thinking to go from 16 to 17 rims
 

lately I've been thinking to go from 16 to 17 rims... have some considerations though let me know what you think, especially if you also switched..

1. Weight-mpg? -total weight rim-tire should I try to keep aprox same as with current 16SEsports.. dont want to add much as it may hurt mpg? or would it be a minute difference so I shouldnt go crazy about it?

2. Tachometer? how much of a change there... right now on speeds up to 80's I see same on tach as with my GPS no variance..

3. drive comfort... I dont suppose much change there going from 215/55/16 to 215/50/17 - 50 is still not so much low profile to add harsness (I do like a responsive drive anyway)

4. prone to bents, tire issues, balance issues... -might be more prone to such issues from road imperfections?

5. note sure what else... except that I cant decide on a rim/tire combo... (well without breaking the bank!)

I don't think you would have any issues going to a 215/50/17. As long as the tire is comparable to the stock tires in size and diameter, there should be little to no variance in tachometer or speedometer. Weight should be also negligable going from 16 to 17, more wheel less tire it is almost a wash. A cheap route is to find someone selling there stock 17's on here or craigslist. A lot of times you can get both tires and wheels for $500-800.

I'm planning on doing the same. I'm going to find 17s that are hopefully around 18 pounds. Lighter if I can find them. I had a cheap set of Rota Slipstream knockoffs running a 50 profile tire. I never had an issue with bending and I lived in a pothole filled city. The 16" SE Sport wheels are kind of heavy. Somewhere around 22 or 24 pounds each.

There's virtually no difference from going from 16" to 17" and there's still plenty of tire sidewall around the rim to withstand an occasional curb jump or pothole. The SE sport wheels actually only weighed in at 19lbs.

It's mostly an aesthetic mod and it does help the look and gas mileage doesn't seemed to be affected.

The day we brought it home
http://i206.photobucket.com/albums/b...2/P1020616.jpg

Original set that we had an issue with one wheel and since had been discontinued.....
http://i206.photobucket.com/albums/b.../kayscar11.jpg

....then the set we settled on as the replacement. It seems the black wheels make the size look smaller and slightly prefer the gunmetal but the black is growing on me.
http://i206.photobucket.com/albums/b...psb7056860.jpg

Hey, Ron, did you get that 19 pound weight on your own? I either saw it on the Ford site or fordparts.com at the weight I mentioned. If they truly are only 19 pounds I honestly don't see a reason I need to upgrade.

I weighed the wheels alone personally on a trusted scale when I was selling them and needed a shipping weight.

Great! Thanks for the info. +1 rep to you.

19 pounds for the 16 stock rim not bad..! I'll try to get 17's close to same weight or less if not very expensive...

I vaguely recall reading in one of the threads about steering rack problems that someone found different part numbers for either the steering rack or its control unit for different trim levels (different wheel sizes). The reason I remember it is that it sounded so outrageous -- I thought "interchangeability of parts" made the industrial revolution possible -- but it's not totally unbelievable. Maybe some slight variation the different wheel/tire makes in handling would have to be accounted for in software or offset by mechanical differences somewhere else. (The same might be true for springs/dampers vs wheel sizes.)

I'm sorry I can't remember it more clearly or point to the post, but my browser history has stopped working so I'd have to search for it from scratch. I don't know how much effort it's worth but if you can't find it then asking a dealer service manager might be worth the peace of mind. (One guy had a dealer tell him they wouldn't repair a defective power window because the tint he had added made it thicker and heavier.) Unless you do all your own maintenance/repairs it might be worth a little to look into it. If you ever had problems with the steering (or who knows what) it would be no fun to have a dealer tell you they wouldn't repair it because the wheels aren't original.

BTW, I'd vote for the black ones. I think gray centers look slightly better than black with Red Candy Metallic, but they both look pretty good and the spoke pattern on the black one is less busy (easier to clean). Black centers also stand out from the crowd a bit more now that the fashion in OEM wheels seems to be shifting from shiny silver to gray ('13 Focus SE appearance package, Lexus IS 350 F Sport, Acura TL, ...). Too bad the 17" black/machined wheels Ford sells are so overpriced if purchased separately. They look great, are not something you see everywhere you look, and Ford couldn't complain about their specs or quality causing problems. (They also look like they shouldn't be too heavy, but not sure about that.)

The Ti with 18 inch wheels has a different rack. It has some sort of limiting feature to keep the larger wheels from rubbing when turned to extreme. I have read where some that went up to 18's on cars that cam with 16's and 17's have experienced some rubbing when at the turn limits.