Hi all. I have a base Fit and am thinking of getting OEM 15 inch alloy wheels to replace the stock 14 inch steels. From what I have gathered, the pros and cons of doing this swap are:

Pros:
Bling factor (The plastic hubcaps are very annoying)
Lighter wheels (Better MPG? Faster Acceleration?)
Wider tires (better handling)

Cons:
Wider tires (more resistance, less MPG)
Less side wall (bumpier ride)
Larger tire diameter (Slower Acceleration?)
Less overall MPG.

Are there other things that I missed? Is my logic correct?

 

Your pros are all true. Your cons are either moot, untrue, or differences imperceptible. IMO.

 

whoa another san diego fit. i see a bunch on the forum...but rarely see fits around town.

i agree with the guy above me..your cons are iffy to me. i mean i can grip better which means faster acceleration. and less side wall doesnt really mean a more bumpier ride. and to me a 2-3 mpg difference sacrifice for better handling and performance. ill take that any day.

you handle like crap with 14" rims, becuase your side wall is really big. and with 15's they look decent on the car, especially the stock 15's for some reason.

go get some ls meshies or si rims. those would look good on fits.

steelies give very little air to the breaks, when i ran 14" steelies i could tell my breaks heated up faster then when i had my ls meshies on.

you will be happier with 15"s

 

The alloys are heavier than the steelies and the tires on the 15s will be most likely heavier than the 14s; therefore, your mpgs will go down.

 

If Honda can list both the Base and Sport models as the same MPG, then I'm sure the differences between the two wheels are so small that to complain about the difference would just be nitpicking.

 

It made a 2mpg for me. I dont know if that it nitpicky or not, but that's why I sold them.

 

Ive honestly never noticed a difference in MPG with my Fit when I swap wheels. Until recently.
Ive been on my lighter 14inch wheels for a little while now and my MPG has actually gone down. My last tank was 30mpg. I calculated it and was in shock. I think it was just a bad tank though. I decided to beat the poop out of this tank. So far so good. 120miles and Im just getting to 3/4 tank.

 

Thanks for the input. I guess there isn't a consensus on the MPG issue. I am inclined to believe 15'' alloys will give less mpg. Handling improvement sound like a nice bonus, but I do not drive aggressively; the car isn't pushed too hard on the corners; I probably won't notice.

I always just assumed that the base wheels were heavier than the sports (bad assumption, thanks smeister). Mx6GT89, what was your mpg with your larger, heavier wheels? Could it be different driving weather or less air in tires? I would hope that the mpg differs very little. The EPA's rating on the base and sport models differ by 1 mpg on the highway. This difference is probably largely due to the body kit on the sport, so this thread is most likely much ado about nothing.

Now for the 15''s, I love the SI rims found on the 99-00 civic SIs and 2003 civic EX coupes. I see them on Hondas everywhere. I need to find a used set around me for cheap. I think the LS meshes are kinda ugly.