I've been shopping around online and 17 inch are definitely cheaper than 18 inch. Are there any other benefits besides cost? Will 17's be way too small and make my car look silly? Definitely not going with the stock size rim (19''). My main concern is safety so if one is slightly safer than the other that's what I'm going with. Car doesn't have to look super pimp with big rims in the winter.

Also I have an X so I'm wondering if it's fine to put whatever tire/rim on as long as all 4 are the same and the overall diameter is close to stock?

Two more questions, what's the widest tread width I can use without rubbing? And when it comes to the X's is it okay to have wider tread tires in the back, again as long as the overall diameter is still the same?

Thanks any help/input is appreciated!

 

Sorry forgot to ask one other question. Is 8'' the usual rim width or can I go wider?

 

IMHO 17’s are too small for our cars. I’ll be switching to 18’s (stock rims) in the winter time and going slightly more narrow (current setup is 245 all around). As far as I know, wide tires have to plow a path through deep snow, where narrower tires have an easier time going through.

Search for the exact answer for AWD staggered setups, but the short answer is that it is possible to do if your rolling diameter is within 1

 

If you have the S model with the big brakes I don't think anything smaller than the 19" rim will fit unless you down grade to the smaller brakes on the non Sport models.

 

i have an "S" with the big brakes and have 18" rims on my snows. they clear the brakes fine but not all 18" rims do so you have to be careful. i ordered mine from tire rack. i called them before i ordered last year to confirm it would for sure clear the brakes and they told me that as long as you entered your vehicle information correctly on their website, any rims that come up in the search will fit.

 

It sounds like your question has been answered, you aren't going to find wheels that fit smaller than 18 inches. One thing to consider for anyone considering these two wheel sizes is that even number (18") tire sizes are usually cheaper than odd sizes (17").

 

Thanks for the replies. Definitely going with 18''. Didn't even consider the brakes being too big.

Anyone else here have stock 19'' rims and go to 18'' for winter setup? What tire size did you go with? I'm thinking 225/50. Or I could go 255/45 but that skinnier tire going through snow better thing makes a lot of sense so probably won't go that wide.