Accord Sport Upgraded to Smaller Wheels

[dareo]

Discount tire memorial day 4 rebate sale got me into a new 3 season set of shoes for the wifes car. Out go the 235 45 18 OEM bridgestone all seasons. They were okay but the wheels are like 30lbs each.

New setup 245 45 17 Michelin Pilot Sport 300 AA A rated summer tires on some 17x7.5 chinesium wheels. About 9lbs lighter per corner.

All aspects have improved. Acceleration, handling, steering response, ride comfort, and traction. Its kinda funny how Honda puts giant lead wheels on these cars.

 

[L_Sludger]

Good on you mate! I love a happy ending. And I don't care for big wheels either.
Your old tire diameter is 26.32".
Your new tire diameter is 25.68".
Your speedometer and odometer will think your car is going 2.5 percent faster or farther than it is really going.

 

[dareo]

Yeah that is a great feature for my wife. We wont tell her about that. The load index is 99 on the new tires vs 94 on the old ones so i dont care that they are a tiny bit shorter.

 

[RooflessVW]

OEM wheels tend to be stronger... I wonder why they weighed so much?

 

[dareo]

Originally Posted By: rooflessVW
OEM wheels tend to be stronger... I wonder why they weighed so much?

They are very sturdy wheels. Honda asks for two things, low cost and durability. Enkei supplied a 30lb 18x8 wheel.

 

[901Memphis]

I hope you saved the oem wheels

 

[Phishin]

I love my 18" OEM wheels.

My Accord is an LX. So it came with the [censored] wheel covers on 16" rims. This is my car when I bought it:

I purchased some OEM 18" wheels off a Sport and had them powder coated matte black:

I don't think the ride quality suffered much at all. It's a bit "stiffer", but it handles so much better.

 

[IndyIan]

Originally Posted By: 901Memphis
I hope you saved the oem wheels

21 lb 17" wheels could be reasonably durable, especially with some taller sidewalls. Seems a bit crazy Honda put on such heavy wheels. Factory ones can be pretty light, 12 lbs on some 14" Miata wheels, 16lbs for my Focus 15" wheels.

 

[barkingspider]

OP, the wheels look good on your Honda, better than stock

 

[HerrStig]

We run 15 X 7 Borbet alloys on a V6 Camry with 205 60 15 Yokis. If you could drive the car with a blindfold...not recommended, you wouldn't know it was a Toyota. The only thing I don't like is the fender gap.

 

[LotI]

My Sport has 17x7" Tire Rack Kosei wheels on it and it's an improvement as the OP mentioned. I put them on a scale and the stock wheel/tire weighed 53.6# and the replacement weighs 38.3#. I stuck with the stock 215/55/17 size in a P7+ but am currently running a 225/50/17 Hankook V12evo2 which is a tad shorter.

I also run 16x7.5" winter wheels for my Xi3's with a 215/60/16, talk about a smooth ride! But, be aware that the '16 and up Sport models got the bigger brakes from the Touring so 16" wheels no longer fit.

 

[IndyIan]

Originally Posted By: HerrStig
We run 15 X 7 Borbet alloys on a V6 Camry with 205 60 15 Yokis. If you could drive the car with a blindfold...not recommended, you wouldn't know it was a Toyota. The only thing I don't like is the fender gap.

Yeah, that's a problem running smaller wheels and smaller diameter tires, but we aren't driving show cars either...
No one else cares one way or another, so I'll take the performance and cost benefits of running smaller diameter tires. My skateboard wagon beat some pretty nice looking cars with big rims and small wheel gaps at the last autocross...

 

[CincyDavid]

The whole look of the Accord Sport is driven by the tire & wheel package, but I'd be nervous about tearing up wheels and tires on the rutted, potholed roads we have around here. The Accord LX in our fleet has 16 inch alloys and 205-55-16 tires that are cheap to replace and tall enough that I don't worry about potholes so much. Do they look as cool as the bigger wheels and low pro tires? Nope, but they're kid-proof.

 

[zzyzzx]

Would a 16" or 15" rim fit?

 

[ecotourist]

I'd upgrade to 17" wheels too. I have a 2007 Accord EX-L V6 which has 17" wheels and it corners and steers just fine, but it also rides a little rough. I can't imagine going to 18" wheels.

I test drove a sporty version of an Acura TSX (which had bigger diameter wheels) but preferred the ride of the standard model. The TSX looked nice with bigger wheels but the ride was noticeably "more nervous".

 

[Lolvoguy]

Originally Posted By: zzyzzx
Would a 16" or 15" rim fit?


I'm pretty sure a 16 would fit, given the size of the space between the front disks and wheels.

IMHO I would have chosen a taller, narrower tire for the 17 setup the OP chose. Reduced NVH, and better fuel economy. Would have also reduced the fender to tire gap nicely.

As long as OP is happy, that's all that matters

 

[dan_erickson]

Should have just bought a lower trim level Accord if you didn't like the factory 18 inch wheels. That's the reason the Sport looks good

 

[gofast182]

The OE wheels are why Accord's Sport trim makes the car suddenly look much more expensive and sporty. Removing them does not do the car any favors in the looks department; however, there are certainly performance benefits to smaller and lighter wheels.

 

[micmac]

According to Tirerack, 16" wheels will fit on the 2015 and earlier Accord Sport. 2016 upped the size of the brake discs in front, and went to 19" wheels, which are even heavier. For 2016 and later cars, 17" wheels appear to be minimum size. I think the 17"s look great on this car. 19s look kinda silly IMHO.

 

[SatinSilver]

The 2017 Accord LX comes with 16 inch alloy wheels that look nice imo. Not as good as the Sport but much more functional.