Poll: 17" rims or smaller for daily driving?

I'll chime in a little later after my 16"s go on.. Expecting delivery at the end of next week. (Wheel's are here, tires are not.)

I don't like the LOOK of 17"s... tbh I am not a fan of big wheels. I hate the 20+" that a lot of modern sports cars are coming with from the factory.

Prefer big rubber, small metal. But that's strictly from an aesthetics standpoint.

I'll post up about ride opinions after I drive around in the 16" set.

I will say, that I don't find the ride on the 17" wheels to be as harsh as some people are posting... Surprisingly... But then I had 20s on the Camaro, and that was a stiff ride..

It certainly isn't a soft ride though.. but It doesn't bother me too much. I suppose that might depend if you live in a place that has decent roads or not too though.

I suspect, that I will prefer the 16s regardless. But we'll see in a week or so.

Thanks for the feedback and poll answers, everyone.


Drumr90, what size tires are you running on those 17"s on your Focus?

stuntdoogie, with the condition of the streets in NYC, especially with the potholes that magically appear this time of year, I don't blame you!

Mayhem, your response about the aesthetics was especially refreshing. I have a co-worker (who drives a Scion FRS) who cringes at the very thought of "downsizing" the rims, based purely on the look, so it's nice to see a differing opinion. I'm curious to read your impressions on the ride quality once you get the 16"s on, too.

eRic, those SVT rims are simply beautiful. If they were mine, I'd make them my permanent wheels.


I still have a few weeks to go before I take delivery of mine, but I'll need to swap out either the tires or wheels immediately, and based on the feedback that I'm finding from you guys on this forum, it doesn't look like I can go wrong either way. Personally, I really like the look of the stock rims and it's cheapest just to throw some high performance all-seasons on them, but long-term, I think I'd probably be happier with that added bit of smoothness and comfort from 16" wheels (considering that this will be a daily driver that won't be pushed anywhere near its limits).

More comments are welcome, so please, keep 'em coming!