lol me too, if i had a fit i'd totally drop 1600 on em.......

 

I am so tight with money, my wallet squeaks when I open it.... I still think that getting lighter wheels for a car with limited power and torque is money well spent. It will also make your brakes, steering and suspension last longer.

 

^^ I agree. I am so pro-Rota I can't even see straight. Yeah, if someone gave me some Volks, Gabs, Advans...I'd take them. But for the money, Rota's just can't be beat, imo. (and I've ran 4 sets of them on previous cars)

 

Rota wheels got a bad rap when some racers had them tweak out of shape on the track..... That was a long time ago and the company has been producing a much better product since..... Racers tweak wheels all of the time regardless of the brand anyway.... It is cheaper to replace them than suspension or drive train components that would be damaged if the wheels didn't bend or break and transferred the shock of an impact...... Rota wheels are some of the best looking for sure.

 

Lol! Looks like I started a mini wheel/tire debate! Hey... don't start no $h!t now!

I've been looking at wheels/tires so much lately I get run over in my dreams!

Seems every wheel I like is over $180.00. The Volk-Ray's, etc. seemed to catch my eye from the beginning, but I just can't justify going that route at this time, unfortunately. If I go that direction right after buying a new car I will probably give my wife a financial-caused coronary at a young age! So I'll have to compromise, and let all of you "brand-name-only" tuners make fun of me while I pass by on the street.

Funny thing about that. My wife and I were going into a local choke-and-puke recently - because there wasn't anything else open at the time (Waffle House). There were a group of tuner wanna-bees standing near the door when we walked by. One of them (leaning on his car) watched a guy with a Civic and new wheels drive up, and made fun of the new wheels because they were a "cheaper" brand. Hey, they looked nice to me!

What's so funny about this? The guy's car (the guy running his mouth) looked as if his front fenders would fall off anytime, looked as if he badly spray painted the car flat-black with a can of Krylon, no front bumper/grill/etc., and his wheels were a set of rusting/corroding steelies! And this guy is ragging on someone else's new "cheap" wheels? Even my wife said, "Is he kidding?" Lol!

I appreciate all of the advice... both expensive and "cheap" advice. It's all welcomed to this newbie. Fact is, I wish money were no object. I wish I could go out right after delivery of my 2010 GE and load it up with everything my heart desires and eyes delight in, but I can't. So I'm being as "careful" as I can about my purchases. Plus, I want to keep my wife healthy and financially stable!

To answer the "all season" question. I usually go with all seasons because it seems to be the best of both worlds. We don't get constant snow where I'm at, but the fact is we do get it... and sometimes we actually get plastered by it. Someone mentioned keeping my stock wheels/tires for winter and using my new ones for good weather. If I were going to do that wouldn't I be better off putting better winter-rated tires on the stock rims? The stock tires on Honda Fits don't strike me as being particularly great in wintery driving conditions! I'm just sayin'...

I'm going to have to go the "cheaper" route for wheels. If I do wheels right away, the main reason is to get something as light as possible on the car, for all the right reasons. Still, whatever I get has to look good or it's not worth it to begin with.

Thanks for all of the replies and opinions. I'm still contemplating, and the forum "debates" help a lot.

Carry on!

 

Wise decision. +rep for that.

 

I couldn't let such great reasoning and entertaining a post go without a rep either.

 

totally reasonable, can't fault you for that.....although i'm still getting wheels that are worth more than the car when i get my crx

 

All this talk about cheap wheels making me want to buy some lol. Umm anyone know a good site where I can see the selection for rota's?? I saw a thread a WHiLE back and this guy had Rotas that looked like the Volk's RE30's. Anyone know the name of the Rota version??

 

Try www.thewheeldude.com

They've gotten a good rep and have good selection.

 

ooo Thank you. I've seen that same guy on a Mazda forum defending Rotas.

Why ROTA Wheels?

Don't believe the negative hype about Rotas!!!!!

On another note, what size rims should I get if I'm going to drop my Fit on T1R-S Coil Springs?

 

There is a discussion about that on the wheel and tire thread right now..... There doesn't seem to be as much room in the wheel wells on the GEs as on the GDs so 7" rims will need less offset with drop.

 

Do you think +45 would do it?? 17x7.5+45 with 205/40/17 tires? All confusing to me I need to read more about tires and rims tomorrow..

 

Get whatever offset you want. If it rubs then it rubs. I don't get why people think it damages the car or whatever they think. Its just... rubbing. I had low offset wheels on my previous cars, which rubbed all the time. Never had a problem. Just turn the radio up, or if it really bothers you take 5 minutes to roll your fenders. The looks are worth it, when all you have to deal with is minor noise when you take 90 degree turns at 60 mph.

 

As for tires, if you want to keep the speedometer as accurate as possible, you would need 205/45/17. You could go with a 205/40/17 which has a smaller diameter, so it will improve acceleration. Although the smaller sidewall will reduce comfort a good amount, and your speedo will be slightly off, probably 4% at most.

I recommend getting the 205/45/17 tires so you won't feel every bump on the road. Just make sure that whatever wheel you go with, that it is significantly lighter than the stock wheel which is about 17 lbs I believe. If you get a heavier wheel, and a wider and taller tire, your car will be extremely slower. Not only that but your mpg will decrease, as well as handling and braking.

Generally you would lose mpg anyways since the tire your choosing has more contact patch than the 185 tire, but like I said as long as you get a good lightweight wheel you will counter act that loss. The lightweight wheel will improve acceleration, braking, handling, and fuel economy.

Also your handling should improve drastically since the stock tires are so crappy and skinny. Check out Tire Rack - Your performance experts for tires and wheels for reviews on certain tires to find the right one for you. Pick a good summer tire with a good balance of performance, comfort, and wear. Get a good lightweight 17" wheel and you'll be set.

 

There were a lot of guys that wet to 17' wheels back in 2006 on the GDs and there were a lot of them that downsized after they realized what a drain on acceleration and braking they caused...... The primary reason larger wheels are used on high performance cars are to clear the huge brakes that are necessary during fast driving as on a race track..... The reason taller wheels are disproportionately heavier than a shorter wheel is the taller wheels are structurally weaker and have to be built heavier with more metal to increase strength and then there is a larger job for the brakes. ...... A stock Fit with dropped suspension and over sized wheels and tires is just mimicking the looks of performance cars in appearance and in reality hurting the inherit performance nature of the car for a cosmetic image..... Reducing unsprung weight, rolling resistance, and rotating mass, is a much better thing to do to increase performance..... Lowering a car makes it look great, no one can deny that but again it is an image thing unless you drive on flat smooth roads, and don't enter driveways, drive over speed bumps or drive fast around corners with bumps in it that use up the reduced suspension travel..... Ground clearance is a major problem due to the reduced approach and to a lesser extent descent angles because of the crap looking extended front and rear bumpers even on stock height Sport Fits.

 

Not everybody is looking for a touge monster. And I'm sure that people that buy Fits do not have performance as their #1 priority.

You are correct that smaller wheels weigh less, but I do not consider 17" wheels on a GE oversized. For GD's I think 16's look better. There are lightweight 17" wheels that weigh considerably less than stock. This will improve performance no matter the size. I think people are interested in form as well, rather than pure function. The wheels I'm looking to get weigh 13 lbs and are 17"s and will cost me less than 500 for a set. There is a halfway point in between form and function.

And as for lowering your car, you are incorrect. Upgrading your cars suspension using coilovers and lowering it maybe an inch WILL improve performance. It will lower the center of gravity and reduce body roll significantly. Now when you start tucking tire or wheel, it is purely for show as your suspension does not properly work that low.

I am lowered almost 2" and I drive over speed bumps and driveways the same way I did when I was stock and have never scraped. It is false what you said about not being able to drive a lowered car anywhere.

I understand you are a function over form guy, but there are people that not only want their car to drive nice, but to also look nice.

 

I had to look closely at some pictures of GEs and it appears that they have more clearance at the front than the GD sport and can take a bit more drop....Vehicles that I've owned almost always get some form of personalization in the form of chassis, drive train and engine tuning..... The only ones that I owned that were able to meet my expectations in those 3 areas were VW diesels and BMW motorcycles..... I was all set to drop my car with coil overs, do the rear anti sway bar, and fit it with lower profile wider tires..... I found that 9 1/2 lb. 15"X7" wheels and better quality tires alone has me happy for now and really can't imagine that I will do more other than stiffer rear shocks and a stiffer front anti sway bar......I have seen how a Fit set up for autocross will skitter around over slight bumps in a long curve at a speed considerably lower than what my car with stock suspension stays planted on..... I have dropped cars and they looked great and cornered very well on smooth surfaces but that isn't good enough.

 

Hey guys, sorry for being a little thick here, but what's up with this "rep" thing? I mean, if you're giving me "reps", and that's a good thing, thanks a heck of a lot... I guess I'll take them! And if so, how come my "reps" are still at 0 (zero)? If you weren't giving me "reps", then sorry for being so cluelessly assumptive!

How does this "rep" thing work anyway? In the short time I've visited here I've received lots of great advice from you guys and others on the forum. I could have given reps too if I'd known what it was all about. Can't seem to find any info on the whole "rep" thing.

Thanks

BTW, T. Coyote... are you any relation to Wile E. Coyote?

 

It's a generic vBulletin thing. Click on the button and agree or disagree. It's administered differently on different boards but I believe you have to have a certain number of posts before it counts.

Rep and $5 will buy you a cuppa at Starbucks. Here have some of mine.