Nice Rims with a Budget

[lolwtferic]

Hey, I'm quite new to posting (I've been lurking for about a month now).

I was wondering if you guys could give me some advice on a decent quality rim with good looks that aren't too steep in price.

I'm not that great when it comes to cars (ooo that looks pretty) so I'm pretty clueless about good pricing and what not.

I was looking at the 18 inch Mazdaspeed MS-T II over at mazdastuff.com, and they go for about 318 per.

Of course, in keeping with the "cheap-as-possible" theme, preferably a rim that doesn't require fender or suspension modifications.

Again, I'm a noob at this, and would appreciate some insight. Thanks ;D

[SpeedYellowV6]

www.tirerack.com

[lolwtferic]

Wow, that site is wonderful. Thanks, Speed.

Any recommendations?

[BangHatch]

ROTA - value for money.. fairly cheap, yet very durable, with nice (knock-off) designs.

[Hoosteen]

rota= i wouldn't say "very durable"

they are dirt cheap. And you get what you pay for usually. Compared to the name brands.... quality is not equal. Good thing is though that if you bend a rim... you can get another one cheap.... or maybe you just buy 5.

discounttiredirect has some of the cheapest prices available for rim/tire combos.

[Jax6S]

If you go to tirerack, you'll see several rims by Kazera. They're pretty reasonable, about $100-200 and pretty stylish too.

The style is up to you because it's individual preference.

I recommend getting 17" and maybe 18". Don't get anything larger.

[mazda6guy]

$318 for those Mazdaspeed MS-T II is way too expensive. You are looking at over $1200 for just the wheels! You can grab a good quality 18" wheel and tire package for that price from any of the major sites. Most of them will ship the tires to you already mounted and balanced. All you need to do is jack up the car and throw 'em on.

[JettaJet]

If you're looking to spend less money, obviously you'll want to get smaller wheels. That is, if they're available in the design you set your heart on. If I hadn't stumbled into a great deal on my (slightly used) 18" rims/tires, there would have been no doubt that 16s were the choice for me. They're less expensive and, in most ways/cases, better performing due to their lighter weight (in the same line). However, I'm no expert on wheel sizes and performance. I love the way my 18s look and I haven't noticed any decrease in speed. Maybe that's because they're about the same weight as the stock 17s I had and my new tires might be lighter than the stockers but, theoretically, the weight distribution (possibly further out towards the edge) should still have negative consequences. There's a sticky about wheel size and weight in this section. If performance is important to you, read up on it. Even though I notice no negative consequences of my swap out, you might and the numbers might.

The most important thing is that you do a little research and ask yourself what is important to you. Doing that first should make your decision much easier.

[BangHatch]

Hoosteen,
actually rotas are pretty durable. a lot of professional race cars use those rims. in fact, i wouldnt say that my racingharts are even significantly more durable than rotas (and those racingharts are specially forged too).. i would say those would still get bent if it were hit hard enough with the same force on a rota.. of course i wouldnt want to try it... you had experience on bent rota rims etc, you may have also considered the tires that they were wrapped around on.

btw, jettajet?!? a "serious" comment?!?!?

[JettaJet]

Also, considering you don't want to roll the fenders or anything of that nature, a smaller wheel is less likely to rub and require that.