Do larger wheels always pose a performance loss even when the overall diameter and weight are equivalent???

 

I think what u gain in cornering ablility/feel....you lose in top speed and acceleration....

I think Phantom should chime in for this one.....I beleive he said with his Volk TE37s (18s)....he loses about half a car length to stock S2000's.

 

you will definitely be more stable of handling with bigger size of wheels.

like what s2oooboy said, it will slow you down in top speed and acceleration.

also sometime too stable will make your car become more understeer.


if the size of wheel is overly larger (19in, 20in...) then it will make the car less nimble instead of improve handling. also use more fuel, create error of speedmeter reading...

 

It mostly depends on weight too.
Even with my semi-light 18", the tires are larger which weighs alot more than stock. I gained a mere 3 lbs more per corner going with 18s setup.
I can definitely feel a slight degrade in acceleration and straight line performance.
I think light 17" wheels with 215 front and 245 rear is the best overall setup.

 

s2oooboy,

Heh heh...when I was running my 18x8.5 Volks in rear with Toyo T1-S 245/35/18...I was loosing at least 3/4 a car length on the launch to a stock S2000. The total weight of the Volk 18 and tire was less than the stock wheel and tire. The loss was due to:

1. The T1-S tire isn't as sticky.
2. The 245/35/18 T1-S tread width is less than stock.
3. The T1-S has larger water channels (less contact patch design).

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Phantom
[B]

The loss was due to:

 

You really can't compare the stock wheel and tire to an aftermarket wheel and tire setup because the stock S02's are designed for the S2000. Basically, it is hard to find an aftermarket wheel and street tire for the s2000 where you will not loose performance.

If you want to go aftermarket...I will recommend some lightweight 17's.
socal28 is on the right track. 215/45/17 and 245/40/17 is the way to go.

 

I'm saying that I lost to a stock S2000 because the coeficient of friction with the 245/35/18 T1-S is less than the stock 225/50/16 S02. I lost 3/4 a car length during the launching of our cars (when our tires were spinning). Simply put, my tires did not grip as well. But, for the rest of the race I stayed consistantly 3/4 car length behind the stock S2000.

It wasn't because of driver error because we did the race 5 times with my 18's. I either tie or beat this driver with my stock wheels.

 

I've done exhaustive research on this topic and after a few years, have finally settled on a 2.5x factor for tire/wheel weight differences. Over the course of three years, in several forums featuring highly educated enthusiasts whose degrees are in physics, that figure seems to be most consistent. I've read in other forums adjusted #'s as high as 10x and that is simply ridiculous. To sum it up, for every 1-lb of "rolling" weight gained per tire/wheel or combination of the above, it is equal to 2.5-lbs of static weight. I weighed my OEM combination of tire/wheel before changing over and came to 43 and 41-lbs (rear/front) respectively. My 18/17-inch combo (rear/front) only increased to 46 and 43-lbs respectively and this slight increase was due more to tire weight savings (less sidewall and less contact patch). Total weight according to my above formula is 10x2.5=25-lbs.
Using another formula of mine which reads:
10-lbs of weight = .0023 performance difference in 1/4 mile (all other factors being equal), then the weight gained from my tire/wheel combo would normally result in a gain in the 1/4 of .06 seconds.
FWIW, another formula to convert HP from time is: time/ .023 = hp
so .06/.023 = 2.6hp or roughly 3hp lost from the newbie tire/wheel combo.

All of these formulas have worked for me going on two decades now and are backed up with more than 100 accelerometer runs over the past three years with five different vehicles. Not entirely scientific to the nth degree, but pretty darn accurate for my own purposes. My recent acceleration tests done with the suzuka revealed a loss of performance wholly in line with my projections (about 3hp) following the tire/wheel switchover. The stock wheels are quite heavy actually, at least for a 16-inch size.
I make no assertions of the affect tire track, contact patch, tread compound or other factors (beyond weight) might have in these formulas , but for straight line acceleration (I don't address handling variances) , you're not going to lose too much performance in say, the 1/4-mile going from an 18-lb wheel to a 21-lb wheel but I have noticed some owners who have purchased aftermarket wheels that are as heavy as 28-lbs each. On wheel weight alone, that is akin to adding a small passenger to your vehicle (10 x 4 x 2.5 = 100-lbs) and the performance variance definitely will/can be felt and noted.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Phantom
[B]

I'm saying that I lost to a stock S2000 because the coeficient of friction with the 245/35/18 T1-S is less than the stock 225/50/16 S02.