15" vs. 17"

['74super]

what is the main advantage of running larger wheels? couldnm't i just buy an aftermarket 15" wheel and put good tires on it? i found one that i like and will now proceed to locate good directional racing tires for my bug. and 17" tires are soooo expensive nowadays. would i be able to pull off good handling with a 15? i can't go to 17 because of $$ issues..i'm still in high school. thanks for all the help.. -nick

[Supa Ninja]

Hey Nick,
My Super is still under construction, and while it was still road worthy I had upgraded the suspension. To be able to fully appreciate the new found handling I upgraded the front tires to the trick Continental 175/55R15's. They fit perfectly on 5 1/2"ers I had zero rubbing issue's, they only groaned under the most extreme cornering abuse. I was running 135's so anything worked better. I can't describe how good those tires stuck to the road, your just going to have to take my word on it. Physically they were quite a bit wider then 135's and they lowered my front end about 1/2". And they stuck good on wet surfaces as well.
There are two negatives to those tires, 1)cost-I paided $150 a pop, and 2)availability-when I purchased them a while back they were only run on the Smart Car which isn't availible in the US and the tires were shipped from Germany by CSP, USA. I don't know if they are still available due to lack of demand but if you can find them and can spare the duckett's you'll be happy with them.

Nick

[Steve C]

Hi

Just go with waht you can afford, you can always update later. The thing I like about 17s is the way they fill up the guards and they look so cool with tyres that look like rubber bands.

Steve C

[NO_H2O]

2 words. Sidewall roll.
I went with a 16" wheel. When you take away the side wall you get a stiffer ride and much less roll of the sidewall so you stick better in the turn. But you give up ride comfort. I picked a 16 to get both and it was worked out well. You can find a good stiff side-wall 15" tire and get an improvement too.

[Supa Ninja]

I am planning on going with 17's for the same reasons as Steve C and NoH2O, looks and sidewall roll. But in the mean time I went with the Cont's cause it's a bit of a investment to get 17's.

[vw1303]

Another two words, moment of inertia. Since the mass of a larger diameter wheel if mostly at the outer edges it takes more force to accelerate it. I went with 15's because most of the time they are lighter than a 17 inch wheel. You can also get a low profile tire in 15 inch too, like 45 and 40 series, but only in europe. Plus if you ran such a low profile on a 15 inch rim your car would be really really low :agree: .

[miller]

Thats right 17 wheels are heavier and will make your car slower. Also say you spin the wheel on a launch. The heavier tires are gonna spin more because they have more momentum keeping them spinnging. In a smaller lighter wheel wheelspin wont be as bad. Also the larger wheel you get the more your gearing gets messed with. The bigger the wheel the more you increase your final drive gear ratio decreasing your torque multiplication. a 16in wheel is considered the blend between looks and performance. Im lookin at a set of Kosei K1 Racing 16''.

[NO_H2O]

My 16" wheel and tire combo is very close to the total dia. of the stock tire dia.(outer dia.) on the rear anyway. I have a 195/50/16 on the front and it throws the speedo off a little.

[dbcflash]

I think the primary practical reason for switching to 16" wheels or larger is to accomodate Much larger rotors and calipers. Many of the big aftermarket brakes will not fit inside a 15" wheel. Other than that, there really is no advantage. You can get a really short sidewall in a 15" tire and reap the handling benefits without all the fitment issues.

The most realistic reason for switching to larger diameter wheels is that it's the cool thing to do right now, just like there was a time when 13" wire spoke wheels were cool, or Chevy wheels with adapters were in, or big balloon tires on the back with stock wheels in the front was hip.

It's easy to get sucked in to these trends, but remember, if you don't have the big brakes to fill those tall, tall wheels, you're likely to be labeled a "poser."

I'm very happy with my 15" Pedrini's and the 185 55 15 tires in the front are just about perfect for the way I drive.

Not to say I can't appreciate a good looking show car with 17's or 18's on it. I just think I get more performance bang for my buck with the smaller wheels. I suppose the "ladies" dig the dubs though. That is another compelling reason for big wheels.

[boygenius]

I bought my 18" rims because I got a great deal on them and I plan on upgrading to massive brakes in the future when I have the power to require them. I like the fact that I can have the lowered look with the edge of my rims close to my fenders without the chassis being too close to the ground.