Richie2garage

johnckeen

I went from OEM 16 to OEM 17 and the car was more planted, less skittish with the extra width and on track you could carry much more speed and trail break with more control.

Would get an alignment done after fitting just to make sure its spot on.

Chuck S

OEM 17" wheels bolt right on and the lower profile tires used with them were intended to do what John just mentioned. Assuming you're running good performance tires.

-- Chuck

Richie2garage

Nottm_S2

The 17 wheels are heavier i believe so will probably increase unsprung mass which would lower grip on our less than utterrly shit roads

They do increase feel with less give in tyres imho

They look good

ultimately it's a personal choice

DanielB

Pay attention to the tread width up front as going wider will affect steering feel. The differences are not huge, but noticeable. I used to run the OEM 16" rims on the street and OEM 17" on the track. I noticed a small reduction in steering feel every time I switched to the track setup. The difference isn't large and without doing a back to back, it might not be noticeable. But thought I'd point that out.

If you do want to pay attention to this, pay attention to the tread width, not just the tire size. Some tire models are relatively narrow for a given stated tire width and others are wide. E.g. The Firestone 500 is rather narrow vs. the stated size as opposed to the Hankook RS-4 which is on the wide size. You can find these numbers on the tirerack.com website.

andy2000

I went from OEM 16s to OEM 17s some years back. I cant recall noticing any significant difference. straight swap with no suspension adjustment needed.

IMHO they look better and also give a wider choice of tyre options.

A word of caution, some insurance companies would consider this to be a modification, which might cause problems if you make a claim and haven't told them. I told mine, no extra cost but at least they won't now be able to refuse a potential claim.

CynicG

This is a good point as cost wise you can pick up 4 x 16s for around a ton or less. No chance of that with 17's so there is a cost implications as well as modification to consider. But Andy's the underwriter so worth listening too.

SuperHamz

Definitely a marked improvement getting 17's over 16's and insurance are okay as long as you tell them - along with alignment, get your bushes done if you've not already done them

DanielB

My apologies if I offend anyone, but I have to disagree. If you keep the same type of tire and just change from 16" to 17", I think you'll notice a difference, but it won't be large. Most people upgrade to a more aggressive tire when when they upgrade wheels and equate the performance improvement with the change in diameter.

To be clear, I'm not advising against the upgrade, just want to set expectations. I personally prefer the look of the 17" wheels with slightly wider tires but like the steering feel that comes from the lighter and narrower 16" front wheels. Like everything else, there are tradeoffs and you have to choose what matters most to you.