyond that, aesthetically i personally prefer the look of more meaty tires and sidewall, but that's not really why i'm interested in doing it.

by unsprung i mean.........sprung.

derp.

[MisterMotorist]

Somewhere in the weeds in my backyard are about 9 17x8.5 ACS Type III wheels off of my E36 M3 (r.i.p.). When I find some time, I am going to root through them and see if I have 4 good ones and I will try running a square setup. I have been thinking about this for a while - does anyone have pics of a 330 Ci with ACS Type III fitment?

[zhp43867]

I ran 17s for a while (Kosei K1s), and I still do for winter (M68s). I think they look a little too small on the E46. The Koseis were fun but you can find 18s that are light as well: the ARC-8 in 18", some of the BBS wheels (RG-R), OZ, Volk, and the Sportline CSL Replicas all come to mind right off the bat. The ZHP is about the whole package, and going to 17s sacrifices some of the aesthetic portion of that.