Love it or hate it, the Honda Civic is one of the best tuner platforms ever. Tons of aftermarket support, high levels of tunability, and a dedicated following have led it to achieve legend status in the tuner car scene.
If you own one and you’re into aesthetic mods or simply want to change the way it looks, you’ll want a new set of wheels to begin with.
In this article, we’ll explore some of the best rims for the Honda Civic, categorized according to lug patterns.
Should You Install Aftermarket Rims On Your Civic?
There are a few reasons why you might want to pick up a new set of wheels, and they apply to any car, not just the Civic.
Obviously, they improve the look of the car and they could potentially make it more modern, but they also have some performance benefits.
For one, if the wheels are larger and wider, that will allow you to equip better, thicker tires, resulting in much more grip and improved cornering. If they’re light enough, aftermarket wheels can also reduce some unsprung mass, which is always a good thing.
There’s one thing you need to pay attention to when shopping for new rims, and that’s the bolt pattern. The topic of bolt pattern is especially interesting with the Civic, as it changed throughout the car’s lifespan.
Every Civic trim level until the EP used 4-lug wheels, but starting with the EP and until the present day, they switched to 5-lug wheels.
Because of this, we have split the best rims for the Honda Civic across 2 categories to keep both the 4-lug and the 5-lug camps happy.
Since we’re on the subject, most Civics with 4-lug wheels have a 4×100 bolt pattern, while the 5-lug cars have a 5×114.3 bolt pattern. To make it a bit more confusing, the FK8 Civic Type R’s wheels have a 5×120 bolt pattern.
This means that, theoretically, you could equip BMW wheels on it. With that in mind, let’s have a look at the best wheels for the Honda Civic.
Best 4-Lug Wheels
The 1st few generations of the Civic used 4-lug wheels. The very earliest ones used the rather unusual 4×120 pattern, but starting with the 2nd generation Civic in 1979, they switched over to the much more standard 4×100 pattern.
As these cars are a little older, they tend to look better with more retro wheel designs, or designs that don’t really age no matter what car they’re on.
Enkei RPF1
Manufacturer: Enkei
Rim size (in.): 14″ to 17″
Rim width (in.): 7″ to 8″
Check prices: Enkei USA
Similar to how the Civic is one of the most popular custom car platforms, the Enkei RPF1 is easily one of the most popular aftermarket wheels for any car.
They have an icon status when it comes to JDM cars, and they can look good on everything, including on newer Civics.
We’ve opted to include them as a solid choice for older Civics, as not only have we seen multiple times that they look fabulous, but RPF1s are also a pretty timeless design.
They will always look good, while making your older Civic look more modern. As well as being available with the 4×100 bolt pattern, the sizes are a solid fit for older Civics, without having to resort to cutting the fenders.
König Rewind
Manufacturer: König
Rim size (in.): 15″ to 16″
Rim width (in.): 7″
Check prices: König USA
With Japanese street racing cars, a lot of people are driven to put on a set of RS Watanabe wheels. They especially look good on older cars, giving them a 60s race car look, like they’re trying to do their best Hakosuka Skyline impression.
However, it can be a little difficult to get your hands on a good set of RS Watanabes, and they’re pretty expensive, so that’s where König Rewinds come into play. Obviously, their design takes inspiration from the RSW, but they’re quite affordable.
While the design is definitely inspired, the Rewinds also manage to look slightly more modern, which will bring any older Civic from the 70s into the 80s and 90s or so, which is very suitable, as all the Civics with 4-lug wheels came from those decades, anyway.
König’s prices may be pretty low, but don’t let that discourage you. They make some excellent wheels for very affordable prices, and they definitely won’t crack or bend if you’re indulging in some spirited driving.
BBS Super-RS
Manufacturer: BBS
Rim size (in.): 15″ to 17″
Rim width (in.): 6.5″ to 13″
What can be said about BBS wheels that hasn’t already been said?
Thanks to the company’s extensive motorsport knowledge and lessons learned, they make some of the best aftermarket wheels in the world, and just about everyone knows what BBS wheels are.
As well as being produced to the highest standards that you can think of, all BBS wheels have something in common: they look good on most cars.
In the case of the Super RS, they manage to look good on just about every car to come out of the 80s and 90s.
They’re unchanged since 1983; what you buy today is going to be the same as what used to be sold back when they first came out. The 17 cross-spoke style is timeless and adds a retro flair to even the most modern cars.
They also look spectacular on older Civics, especially if you dial in the fitment. They will also come with the added benefit of withstanding just about any type of driving or cornering that you throw at them.
Best 5-Lug Wheels
The seventh generation Civic brought along some major changes, as befits a new model. While most of the global versions of the seventh-gen Civic used 4-lug wheels, the EP3 Type R hatch used 5-lug wheels.
From then, the 8th generation car switched to 5-lug wheels all the way around.
What’s more, from the 7th gen to the current one, they all came out in the 21st century, which brought design trends of its own.
This means that these Civics are pretty drastically different, and a set of rims that look great on an earlier Civic might not work with newer ones.
Because of this, we have lined up a different set of aftermarket rims that will look much better on the Civic models with five-lug wheels, which encompasses everything from the EP3 Type R to the current FL Civic.
Work Emotion T7R
Manufacturer: Work Wheels
Rim size (in.): 15″ to 17″
Rim width (in.): 5″ to 7″
Check prices: Work Wheels USA
The Meister is the one wheel that everyone associates Work Wheels with, and they’re definitely the brand’s most famous wheel design.
However, a lot of enthusiasts are sleeping on the other excellent designs offered by Work, one of them being the Emotion T7R.
Featuring a concave seven spoke design, the T7R’s basic design is often seen replicated by other wheel brands, but the original doesn’t get that much love. We’re not sure why that is, as they are an excellent wheel.
No matter what color they’re in, they look fantastic on a modern Civic, and they’ll especially look good on the FK8 Type R.
Work Wheels have also established themselves in the aftermarket world as being a very high-quality product, and it shouldn’t be any different with the T7R.
Not to mention, you can find them at very, very low prices. Even if you’re on a budget with your Civic build, you can still have a good quality set of wheels from a reputable manufacturer.
Titan7 T-S5
Manufacturer: Titan7 Wheels
Rim size: 18″ to 19″
Rim width: 8″ to 9.5″
Check prices: Titan7 USA
While most of the others that we’ve talked about so far have been established players in the world of aftermarket wheels, you can’t really say the same of Titan7.
Titan7 is a part of the influx of new wheel brands that are putting in their best efforts to dominate the aftermarket.
Usually, when a new brand shows up and offers wheels for lower prices than some competitors, you can expect a lot of people to slap them down immediately, and assume that they’re low quality products or replicas, but that’s not the case with Titan7.
The Titan7 T-S5 is a fantastic looking Y-spoke wheel that would be right at home on a modern Civic. They currently only make sizes for the FK8 Type R, and the same generation Civic Si, but we’d imagine others will be available soon.
The design definitely fits the Type R, and despite Titan7 being a newcomer, these wheels are pretty high quality and surprisingly affordable for what you get.
BBS LM
Manufacturer: BBS Wheels
Rim size: 17″ to 20″
Rim width: 7″ to 11″
Check prices: BBS USA
As it happens, we’re back to BBS again. Where BBS itself is one of the most recognizable aftermarket wheel brands, the LM is another one of the most prominent aftermarket wheel designs, right up there with Volk TE37s and Advan 3-spokes.
Like the Super RS, the LM is another set of wheels that can look just about good on anything, which also makes them a great “last choice” if you can’t seem to find a set of wheels that look good on your car.
Rest assured, the LMs will look good, and that’s also the case with the Honda Civic.
Modern Civics, and especially the performance versions, have very angular, aggressive, and most importantly, motorsport-inspired exterior elements, so pairing them up with an aggressive motorsport-inspired aftermarket wheel just makes so much sense.
The BBS LM is a fantastic choice if you want to jazz up the look of your Civic project car.
Concluding Summary
Every good project car needs a good set of wheels, whether they’re aftermarket or OEM ones, from a different model. There are multiple routes you can take when it comes to wheels, and a new set of wheels offers some pretty great benefits.
The Honda Civic is undeniably one of the project cars for beginners, and the aftermarket support is absolutely immense.
Every generation of the car is very different, and while one set of wheels might look good on one generation, it may not look good on another, so choose carefully
And if you haven’t already, consider looking into a proper set of tires and coilovers for your Honda civic.