Wheel diameter is a personal choice. But the thing about 16" wheels is there are more sizes and tire types available.
Oh look. A scientist !LOLI was referring to moment of inertia. Even within the same overall diameter, a swap up to a 16" wheel will locate more of the mass of the whole thing toward the outside of the radius which affects how much energy is required to make it spin (and stop)... but like I said.... he'll never notice.
If right now, your wheel diameter (with 15" rims) are just to your liking, filling the wheel-wells just right, if you move up to 16" rims, to keep the same overall wheel diameter, you will have to go to lower profile tires, meaning the side of the tires will be lower/smaller. You will want to check you like the effect of lower profile tires, see if it is the appearance you like. The difference will not be much, but check just to be sure.i want to replace the tires and wheels on my Sedan Delivery and looking for opinions on 15” vs 16” tires and wheels. Would like to retain the typical street rod look and stance of “ big and littles”, fronts being 205-65 and rears 235-70.
No, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last nightOh look. A scientist !LOL
Physically changing the stance is not necessarily the same as visually changing the stance..... IMO .Like was mentioned previously, going to a larger "wheel" requires using a shorter "aspect ratio" tire to keep the rolling diameter the same. Right now your 205/65-15's are about 25.5 inches in diameter. Your 235/70's are about 28 inches tall. To go with a 16 or 17" wheel the tire aspect ratio needs to get smaller. A 205/60-16 is about 25.68 inches tall, that will get you the same diameter as your current front set up. A 235/65-16 is about 28" tall so that gets you to where your back diameter is currently. This will not effect stance and you will never notice anything different with the way the car starts and stops.
I will also recommend you look into 17 inch wheels. Tire selection for both 15 and 16 inch rims is getting very slim. 17's are the "new" 15's and tire selection for those will be good for a long time.
Mark