Jeez, where have I been all day?
I put 19s on ours purely for the aesthetics. Our car is a cruiser, though I drive the crap out of it whenever I'm left alone with it. I don't plan to race it, but if I do, I'll get a proper wheel/tire combo for the track. When I bought the car it had some hideous aftermarket 18s on it. I couldn't get them off fast enough! I pored over this board looking at every photo I could find. To me, the 19s are just tougher looking and fill the wheel wells better. Despite my joking about the
cheating death issue, I did a fair amount of research and was satisfactorily assured that the rear suspension would survive the 19s on a
street car. I've noticed zero change in ride quality or handling on the 19s over the 18s. I will say, however, that the roads here are pretty good. My opinion on ride quality might change if I had to routinely drive through NYC or Jersey City.
If I didn't have such close adult supervision I'd lower the car, as well. Check out David J's car with the 19" GT3s and lowered suspension. That thing just looks like
all business. ("My God David! What...are...you...doing?"
)
Your original question was about wheel and tire sizes. My fronts are 19x8 with 235s. The rears are 19x9.5 (though 19x10s will fit) with 275s. I have no spacers and no rubbing anywhere.
