Heh I honestly never see the point of buying "rims". Look at this situation: your brake calipers are exposed, you drive through a nice big puddle, water splashes everywhere, your exposed brake calipers get wet, and voila your brakes won't stop you (ever had slippery brakes? It's no fun). I'm personally sticking with the default hubcap the manufacturer gives me. If it doesn't cover enough, I'll buy a hubcap to cover it entirely.
Honestly, thats all complete BS. I've got an Audi A4 Avant, with 19 inch Koneig Three Piece Wheels, and A BMW M3 with the same wheels. If any thing, wheels will make your car handle better. You can order them with different widths to allow for wider tires which means more grip, you can order them with more dish on them, to allow for a custom handling.
A bigger wheel, means you may need bigger rotors for the brakes, but you'll need to replace them every so often anyway, so the next time you replace them, you can replace them with something like Brembo or Wilwood brakes.
Also, as long as you keep the same size tire circumference, you can up the rim size, it will just mean low profile on the tires. But, if the circumference stays the same, your speedometer will stay accurate.
Cross drilled and vented brake rotors, will grip better and stay cooler for more aggressive driving.
My dad works part time for a top fuel funny car driver as a composites developer. He molded me a carbon hood for both of my cars. he also molded me a deck lid (trunk lid), and a spoiler for the M3. I want him to mold me a hatch for the A4 Avant.
I've also got a 69 Chevy nova, but I don't drive it often, due to the fact that it's not really street legal.
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