Newbie here! Need some help getting started customs

[codegrad]

Ok... please forgive me. I'm sure what I'm looking for is covered in a thread somewhere. It may be that I just need directions to finding it. We were thinking about trading in our '97 camry to get newer car. But since it is already paid off, has only ever had 1 problem (busted water pump) in all the years we've had it, and is generally a great car, I decided I'd rather clean it up and fix it up.

So, I started with the audio system since that's something I knew how to do. Now I'm looking at getting some custom rims and reupholstering. But I need help on the rims. I really want to get at least 17" or 18" chrome. I'm just at a loss as to what I can safely get and what tires I'll need. Can someone help me with this? Besides the diameter, what do I need to look for on the rims? How will my rim measurements determine what size tires I need without having to lift or lower my car? Any help is much appreciated.

The other thing I'm looking at is doing the reupholstering myself. I'm looking at purchasing from this site... I know it's not much to look at, but they seem to have a lot of good info and good deals on carpet molding and leather seat upholstery. What do I need to watch out for here?

Thanks again for any help...
Codegrad

[uibalnme]

When you upgrade to larger rims, and tires you should get a rim/tire combination that is as close to the original rim/tire diameter as possible. This will keep your speedometer properly calibrated, so it doesn't read faster or slower than your actual speed. Tires smaller than oem diameter will give you a faster speedometer reading. Larger than oem will give you a slower speedometer reading, and reduce your acceleration slightly.

Start here with the optional tire sizes...
http://www.discounttire.com/dtcs/tirePlusSizes.do?r=CAOINT&v=006908%7C1997

Then, use this tire calculator to find the proper tire size for the rim size you want...
http://www.discounttire.com/dtcs/infoTireMath.dos

[Athlon_64]

welcome! as far as the reupholstering goes im clueless. i was curious about wheels myself. in the general camry discussion section there is a stickied thread "lets talk offsets my friends"
that way you can see what other people are running and if they rubbed or needed spacers, etc...
hope that helps, good luck!