As you can see, Rob, it's all about personal taste. As Lew said, most people (probably 99%) don't know the difference between if it is real or not. Hence why we get asked that question
over and over and over... .
Even with my 17" rims that clearly aren't spinners I get the question repeatedly. You should go with what your car needs. Decoony has the best solution, getting a set of both. But for those of us like me, who work for an insurance company and get paid nothing
, I can't do that. If you want pure performance, 17" is the way to go. But if you really care about the "authentic" look, get a set of 15". They'll handle OK, but not great.
Ron, I'm not sure of my total diameter. I looked it once on a calculator I saw online, but can't recall that website. I think mine were about 26.25 if I remember.
Steve