thanx, ive been looking around and i would go with atleist 15s but prollys 16s, 17s are a lil to big for my protege IMO

 

Is'nt it true that if you go a larger size rim than stock that you can potentially lose horsepower, due to the differing sizes? Just what I heard not sure though.

 

in a way, yes. it would take more horsepower to turn a heavier wheel. it would be losing maybe 1-3 hp tryin to turn the wheel instead of making the car "go".

 

So say I got a larger wheel thats actually lighter than the stock ones, would it be better or would the size affect it still?

 

it would be better, larger wheels that are lighter than stock are great, i think postart (spelling?) have some 17's that weigh around the 16's area. lighter = faster.

 

check here: http://www.protegeclub.com/showthrea...7&page=1&pp=15

 

Lighter doesn't always mean faster. The longer the radius is from the focal point, the more energy is required to spin the circle. In other words, the larger the rim, the more power it takes to get rolling AND also to stop rolling.

These guys putting 20 and 24 inch rims on their SUV's are finding it very hard to stop like they used to. In the protege, you might not notice a difference, but it could also mean the difference between you missing that accident in front of you.

 

i thought lighter ment faster. lighter materials takes less power to move, hence why a 190hp elise is faster than a 270hp 350z...

 

Or a Sports bike will smoke almost anything on the road.

 

But your speaking of two different types of mass. The Elise has an extremely low weight supported by the suspension. When you're speaking about a hoop (rim) the larger the diameter is, the more energy is required to begin and stop motion. If the rim were a completely filled in cylinder, it would move just as fast regardless of weight.

You can try an experiment yourself. Tie a rock or something to a piece of long string. Hold the string about 2 feet from the rock and swing it. Then, hold the piece of string 8 feet from the rock. It requires more energy from to get the rock swinging. I'm not lying.

 

ah, i see your point! thanks for the example, you really had me lost until then!

 

Good analogy, I had been told somethign along those lines but I wasn't sure about it. Makes sense when you put it like that, ill just get some nice stock size rims, maybe 16 inches max.

 

Definately the 16s. I feel they'll give the most overall satisfaction; ride quality, weight, price, and looks. Then save your little ones for good traction tires in the winter. Nevermind, just noticed your in Arizona.

 

A perfect example of this is a show they had on SpeedChannel last month or so. They put a larger brake upgrade on an Acura RSX (Non "S-type", I believe), and despite the fact that the larger rotors/calipers were 5 lbs lighter per corner, they lost 12 HP at the ground, purely from the larger diameter. Imagine our Protege's that are lucky to get 105-110 at the wheels losing 12 ponies. Ugh!

 

lol damn, 12 off just from larger brakes. Well at least I know every civic with big rims are even slower than usual. =D