Bigger Rims Performance Effect
07-19-2003, 05:40 AM
#11
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maybe i'm wrong (been known to happen), but I would think the width of the tire would play a bigger factor in performance issues than the weight. The whole "would you rather sleep on a single spike, or a bed of spikes" example comes to mind. The more width, the more area for the power to spread to.
Seriously, correct me if i'm wrong, it's 9:30am and i haven't slept since this time yesterday...so I might not even be able to understand what i'm saying when I wake up later today. But right now, it makes a whole lot of sense to me, so I'm posting it damnit.
Anyhow, enough of my rambling,
Dave
Seriously, correct me if i'm wrong, it's 9:30am and i haven't slept since this time yesterday...so I might not even be able to understand what i'm saying when I wake up later today. But right now, it makes a whole lot of sense to me, so I'm posting it damnit.
Anyhow, enough of my rambling,
Dave
07-19-2003, 07:04 AM
#12
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Wider tires don't always mean heavier tires. The aspect ratio has a lot to do with it as well. The 225/50/16 OEM rear tire, I believe, weighs nearly 25-lbs. My 225/45/16 Toyo Proxes T1-S weighs 19.6-lbs. You can imagine how much quicker your car would be by going from each corner weighing 52-lbs (as I believe the S2000 does) to 30-lbs (combined tire/wheel weight per corner). Mine is 32.5-lbs but there are some owners who are even LIGHTER (Spoon wheels, light tires).
As far as "performance" issues, handling should be right there at the top of the list. A wider tire doesn't guarantee better handling. Once again, the aspect ratio of the tire needs to be taken into consideration. For example, nothing makes me cringe more than seeing something like a well-maintained lst gen Sentra SE-R (great car, I've had three of 'em) riding on 18's or even worse 19's. What the hell are people thinking? That car came stock with 14's. It must ride like a brick and corner even worse. Usually plus 1 upgrades will improve your handling but when you start going to plus 2's and beyond, it's difficult to say you're going to make your car handle better. I highly doubt there is one single S2000 running on 19's that handles better than an OEM model. 275's are not light tires, aspect ratios be damned.
As far as "performance" issues, handling should be right there at the top of the list. A wider tire doesn't guarantee better handling. Once again, the aspect ratio of the tire needs to be taken into consideration. For example, nothing makes me cringe more than seeing something like a well-maintained lst gen Sentra SE-R (great car, I've had three of 'em) riding on 18's or even worse 19's. What the hell are people thinking? That car came stock with 14's. It must ride like a brick and corner even worse. Usually plus 1 upgrades will improve your handling but when you start going to plus 2's and beyond, it's difficult to say you're going to make your car handle better. I highly doubt there is one single S2000 running on 19's that handles better than an OEM model. 275's are not light tires, aspect ratios be damned.
07-19-2003, 10:23 AM
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Russ, you have a point about tire weights but it comes a point where running larger wheels (18s) will allow to run LESS camber due to a better slip angle the larger wheel & shorter sidewall provides. I'm not a fan of 275 tires or wide tires in general, not just b/c they are heavy but they create a lot more drag than a 245 or 255 tire at speed which slows you down.
-ardy
-ardy
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