I went nuts and got 19" wheels, plus one sized vs. 18" stock, wrapped in Michelin Pilot Sport 4S summer tires 234/40/R19. You might be asking why? I live in Canada and like to have a set of winter tires, Michelin X-Ice 3, on Clarity stock rims optimized for snow & ice grip and a set of summer tires optimized for wet and dry grip. Best of both worlds. 19" just because I like the low profile look, what do you guys think? Many folks may be concerned about fuel economy. I believe that the safety advantage of much shorter distances and better control is worth the small rolling resistance penalty. I had Michelin Pilot Super Sport on my old ICE Lexus and those tires saved my bacon a number of times needing to brake hard in wet and dry. The mileage may get reduced by a trivial 1% - 4% depending on tires according to this: https://www.tires-easy.com/blog/fuel-efficient-tires/ 5.7% between 2 tires tested by CR: https://www.consumerreports.org/tires/do-low-rolling-resistance-tires-improve-fuel-economy/ YMMV
Low profile tires still look dumb to me (even our OEM 18" ones). And they cost more. And they die when you hit a pothole. What's to like?
If you like the look, that’s great. It’s not my preference. I’m old-fashioned and like the proportions of a smaller wheel. And, where I live, the bad roads destroy wheels and tires if the tires don’t have some sidewall for cushioning. Even 45 series tires are too wimpy here to hold up against our tire-eating potholes. I’ve already destroyed one tire and have to weave all over the road to avoid losing the whole car.
I like those rims for sure. Here in oil country, the roads are in terrible shape from all the oil field trucks that tear up our roadways. I would be eating up 19" wheels and tires on the roads I deal with.
I'm starting to look for a wrecked Civic Si so I can get the wheels and tires from one. They are the same size. Look good. And are wrapped in Goodyear F1 Sport tires. Here's a pic from my previous car. Sent from my SM-N960U using Inside EVs mobile app
Nice looking Civic. Great idea getting them off a wreck! OEM quality at a major discount plus direct perfect fit and look great. I love the latest Civic Type R, a guy at work has one and it's a head-turner, must be a blast to drive. Some of the newer Accord 19" wheels look quite good too, so much so that theives are targeting them unfortunately. My 84 year old dad drives an Accord with these stock OEM 19" and loves it. Yes, he's more susceptible to curb rash and potholes, he likes it so that matters. I encouraged him to get what he liked vs. what was more practical, no regrets so far: I guess we're fortunate in Ontario, Canada. Our roads have potholes to avoid too but they don't seem overly severe to warrant putting 'balloons' on our cars. I guess time will tell!
Great upgrade. For what it’s worth, the Tesla model 3 upgrade from 18 aero wheels to the 19” sport wheel is basically what you’ve done. The rim and tire sizes are almost exactly the same. Tesla rims bolt on to a Honda Clarity since even the centre bore is 64.1mm..no hubcentric rings needed.
19" look great. But for the ride comfort it suffers, I'd probably stay the same (18") for summer set and go down one size for the winter set (17")...
The 5 lug accord rims fit perfectly on the clarity? No need for hub centric rings? And our lug nuts work fine? Sent from my iPhone using Inside EVs
Current Accord rims should just fit. You can double check offset & bolt patterns here: https://www.wheel-size.com/size/honda/accord/2018/ As for lug nuts, check to see if the lug nut seat (tapered or flat?) in the wheel matches with the Clarity wheels. My old Odyssey had flat seated lug nuts for OEM alloys and tapered lug nuts for steelies. I don't have experience with Accord wheels. Maybe someone has put on Accord wheels and can comment?
This is what I’m considering for mine: But seriously, I try to think along the lines of “Form follows function”. And I see no functional benefit to larger wheels than stock. But there’s no accounting for taste, so if you like the looks, that’s reason enough to go big!
Nice rims. Uncommon look. It'll look great on your Clarity. I agree. Everyone is different on their priorities. I like to balance form & function.
I learn so much on this forum. I never realized there was such a thing as wheel aesthetics. Innocent me. I just thought the wheels on the car go 'round and 'round and a long as they didn't have corners that worked for me. Do you know how many threads and posts there are on this forum related to the design of wheels? Live and learn.
Here's some Honda wheel trivia for you: Did you know that Honda makes mirror-image wheels for the left and right sides of their concept cars, then delivers the production version of the car with the concept's left-side wheel design on both sides?
Would 17 inch wheels work? I am referring to year round in a non-cold region. Other than maybe not looking as good would the handling degrade too much? It would be nice to be able to use cheaper and longer lasting tires, and also avoid scuffing or damaging the expensive Honda wheels, which could be kept in my basement to be reinstalled at resale time. Or maybe even sell them while they are still in like new condition and deal with what to do about the wheels at resale time.
17s definitely fit, I test fit some 17" Honda HFP EP-R5 on the Clarity and they clear the calipers. They look like garbage, but as everyone else on this thread is snidely commenting, "there's no accounting for taste." I think the 19s look cool, the way they fit under that rear spat looks like you're slammed.
I think those look great. Would love to get some aftermarket wheels on mine as well. Didn't see it in the post, which ones are those @V8Power ?
