Wheel Sizes

[chevaps]

Im looking at upgrading the factory 15" alloys very soon, and im looking to really fill up the guards nicely. With lowering up and coming soon, 18's would be the way to go for me, in particular the OZ superturismo, but other similar styles will suffice if the budget blows right out of the water.

But im conflicting at whether i should go 18's or drop back 1 size to 17's. Im big on performance, not just straightline, id much prefer to have fun around corners and having great handling. After reading several topics, many seem to be against getting 18's for performance AND handling and 17's would be a much better option.

Im confused at how some claim that for performnce and handling applications, you wouldnt fit 18's, but in actual fact, the WRC cars all run 18's on tarmac events, even the focus RS comes out with 18's, and i think even the v8 supercars run 18's as well.

Now, i do have a good grasp of physics, and how mechanical things work (engineering), but i just dont see and cant comprehend how 18's can be such a bad thing on a road car. I can only imagine fitting 18's with low profile tyres would give less bounce, less sidewall flexing when cornering, thus better handling.

Enough of my ramble, i just wana hear from you guys out there that can give me an explanantion why fitting 18's wouldnt be suitable for my car, because i wana get rims, but not throw my handling out the window.

Tom
(PS: sorry bout the long post)