The average consumer cares more about looks than unsprung weight, especially when it comes to an economy-ish car. Furthermore I don’t think 99.99% of people buying a touring anything care about handling. Honda designs are already a bit bland for some, so sticking the smallest wheels they can get to fit around the brakes wouldn’t do them any favors. I think the 18s look perfect on this car, every time I see an EX with 17s they just look small and cheap

 

I agree the larger wheels are put on for looks and create more profit as it is a fad. Having experimented with larger wheels on my 01 Prelude as well as other vehicles, I can vouch that larger and heavier wheels do affect acceleration As well as fuel economy. I even went 1” smaller on my 07 Civic and put on Civic hybrid alloy wheels. Fuel economy went up and acceleration improved. It created a “sleeper“ look which I liked and received many compliments on the aero design. BTW, the lightweight 17-inch wheels on the EX trim are machined and finished to help reduce aerodynamic drag. I do prefer function over design. Different strokes for different folks.

 

Companies doing what customers want is far from a fad, and big wheels have been around long enough not to really even be a fad anymore. I would gladly give up a few mpg to have the better looking 18s. Just because you bought the car with smaller wheels doesn’t mean everyone else is wrong.

I did downsize wheels on my built up Miata to reduce weight, but people buying non Si/R civics simply don’t give AF

 

Companies doing what customers want is far from a fad. I would gladly give up a few mpg to have the better looking 18s. Just because you bought the car with smaller wheels doesn’t mean everyone else is wrong.

I did downsize wheels on my built up Miata to reduce weight, but people buying non Si/R civics simply don’t give AF

Companies are doing what customers want from the latest fad to make money and profit. Just seems counter productive to add weight and mass while wanting better performance. I was in the auto industry and had conversed with American Honda R&D engineers before and learned a lot. Many years ago we wanted Acura to add a 6 way power seat with up and down to the 2G TL. We were told that would add 2 kilos (4.4 lbs) and there was no options to reduce the weight anywhere else. It would be a domino effect. Added weight would require larger brakes. Added weight would require more power. Added power would pollute more. They did ask many of us about the wheel design which seemed to be a hot topic for them. So I understand when you say many Civic owners care about wheels looks and size.

 

Again, “big” wheels are not really a fad. No need to try and 💩 on everyone else because you chose to prioritize unsprung weight over looks in a completely non performance oriented car with a CVT. 17s or 18s, they’re slow and boaty

 

Manual transmissions are antique and currently not performance oriented. How many Formula 1 cars have manuals? Current Ferrari, Lamborghini, McLaren and Porsche offer and sell majority automatics. Manual trans exist to cater to those with egos and believe automatics are for anyone else. Automatics can shift quicker than a human and can be electronically controlled by an ECU making many more decisions than a human can ever make.

 

I put smaller and lighter wheels on my Si and it was a great mod to make, lots of benefits from that. My rims were about 13 lbs lighter each. You will get better acceleration, handling, and braking. You also should get better fuel economy but that may be hard to measure accurately. Saving that kind of weight on each wheel is likely the equivalent of gaining 5-7 hp on the dyno, est. The best mod for the money IMO. I would never go with a heavier wheel no matter how good it looks. Smaller diameter wheels also help by moving the weight concentration closer to the center hub which gives even better performance aspects. Even if two wheels had the same weight but different sizes, the smaller diameter wheel will perform better every time.

 

How many Formula 1 cars have manuals? Current Ferrari, Lamborghini, McLaren and Porsche

How many of those have CVTs? Nothing wrong with an automatic, but this “small wheel superiority” hill you’ve chosen to die on is weird

I also drive a CVT civic so definitely not an ego thing, though yours seems to be screaming

 

The CVT with a torque converter is a perfect match for a Turbo engine as boost stays up. To me, the CVT 1.5 Turbo accelerates and drives better than Honda’s great manual trans with this same engine. I usually do not like nor prefer any CVT with a small naturally aspirated engine. But Honda definitely did their R&D homework on this worldwide volume production combination.

 

It does pair very well with the 1.5 and there is ample torque for daily driving. But it’s not a performance setup, so there is no sense for Honda to purposely go with smaller wheels for performance as that’s not the focus of the car. Believe me I know the value of rotating mass, I run 13lb 15x10” wheels on the Miata and lightweight wheels are all the rage in the cycling community. Bigger wheels on cars are just more popular and IMO look better. On the non Si/R civic I’d be more inclined to get smaller wheels and taller tires for comfort, not for acceleration but even with the 18s my sport touring hatch rides so so well, I actually find it more comfortable than my wife’s new CRV which has taller tires and suspension

 

I was the opposite. I was actually considering only the LX or EX sedan after knocking out the Sport and Touring as to me the 18s affected acceleration and ride and looked funny with the small brakes. The new 11G Civic does remind me of my 99 and 01 Prelude. Power wise and acceleration times virtually the same as the 2.2 Vtec with 200 hp.