Big wheels are a "scam" designed primarily to provide aesthetic 'sporty' appeal at the expense of a decent ride. They are noisier, more expensive and the tyres cost more to buy/replace.

Almost no-one has such large (17/18 inches or more) wheels in Europe or the US. And the fastest BMWs of the 80s (e.g. a 325i) ran on 15 inch wheels.

I was once told (by a garage) that smaller wheels would affect my mileometer and speedometer!!

“Ed V

I was once told (by a garage) that smaller wheels would affect my mileometer and speedometer!! “

“groaver

I had 17" wheels on my hire care Chevy Impala on hols. The sidewalls were HUGE though!”

EdV, perhaps you should change your garage. If you changed to smaller wheels then that would indeed affect the mileometer and speedometer. But, the garage person can’t know that when you change the rims to a smaller diameter then you also change the tyre to one with the same outside radius as the original. Thus the rolling radius is the same and the effect on the mileometer and speedometer is negligible.

Grover, perhaps the Impala was designed for the larger diameter tyre and the ride was comfortable, as opposed to those hard riding bling ones.