I"m wanting to get some new wheels for the wifes' '97 Accord SE and was wanting some opinions as to which would be the better brands.

We have some 18" Lexani Firestar I believe is what they are, and I don't like them at all. Not a big chrome fan. I like black wheels.

Seems that Konig is the most popular brand that comes up when searching, along with Motegi.

Not really looking to spend a fortune on rims and tires, but also don't want to jeopardize my wife and kids safety on some crappy manufacturing.

TIA, for any opinions.

 

Konig and Motegi have both been around for years and put out a quality product, so you would be safe with either on as far as quality goes. IMHO, black rims are trendy and cool but at some point I think that trend/fad will pass. But silver colored rims have/will always be popular (polished or brushed aluminum and to some extent, chrome) Just think or your wheels as car jewelry...a little bit flashy and making a particular statement. But, that's just my $0.02

 

^ Agreed.

The only thing I like less than black wheels from a looks perspective is black wheels where the paint has started to flake/chip off and/or when they're showing curb rash.

 

Which particular wheels have you been looking at? Do you have any pictures that you can post? Are you wanting to get something as big/heavy/bulky as the Lexani Firestars but just in black, or are you wanting to get something more streamlined, lighter weight and racer like?

 

i was just on tirerack and it is cool it shows a pic of your car and you can scroll through the rims to see which ones you like best. after looking at about 800 rims, over an hour, i decided i want ones that are easy to clean. it is too many choices!

 

I have a question for you or maybe 2 questions Lol

Are you going to stay with 18" wheels and tires or go down to something more sane like 16 or 17" tires and rims. ?

 

Me? I was thinking stay with 18s, with a slim chance of 19s! I've had a car that was over modded and as much as this one is costing, I don't want the side effects of dramatic mods.

 

I personally do not care for black as they are too dull, nor am I into chrome as they tend to be too flashy. Silver and/or brushed alloy adds a touch of class without being overstated.

Added: WheelBroker, what do you mean by "Are you going to stay with 18" wheels and tires or go down to something more sane like 16 or 17" tires and rims?"

What is insane about 18" rims on an Accord? The stock 18" on the Sport look and handle perfectly

 

There are numerous studies which show the point at which handling reaches its peak is with 16"-17" wheels; either side of that and handling starts to measurably degrade. Why?

• For the 15" and smaller range of wheels, typically the sidewall is so tall handling becomes squishy. That said, I know a number of SCCA racers who downgrade their cars to 15" wheels and run much smaller tires so the sidewalls are fairly short; great improvement on their lap times.
• For the 18" and larger range of wheels, handling becomes negatively impacted by the gyroscopic effect of the rim; said effect becomes geometrically more pronounced for each additional inch beyond 17".

 

Shipo... that is interesting. Thanks for the information. I'm wondering though, why do so many high dollar sport cars come with 19" or even 20" wheels?

My 2011 EX had 17", I traded it in on this 2015 Sport which has 18"... The Sport handles much better under all conditions than the EX did, of course the 2015 has a different suspension system than the 2011 and perhaps that makes the difference. Regardless, I like the look of the 18" on this car