So I'm gonna purchase some used wheels and I'm torn between a set of

18" forgelines
http://www.forgeline.com/products/performa...18inch-only.htm

or

17"CCW classics
http://www.ccwheel.com/wheelprofiles-display.php?id=Classic

I plan on ordering inner barrels and converting the whole set of wheels to 11" wide so widths don't really matter. So basically, my question is which size wheel would you guys go with the 18's or the 17's? Forgelines or the CCW's ? Prices are about the same. . .

Help me out guys, is there a clear winner ?

The question is, what do you want them for? For pure AX or RR performance? or just looks? or a blend, like how many AX you do a year...

If it were me, I'd only get the 17s. I think my car's daily drive comfort is already borderline race-hard. So I want all the sidewall I can get to smooth out the ride. PLUS, I do a lot of AX, and the 17" tires are plentiful and regular (315/35-17). No worries about odd sizes or being out of stock, or out of production, etc. Since 18" was never a stock tire size for our car, it might not always be made.

My personal philosophy, born out of no particular engineering experience except watching racing, says to me that no race series cars really run rubber-band like tires. All race tires seem to be moderately well-sidewalled. They get heat in them with sidewall flex, and it helps traction when the rubber is sticking and sidewall flexing a bit. Less sidewall could be like a bigger swaybar or stiffer springs.

Chris

CCWs are fine wheels....have had them myself in the past. However Forgelines are typically much better looking wheel and better fit and finish I believe....JMHO

Figure out the front spacing on the wheels as well, you may find yourself replacing all 8 shells or running spacers to get them to fit. Running spacers kinda defeats the purpose of 3-peice wheels IMO unless you need them on one axle to allow rotating tires.

CCW charges $150 a shell, and I'm guessing forgeline is twice that. Also, resealing the shells and torquing down 150 5/16" bolts is a lot of work...

I've gotten good customer service from CCW, but I haven't heard anything bad about forgeline either. The forgelines would be a better looking, rarer wheel when you were done though.

Over generalizing the 17's will be more compliant over bumps and put the power down better, the 18's will generate peak cornering force at a lower slip angle and feel crisper. Also used race rubber is more plentiful in 18's which could be factor if you're a cheap-ass like me that needs driver time more than fresh rubber.

My car is mostly a weekend toy with a few AX days a year. . .

I think I'm gonna go with the CCW's because as Supermacguy said (new) tires are easier to come by and cheaper for the 17's. Not to mention the cheaper cost for parts as roost says does come into play. The 6 week old little boy next to me is going to cause more and more expenses for me so cheaper (while still high quality) is better.

Any last words/advice before I pull the trigger ?

Could you get either of those styles (or anything even close to them) in a ONE piece wheel.

That is what I would do, as has been stated, 3 piece setups can be a MAJOR pain, especially on the street.
The only real advantage being; if you mangle an outer it can be replaced without dumping the whole wheel.

I also cannot stand polished/chrome outers/lips on ANY wheel (can you get them; painted/powder coated/anodised the same as the centers??).

I like the HRE Monoblocks in matte black, or gunmetal, but I DO NOT like the price tag of them being 3-4 times the worth/book value of my car!!

Eventually (if I ever hit the Mega Millions or such ), I'd like to get a set of those CCW C10 one piece deals in comp gray.

Personally I like the look of black center classics on a black car, just personal preference. But how do U mean three piece wheels are a pain ?

So do I, but I just like the outers/lip to be black (or comp gray) as well, not polished/chrome.

The initial torquing of all of those bolts, and then the periodic re-torquing/checking of them (depending on how stressed they get from hard use/bad roads, etc.), cannot be fun times!

I believe the seals between the sections also have to be replaced periodically, on a schedule as well??

I like the polished look lol BUT, now that you mention it I think the comp grey barrels would look good to . . . so maybe when I get bored of the polished, or tired of polishing . . .I'll have that done

On to the next issue lol

Turns out the classics I bought are the old style classics, they only have 20 bolts holding the halves together. The current design has 30 bolts so . . . I either need to pic up couple sets of OLD style barrels or buy a pair of 17x11 classics off of someone . . . . any other ideas are welcome. . . Suggestions Please ! ! ! !

P.S. I tried to post a WTB add in the classifieds and it wouldn't let me