Im interested in getting rims very soon. But i don't know what size to get. I am currently on stock springs with amuse lip and AW side skirts. Would 18's raise my car up a little bit? Or would it sustain it's current height?

I kind of want 17's cause it is somewhat a little cheaper and tires are also a little less expensive.

What do you guys recommend on stock springs? 17's or 18's?

 

The diameter of the 17" and 18" is the same as the OE 16". All that changes is the hole in the middle of the tire gets bigger. As far as which one to get that would be your decision. I actually like both. The 17" would give better ride quality.
If I can help let me know.

Jim 877-522-8473-364

 

Jim, I don't think there are any 18" tires available that match the diameter of the stock tires. Everything is bigger than stock, so going with 18" will:

Give you less punch due to taller gear ratio
Raise your center of gravity
Rub on the fenders more
Increase the weight of the wheel/tire, more sprung weight

Additionally, there are no 18" front tires that offer as narrow of a contact patch as the stock tires. The specified sizes may look similar, but the actual contact patch of all 18" tires that fit is wider than stock. So, you will end up with more steering. Which, on the S2000 is usually an oversteer condition unless you run stiffer front springs and/or a stiffer front sway bar.

I started with 16", tried 18", then went to 17". 18's look great, but mine rubbed and made my car feel slower. 17" delivers the best all around package.

 

17" if you're interested in a wider range of tires available AND a wider rim/tire footprint. 17" tires are also cheaper and because the sidewall will be larger, they protect your rim from things like potholes and bricks more than 18s.

18" if you're either interested in better looks and/or if you're looking at putting slicks on your car (there's more R compund choices available in 18s than 17s).

With that said, rims are only part of the equation. If you bolt on 18s and put, say a 255/50-18 on the back, then yeah, what S2KA says is true. But if you went with the recommended profile for 18s (225/40-18 and 245 or 255/35-18s) your overall diameter would be the same as stock.

The stock 225 SO2 is actually a 245 and has an overall diameter of 24.8 inches. A 245/40-17 Kumho MX, interestingly enough, also has an overall dia. of 24.8"--identical to stock. A 255/35-18 Kumho ASX has an overall diameter of 25". The latter will raise your overall gear ratio, but unless you have scientific instruments, you'll never know. The tire--not the rim--determines the overall diameter of the wheel.

The real issue with larger rims is that larger rims have a greater moment of inertia. In short, the weight of, say, a 15" rim and a 20" rim may be the same. And to carry both rims across the room would require the same amount of work. However, if you were to roll them, the 20" rim has more weight at a farther distance from the center of the rim (10" vs. 7.5") and would take more work to move. The closer the weight is to the center of rotation the faster it spins (which is why ice skaters speed up when they bring their arms in close).

Hit up Tirerack for your rims/tires or buy tires there and pick up some lightweight volks in the group buy section (evo s2000).

 

Wow, thank you guys so much for the great info and the examples that went along with it.

I now have my mine set on 17's.

Thanks A LOT!

 

Actually the stock 17" RE050 rear tires are now 24.6" and most 18" 255/35 tires are over 25". Doesn't sound like much, but I could feel my car lose acceleration even though my 18" forged wheels were the same weight as the stockers. Your drive ratio ends up being 2% to 3% taller than stock. 4.44 rear end gears are 8% shorter than stock, and you can definitely feel those when you install them. With as little torque as our cars have, small changes make a big difference.

255/35/18 on left, stock on the right: