18 or 17 inch HFP??

this is the same ? I find myself asking when I look at wheels for the civic. After looking at sooooooo many wheel combo's, I have come to the conclusion that it is more about the style and spoke pattern as to whether to go with 17 or 18. With the hfp wheels, 17" would be my choice as the spokes on this pattern extend all the way to the edge of the rim, thus producing an appropriate "look" on the civie. Rims that have spoke patterns that do not extend all the way to the edge call for an 18" filament (enkei evo 5 as an example) as they will look small on the civie in a 17". This can be corrected with a spring change to lower the stance of your car and looks sweet as hell, but what car lowered doesn't look better, right?
As far as ride goes......17's are always the better choice simply because of tire profile going for 45 to 40 with the 18's. I just changed my oil today at my brothers house and he had his summer set of 18" 5zigen pro racer's mounted on 225/40/18 setting in the garage from his s2000 and we slapped them on Lil smoke (07 gg/ex) and took it for a ride. They looked sweeeeet, but I could immediately tell the difference in the ride. Much more rigid on the bumps, how much? I would call it about a 30-40%, but keep in mind I am used to the papaw 205/55/16 setup. My advise.......with the hfp's get the 17's if you are conserned with loosing ride comfort and from my point of view the 18's almost give a pinwheel effect and look out of proportion without a slam job backing them up.
hope this helps,
later, mayo.