Rim Size Factors

94GTLaserRC · May 7, 2008

Are there any advantages or disadvantages (other than price) in 17" vs 18" rims? Are handling, perfomance, acceleration, etc influenced one way or another by either size? I was considering upgrading to 18" rims, because I may need to change to 10.5's out back and as long as Im upgrading, I was thinking about going with 18's since the prices are not too bad now.

Also, I was looking at these:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/18-C...020QQitemZ300221648463QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWDVW

How can you tell by looking at them if they fit or not?

Thanks
RC

94GTLaserRC · May 7, 2008

Oh....A f/u question:

Could you (I) keep the 17's in the front, and just buy 18's of the same brand for the back, or would that affect the car's performance with uneven sizes?

Thanks
RC

BlackVert · May 7, 2008

tires with 17" rims usually have more sidewall. that usually translates to better traction because the sidewall can flex more. it also can translate to, if you will, "softer" cornering, also because the sidewall flexes more.

so, smaller rims means better traction but sloppier cornering. does the increased traction make up for the sloppier cornering? that is a subjective decision. for me, where i am right now, i think i'd rather have the more traction than the better cornering. that is why i was thinking about selling these rims and getting 17" ones. but i ended up getting toyo r888 tires for improved traction, so i kept the 18"ers

about the different sizes front and back. i have heard that might cause the ABS logic to think there is something wrong and cause a light. i do not know of anyone who has actually tried it though and proved or disproved the theory

XxFaceYourFear · May 7, 2008

BlackVert said:
tires with 17" rims usually have more sidewall. that usually translates to better traction because the sidewall can flex more. it also can translate to, if you will, "softer" cornering, also because the sidewall flexes more.

so, smaller rims means better traction but sloppier cornering. does the increased traction make up for the sloppier cornering? that is a subjective decision. for me, where i am right now, i think i'd rather have the more traction than the better cornering. that is why i was thinking about selling these rims and getting 17" ones. but i ended up getting toyo r888 tires for improved traction, so i kept the 18"ers

about the different sizes front and back. i have heard that might cause the ABS logic to think there is something wrong and cause a light. i do not know of anyone who has actually tried it though and proved or disproved the theory

I'm running 17"s in the back and 15"s up front with no ABS light coming on.

Black95GTS · May 7, 2008

In a general sense, I would think that 18's would be heavier, increasing the rotational intertia and causing more power to be used. This would slow the car down. (slicks and skinnies are on 14s and 15s for this reason.)

This depends on the rim. I think 18s look better. I'm not allowed to Ebay at work so I can't help you with the link.

What the hell are you up to anyway?

Adam

ProKiller · May 7, 2008

from what i've seen you have more tire options with 17s when it comes to sticky tires. you can do 18s in the back and 17s in the front with no adverse affects from what i've heard.

Gearbanger 101 · May 7, 2008

17"
- Least expensive tires
- Will provide the best ride
- Least rotational mass
- Will provide "slightly" better traction (dependant on tire selection)
- Not quite the same "bling" effect as the larger 18" wheel
- Handling would be slightly lesser due to a shorter wheel, with more side wall

18"
- More expensive tires
- Ride will be a little more harsh due to the short side wall
- Generally weight is increased, adding to increased rotational mass
- Will provide "slightly" lesser traction (again, dependant on tire selection)
- Heavier wheel and tire combination also increases stopping distance
- Provides "slightly" better handling characteristics (larger wheel, shorter side wall)
- Increased "bling" factor

94GTLaserRC · May 7, 2008

Black95GTS said:
What the hell are you up to anyway?

Adam

Since my rims are fairly new, and tires for Nitto DR's are $100 more for 18's plus the price of new rims, I'll stay with these for now. I like the "list" of factors for each
RC

reddy351 · May 7, 2008

For ANY street driven car, the only real difference is price (mentioned) and looks (bling--mentioned).

From a "performance" perspective...F1 cars, arguably the fastest/quickest cars on the planet (that are not designed for straightline use only) use 13" wheels and do just fine, pulling upwards of 5-6 G's when cornering. (I know, it's aided by downforce. But still, a 13" tire is getting the job done. Still 2 G's with little downforce.)

blksn955.o · May 7, 2008

I remember reading an article (dont know were) over the 17 or 18 issue. They found that running a 17in rim offered no loss in handling vs an 18in rim. They actually went on to say a 17in rim is about the peak in rim size. The added weight of an 18in rim offset any gain in grip...and a 17in rim had the best comprimise in sidewall for grip and sidewall stiffness for turning...esp. with the many size's avail. and lower sidewall tires out for the 17in rim.

That said. I kinda wish my TTII's were 18's to fill the wheel well a little more and give me the ability to clear cobra/brembo/ect. brake kits...since TTII's are about the only rim that will NOT clear those brake setups.... . To get them to clear I need to run a spacer...not a big deal but the rims are already 9.5 in front and stick out ever so slightly as it is past the fender.

but

I have a set of pro-stars as well so I kinda have the best of both worlds. That and I LOVE my TTII's.

1slow95 · May 7, 2008

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iU_h_FCC_3E

About the only positive thing about 18's is the bling factor and the ability to clear larger brakes. They will increase stopping distance and slow acceleration. Although it may not be too noticeable going from 17x9's to 18's... I can tell a big difference going from the stock 16's to my huge 17's. I can't even lock the brakes now with my weak stock brakes!

94GTLaserRC · May 7, 2008

Low-5.0 said:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iU_h_FCC_3E

About the only positive thing about 18's is the bling factor and the ability to clear larger brakes. They will increase stopping distance and slow acceleration. Although it may not be too noticeable going from 17x9's to 18's... I can tell a big difference going from the stock 16's to my huge 17's. I can't even lock the brakes now with my weak stock brakes!

On that vid link....am I supposed to be viewing the ACTUAL link, or the video that comes up FIRST in the related video columns?
RC

Gearbanger 101 · May 7, 2008

reddy351 said:
From a "performance" perspective...F1 cars, arguably the fastest/quickest cars on the planet (that are not designed for straightline use only) use 13" wheels and do just fine, pulling upwards of 5-6 G's when cornering. (I know, it's aided by downforce. But still, a 13" tire is getting the job done. Still 2 G's with little downforce.)

Not exactly a great example when you consider the cars themselves only weigh about 1,400lbs with driver and are nearly as wide as they are long. Not to mention those 13" wheels are also shod with special race compound rubber that lasts about 1/6th of the race before needing to be changed and are 12" and 14" wide front and rear to boot.

About the only thing F1 cars have in common with street cars is that they both use 4-tires. We're talking an apples and oranges...no....apples and pineapples comparison here.

reddy351 · May 7, 2008

Gearbanger 101 said:
Not exactly a great example when you consider the cars themselves only weigh about 1,400lbs with driver and are nearly as wide as they are long. Not to mention those 13" wheels are also shod with special race compound rubber that lasts about 1/6th of the race before needing to be changed and are 12" and 14" wide front and rear to boot.

About the only thing F1 cars have in common with street cars is that they both use 4-tires. We're talking an apples and oranges...no....apples and pineapples comparison here.

I was just making the point that F1 cars dont use anything larger than a 13" tire. I wasn't making a comparison. One would think that no matter what the details are, that they would use the largest diameter wheel possible. Since they are rules limited to 13", they certainly make it work.

Since you brought up all that fruit, I'm hungry.

legalize420 · May 7, 2008

if the fronts and backs have a different overall tire size your ABS light will come on. everytime i put my drag radials on the light comes on. just pick a tire thats the same overall size as the fronts and you will be good.

XxFaceYourFear · May 8, 2008

legalize420 said:
if the fronts and backs have a different overall tire size your ABS light will come on. everytime i put my drag radials on the light comes on. just pick a tire thats the same overall size as the fronts and you will be good.

Does this happen to anyone else? This is my wheel set up (daily driven)

and I've never had my abs light come on.

SublimeRT · May 8, 2008

XxFaceYourFear said:
Does this happen to anyone else? This is my wheel set up (daily driven)

and I've never had my abs light come on.

It's because all your tires are 26" or so in diameter. The ABS light will trip when it sees a substantial difference in revolutions of the tire, front vs. rear. For example if you had a 275/60-15 rear tire, which is 28" and a 275/40-17 front tire which is a 26" it would trip the light. The car doesn't care what diameter the rim is, it cares what diameter the tires are.

If you wanted 17s up front and 18s in the rear, something like a 255/40-17 or 275/40-17 on a 17x9 up front and say a 295/35-18 on a 18x10 in the rear would work fine, because the tires are all around the same diameter.

Rim Size Factors

94GTLaserRC

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