Why bigger wheels?

Brainless · Post by **Brainless** » August 29th, 2001, 7:34 pm

What are the benefits of having bigger wheels? Is it just for the style or the weight has an influence?------------------ Brainless 93 Red RS <A HREF="http://www.Geocities.com/j_micho" TARGET=_blank>geocities.com/j_micho</A> (last update 30/07/2001)

finchuck · Post by **finchuck** » August 29th, 2001, 9:15 pm

from what i understand it allows the tire to have a bigger footprint offering better traction. also, it makes the sidewall of the tire lower profile in effect making it more rigid offering better traction. however, the wheels are generally heavier and make acceleration times a bit slower.

finchuck · Post by **finchuck** » August 30th, 2001, 4:43 pm

i've seen some people throw 13" rims on their cars when they're racing very short races and it makes the cars quicker.

GEN-MX · Post by **GEN-MX** » August 30th, 2001, 6:00 pm

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>Originally posted by Rick DeBie: OK, So smaller wheels would increase overall performance? Why do 17" rims seem so much more popular for import tuners? Can someone explain the physics of this stuff? I'm sooo confused.Rick<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>17+" rims are purely for looks they actually don't increase your performance, if anything they decrease it. Thats why you never see drag racers with huge 18's on their rides...just doesn't help. I think it has to do with the amount of air which will pass in between the spokes of the rim while racing. the bigger the rim, the more air passing through it, hence the slower it will go.For import tuners, the look of a lowered car with big rims is just that, for looks and in my opinion I like the look of it. ------------------ Marc 93MX3RS[This message has been edited by GEN-MX (edited August 30, 2001).]

finchuck · Post by **finchuck** » August 30th, 2001, 7:37 pm

i'd say if you want to get big rims go for it... the amount that it will slow you down is negligable. if it bothers you, you can always compromise and get 16's which is slightly larger but not full blown. but i don't think that going to 17's will slow you down much at all, you probably wouldn't even notice. it'll only be important if you were racing, but for a daily driver/road racer than the bigger rims are just fine.

GoA-BoY · Post by **GoA-BoY** » August 31st, 2001, 1:14 am

For some weird reason, I was inspired to put 205/60R14 on the back of my MX-3. The front has the standard 185/65R14. Now the car has this nice, meaty, American stance.205/60R14 is a tough size to find though. Manufacturers only carry it on certain lines. I had to specially order them. ------------------ <A HREF="http://www.mp3.com/nealpinto" TARGET=_blank>¡¡LISTEN TO MY MUSIC!!</A>

jdag112 · Post by **jdag112** » August 31st, 2001, 3:01 pm

To say that 17+" rims are nothing more than for looks is a little off. Someone already noted that the contact patch is larger because the tire is wider, also many times if you measure a 17" rim with 40 series tires (which are a must if you go that big and plan on lowering your car) they are actually almost the same size as 14" rims with 60 series tires. (Guages won't be off that much) 40 series tires have much less side wall so there will be very little sway in them. Yes smaller tires will improve 1/4 mile times, they are lighter and being a little smaller it is easier for the engine to rotate them. Although looks are the primary reason for larger wheels there are some benifits.

KWK MX3 · Post by **KWK MX3** » September 2nd, 2001, 1:41 am

inrease rim widthdecrease tire heightexample: 205/55/15 =205/50/16 (why such a small gain? get 17s) =205/40/17 (ideal) =205/35/18 (rough ride, expensive tires/rims)rim is lighter and provides stiffer wheeltire is less likely to flexlarger rims are primarily for handeling gains rather than accelleration

Raivynn · Post by **Raivynn** » September 2nd, 2001, 9:18 pm

Rotational mass. Same as with flywheel, also adds unsprung weight to suspension system. Not for racing, JUST FOR LOOKS. Better acceleration with smaller rims. Or so I've been told.

------------------ Zoom Zoom Zoom

RanMan · Post by **RanMan** » September 13th, 2001, 8:38 pm

The MAIN reason to go with large diameter wheels is for looks. There are other benefits as well. One benefit is that (as someone else mentioned), the sidewall of the tire is shorter and therefore will not roll much. This makes for better cornering as compared to tall sidewall tires. Also, if the wheels have large openings in them (as in a 5 or 6 spoke design), that allows for better airflow to the brakes (therefore helping to reduce brake fade). There are also disadvantages to large wheels. One such being that the lower sidewall height and added rigidity of it will make it harder to keep the tire from spinning. On larger sidewall tires, the extra rubber stretches which helps to prevent wheelspin. Drag race cars use the larger tires for traction, NOT because of airflow. As to if there is a weight disadvantage to larger wheels, that depends. If you have wide steel wheels on your vehicle and you go with a slightly larger ALLOY wheel, it MIGHT be lighter...not sure though. Check out this picture of these tires. <A HREF="http://www.dougherbert.com/pics/2000_pi ... indy_4.jpg" TARGET=_blank>http://www.dougherbert.com/pics/2000_pi ... y_4.jpg</A> This is what I was talking about the sidewall rubber stretching.

jojo2k23 · Post by **jojo2k23** » September 14th, 2001, 5:46 pm

Why worry about wheelspin and about the gains and losses?IF your not pulling as many horses as these dragster then why worry.If air is a disadvantage then why do the mercedes cLk and bmw and porche race use wide with large diameter rims with spokes.but it is true about bending easy.to put it this way,if your not hitting 3 digit on your speedometer the dont worry about it.

David Coleman · Post by **David Coleman** » September 14th, 2001, 8:35 pm

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>Originally posted by Rick DeBie: Hello, just want to revisit this question because I'm still confused. If smaller overall wheel size is better, because of weight/air movement etc. Why do dragsters usually have huge drive wheels on back and the little bitty ones in front. I under stand the small front wheels, but wouldn't it make more sence then to have wide but less massive tires in back? If I'm more interested in performance should I get wide but small wheels? say 14" rims with 235/50/14s if they make that size. But you get the idea. Also has anyone changed their overall wheel diameter and had to have the guages recalibrated? If so how much does that cost?Thanks, Rick<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>You're on the right track here. For a street car, going to a smaller diameter tire/wheel combo will increase your torque multiplication, or ineffect increase your axle ratio. This will reduce top speed, but increase acceleration [assuming you have traction].Top fuelers run tall slicks because they want to get a tall final ratio [numerically small] so that they wont spin all 6000 Nitromethane Blown horsepower into oblivion. ------------------ David Coleman <A HREF="http://www.PinkMX-3.com" TARGET=_blank>1993 Mazda MX-3 GS Special Edition</A> <A HREF="http://www.highlandsun.com/hyc/sae920677/" TARGET=_blank>V6 engine info</A> | <A HREF="http://www.bradbury.cwc.net/probemx/index.htm" TARGET=_blank>KL FAQ</A> | <A HREF="http://www.brownsword.ca/Probe.html" TARGET=_blank>ECU reprogramming</A> | <A HREF="http://members.home.net/tekguy/" TARGET=_blank>K series Image cache</A> | <A HREF="http://archive.probetalk.com/cgi-bin/se ... tion=intro" TARGET=_blank>Probetalk Archive Search</A> Support OPEC: Buy an SUV

RanMan · Post by **RanMan** » September 17th, 2001, 9:23 am

That's right. The Top Fuel (Nitro Methane) dragsters make so much power that they STILL have traction problems even with those huge tires. I would imagine that about 25% or more of all Top Fuel races has at least ONE of the cars just smoking the tires at launch. I see it all the time.

abyss · Post by **abyss** » September 17th, 2001, 2:07 pm

A few things to note though, first the bigger the rim the more material to make into the designs. The bigger the rim the thinner the rubber the rougher the ride. Also if you increase the front wheel diameter watch you don't go to far or else you will limit the range of motion of the front tires... or more to the point cut the amount you can turn.Jason

abyss · Post by **abyss** » September 17th, 2001, 2:24 pm

A few things to note though, first the bigger the rim the more material to make into the designs. The bigger the rim the thinner the rubber the rougher the ride. Also if you increase the front wheel diameter watch you don't go to far or else you will limit the range of motion of the front tires... or more to the point cut the amount you can turn.Jason

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