ET sacrifices running 17" wheels

[DMAN302]

Just curious as to what disadvantage 17's are in regards to the 1320 vs a smaller wheel? I currently run 275/40/17 BFG dr's on the rear and have been told this is not nearly a good size for the track. On the street the car will often want to slip and slide quite a bit, but once she grabs there's some good stuff going on...what would a 15" or 16" wheel give me as an advantage with a simular tire?

 

[85_SS_302_Coupe]

Because the rim takes up all the diameter of the wheel, you don't have enough tire sidewall to wrinkle, which lets the tire plant easier. Look at any picture of a car hooking with slicks and you'll see the sidewall wrinkle...you want this. With low profile tires, you don't get enough, and this forces the tire to break lose.

 

[25thmustang]

My avatar says it best, a 17" wheel wont do that as well. Now not saying one wont work, but might not work as well. A friend of mine has been low 1.6 60's on 17" ET Streets with a car slightly faster than mine (my brother now owns the tires), but a drag radial seems to be tougher to get hooking and can use all the contact patch it can get.

Any tire will work with the right set up, but the larger dia. rims are harder to get traction from.

 

[DMAN302]

excellent explanation..

 

[TC93]

Me and a buddy have been low 11's on 275/40/17 Sticky Mickey drag radails. I cut a 1.61 sixty and he has a best of 1.57..

 

[8950HO]

Because the rim takes up all the diameter of the wheel, you don't have enough tire sidewall to wrinkle, which lets the tire plant easier. Look at any picture of a car hooking with slicks and you'll see the sidewall wrinkle...you want this. With low profile tires, you don't get enough, and this forces the tire to break lose.

Maximum Motorsports essentially told me the same thing.

Another issue is weight.The bigger the wheel the more weight there is which doesn`t help performance.

I asked them why someone would put 18`s on a fox body and they said it`s mainly for the bling factor.

They did say that some race cars do run 18" wheels,but these wheels are really light weight and super expensive.