Anyone else out there that likes OEM spec wheels best?

In my 18-1/2 years of ownership, I have made no modifications to Lucille. Now I am thinking new wheels. But this thread has me rethinking. I don’t want to give up much ride quality and the San Diego roads are filled with potholes and gaps. Looking at the new SoS 02-05 same diameter deal got me thinking. What it I found 16” front and rear? Would that give a great compromise of rim size, weight and ride quality?

I do like my fat fives as they are classic to the car, but they are a bit long in the current tooth.
 
Miner said:
In my 18-1/2 years of ownership, I have made no modifications to Lucille. Now I am thinking new wheels. But this thread has me rethinking. I don’t want to give up much ride quality and the San Diego roads are filled with potholes and gaps. Looking at the new SoS 02-05 same diameter deal got me thinking. What it I found 16” front and rear? Would that give a great compromise of rim size, weight and ride quality?

I do like my fat fives as they are classic to the car, but they are a bit long in the current tooth.
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You also need to consider what tire selections are available too. I think the 16/17" owners are finding out that matching pairs of tires in those sizes are more and more difficult to find.
 
guidon2222 said:
Mac Attac: wow - I may have to do that too - they look gorgeous! Can you send a close up pic of the wheels?
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Thanks, I don't think they look that bad either. I wish I had done this 15 years ago instead of the various colors I had them painted. It took a lot of work and paint stripper to get all my previous layers of paint off as well as the OEM layer. What you're left with is a neat diamond-cut finish on the face of the wheel and the sides of the "spokes" have a rougher finish.

I don't have any better pics because these particular wheels/tires are in storage now with the really cold temps. In a few more weeks it should warm up enough where the rubber is safe to use. The small wheels, sticky tires, and my current suspension system make for an awesome-handling car. Well, that and the light 2500 lb wet weight helps too. It's a blast to drive....

View attachment 159249
 
MexiRicer said:
I will have to agree. OEM 16/17 Type-S wheels ftw.
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Hideous.

On a more value-added note... I don't think the 16/17 choices are all that bad especially if you're willing to run a 205/45/16 front with a 245/40/17 rear. I'm on Hankook RS4's in those sizes and they're a pretty wide-shouldered tire so it fits more like a 215/255 set up. You can also get a 215/45/16 AD08R overseas, which will allow you to run that tire in the OEM sizes.
 
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Mac Attack: oh wow, thank you for sending the close up pic of your wheels - they’re gorgeous! Would you mind me asking the steps you took to do that & what you used products and tools? Aircraft paint stripper and sander/buffer attachment drill bit? You’ve really got me excited about doing this to my black/winter set of Fat Fives for a summer project - just trying to gauge if my arthritic body & limited tool box could do it.
 
[MENTION=33027]Arkaid[/MENTION] Very tasteful NSX. Enjoy it!

[MENTION=33910]guidon2222[/MENTION] These aren't clearcoated, and I've never polished them since they were stripped a few years ago. I'll probably do a quick polish soon before reinstalling.

I used a variety of plastic scrapers and a lot of brush-on aircraft paint stripper. It took awhile because the factory finish is pretty tough. I would not recommend using a wire brush on the wheel face because of the delicate machine marks that I thought were pretty cool to try and preserve. The sides of the spokes and the inner wheel is OK to use wire brushes though because of the rougher forged finish.
 
Hass said:
Lol How’s it going? I’m off social media
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I noticed! All's well. I try to be more of a watcher/listener/taker on social media and that's been working out OK. How's the NSX?

docjohn said:
I think yinzer has all of them....
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Not all, just 16 or 20 (lost count TBH) after a wise NSX guru based out of NY suggested to me 6 years ago to hold onto them. Glad I listened.
 
I have a minty set of phat 5's. I would love to put them on to see the difference after driving on 18/19 for so long but I upgraded my front brakes so they don't fit. :frown:
 
MexiRicer said:
I will have to agree. OEM 16/17 Type-S wheels ftw.

Kg2lPI8.jpg
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Would be really cool to see a 17f/17r type s wheel setup
 
Just bought another set of Fat Fives....

MacAttack: just bought another set of Fat Fives to strip, cleanup and polish like yours as a summer project. I cannot wait to get started!!! Hope I haven’t bitten off more than my old, fat, arthritic body can chew!
 
guidon2222 said:
MacAttack: just bought another set of Fat Fives to strip, cleanup and polish like yours as a summer project. I cannot wait to get started!!! Hope I haven’t bitten off more than my old, fat, arthritic body can chew!
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Great! I bought a big can of the brush-on aircraft stripper (used most of it) and some hard plastic scrapers. Only use plastic scrapers on the face, lip, and recessed area around the lug-nuts. The rest of the wheel you can use wire brushes. When I did this I had an old set of tires mounted, so obviously, there's no need to try and strip the paint where the tire seals.
 
Lightweight set of 17/18 is the perfect blend of performance and looks, especially if lowered.


I have two sets of fat fives collecting cobwebs in my garage for any of you missing that 15/16 look :biggrin:
 
I currently have 19" on,after we attempted 20"s!20's looked awesome,but rubbed,19's rub in reverse when turning sharply,but DOES ride way worse!Question:Would you know of ant functional intake scoops. I have a filter/intake on,BUT no air flow!?
 
Today I found a nail in a rear tire for my '02 OEM wheels, so I removed the '02 setup with "Max Performance Summer Tires" (Goodyear Eagle F1's) and went back to my fat fives with "Extreme Performance Summer Tires" (Kumho V720's). There's no comparison in steering feel and handling - The smaller wheels/tires are so much better.

A buddy just got a Shelby 350R and I greatly prefer the handling and performance of my NSX over it. With 2500 lbs wet, about 290 WHP, active exhaust, Ohlins TTX dampers, and some of TiDave's suspension parts, my NSX feels just as fast, is more comfortable, and handles better.
[MENTION=16534]Sduff@Composites[/MENTION] - I do admit the $20k carbon fiber wheels on the GT350R are way nicer than my fat fives on the NSX :smile:
 
Mac Attack said:
Today I found a nail in a rear tire for my '02 OEM wheels, so I removed the '02 setup with "Max Performance Summer Tires" (Goodyear Eagle F1's) and went back to my fat fives with "Extreme Performance Summer Tires" (Kumho V720's). There's no comparison in steering feel and handling - The smaller wheels/tires are so much better.

A buddy just got a Shelby 350R and I greatly prefer the handling and performance of my NSX over it. With 2500 lbs wet, about 290 WHP, active exhaust, Ohlins TTX dampers, and some of TiDave's suspension parts, my NSX feels just as fast, is more comfortable, and handles better.

[MENTION=16534]Sduff@Composites[/MENTION] - I do admit the $20k carbon fiber wheels on the GT350R are way nicer than my fat fives on the NSX :smile:
Click to expand...

Haha. I’ll take fat 5’s for 100 over carbon wheels for 20k.
 

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