Try this one for size. Reduce the rolling diameter of your tyre and wheel combo by 10% and you'll increase your car's acceleration by 10%. So why are you still craving those 17inch wheels? Wouldn't 14 inch be better? Ahhh, but big wheels look so cool... and, to be fair, the overall diameter (including tyre) is what matters, gearing-wise. So big wheels shouldn't affect the overall diameter at all, or just a little at worst. Using super-low profile tyres is your answer!

How does reducing the tyre diameter improve acceleration, anyway? It's all about gearing. As well as a gearbox and final drive ratio, the wheels have to turn, too, and that obviously is the final point where gearing can be adjusted. Relatively cheaply, too. Of course, a bigger diameter will slow you down initially (ie in acceleration) but - if your car has sufficient grunt and low enough overall gearing - it will make up for it in a higher potential top speed. But that's unlikely in a factory car - a sports car, maybe, but most cars have a very high overdriven top gear to improve fuel consumption, so you are wasting your time. Oh well... they still look cool ;-)

What else should we know about wheels? Weight.The lighter the better, as a light wheel will follow the bumps better than a heavier wheel. Offset is important. Positive offset will increase the track (width side to side) of the car, lessening weight transfer and increasing grip. Such wheels are recognised by a concave, deeper look, where the mounting surface of the wheel is further inboard, beyond the centreline.

Negative offset is where the mounting surface is outboard of the centreline of the rim, giving the wheel a flatter appearance. Front drives often have negative offset to allow for the extra hardware upfront - the driveshafts, constant velocity joints and so on. However to consciously choose to refit your car with negative offset wheels means that you are choosing a narrower track, more weight transfer and less grip. Not a good option. On the other hand don't mess with things by trying to widen track on a FWD car - you'll probably stuff it up geometry-wise and impose excessive loads to boot. Talk to an engineer first.