For All The People Against Big Rims!read This

once again COMPETITION TIRES ARE BEING IMPOSED..of course a street tire cannot compare to a f1 slick or autocross hoosier.I noticed alot of "racers" stating 13's are the best but honestly not for street handling ability with STREET AVAILABLE TIRES NOT DOT APPROVED SLICKS..I know most think 17's are ricey but the do have function on the street better than any readily available. 185/60/13 can give you correct?. as far as the expedition statement i was stating the handling charactaristics between a high sidewall as opposed to a stiff low profile sidewall... no offense taken.. i bought the expedition as a family vehicle we drive it maybe 3,000 miles a year... just think about it...man someone should write to mythbusters on this LOL....

Edited by etmydst, 15 February 2006 - 02:16 PM.

Well I am running 38psi in the front and that gives me a really good contact patch to the point where the sidewall does not "roll over" at all past the tread. I guess I could up that to 40psi or more to help minimize sidewall flex but it significantly reduces contact patch by doing that

well of course you would be able to make that quick turn better. a wider tire, and less sidewall= more area in contact with the asphalt and less roll in the tire!!! hence you have a "little" better response in cornering.

where the debate of wheel size performance lies, is in accelaeration and decelleration. to quote scott..."I find it amusing that some people wish to argue with the laws of physics." it isnt just the weight of the wheel and tire, its also how far from the center of that rotating mass that the weight is.

think of the wheel/tire as the opposite of the braking system. it doesnt want to stop rotating. we all know that bigger brake rotors will stop you quicker compared to smaller ones when everything else is the same. using this simple logic you can deduce that smaller wheel/tire combo will stop faster too. and will in turn allow better acceleration as well.

why do you think that when ppl put huge wheels and tires, a lot of the time they NEED to put on bigger brakes?

but then too, remember that huge rotors will play into the total rotating weight. so dont go too huge on those you want performance(right scott?)

why don't you? After all you & they are Canadian.

I think the guy from koni that was involved this particular test is a member here "crxlee".. so i guess he is stupid and does not know physics huh and his word is nothing......he was actually there and tested on his car.. as stated in a above post that it was all for advertising thats why the test was made... first he works for koni he sells struts not tires and wheels...second they didnt even mention the brand of tires... so the best bet is ask him he was there and tested them... but i doubt he lied about the results for advertising ricey wheels.. see here

""Lee Grimes, sales and tech manager at Koni North America, came to the rescue, loaning us his personal 1998 Honda Civic EX Coupe. (This testing was done just before the release of the new Civic Si, by the way.)""

Edited by etmydst, 15 February 2006 - 02:36 PM.

This thread is gonna turn hostile real quick.

It seems that most people are arguing that smaller wheels with RACE tires are the best and 17s are for ricers. But etmydst has made several good points. Find me a high-performance, low-profile, NON-RACE 13" tire. People are comparing apples with oranges.

And for those who bring up physics, what would the advantage be of using a 9 lb. 13" wheel over a 9 lb. 15" wheel, besides gearing? Several lightweight wheels are available in sizes other than 13s. I assume that it's almost impossible to fit 13s on modern cars due to brake sizes.

And for those who say no good street tires are available and the differences are minimal...do some research. If you prefer to go that route, compare the prices of new 205/45/13 RACE tires to 205/45/17 street tires.

I had generic 205/55/16s with 6-inch wheels on my DSM and switched to Nitto 555 235/45/17s with 8-inch wheels for a few days...the difference in handling was simply amazing.

Basically it comes down to a matter of opinion. Those who prefer to run 13s will run 13s. Those who prefer bigger will run bigger.

i've haven't read over much of the thread, so i apologize if this has been said but,

a small wheel WILL accelerate faster because it takes less centrifugal force to spin it. and low profile tire are good for cornering/handling because their is less of a sidewall to flex.

so basically, 13" with a lot of side wall is good for drag racing because they are easier to spin and the sidewall will flex along the caster so it grips better. And 15" with low profile tires are good for Solo races because the small sidewalls will flex less when cornering.


just my $0.02 from what i have read over the years.

Edited by crazi-85crx, 15 February 2006 - 03:39 PM.

uhm, the mythbusters are located in sanfransisco. or L.A., i cant remember, but they sure arent from canada.

they are in san fransisco....1 hour from me.. man you havent seen the commercial with the typical looking canadian dude on it?...

nope, though jamie and adam do act like canadians, maybe thier just enlightened americans

all i know is when i sold the 17's off my 87 rex (came with car) and put on stock 91si (crx) with the same brand tire it was a totaly new car in terms of faster acceleration.


.02

like i already said



lets use your 9 lb wheel. say that 6 pounds of it are around the outer part of a wheel. (not the spokes or center hub) on a 17 inch wheel it is traveling faster than the same 6 pounds on a 13 inch....same weight going faster is more energy. more energy to accelerate and more energy to decelerate!!!! a little thing called conservation of energy. also momentum= massx velocity^2 (squared)...so if u double the linear velocity of something you quadrupal the energy or momentum. yes i know that a 17 inch isnt spinning twice as fast a a 13inch, just saying.

but tires make a huge difference, im not a tire expert so i am not going to chime in any more on that. but any kid could understand the conservation of energy principle i mentioned above.

so, for wheel weight and size, regardless of tires, big wheels are not good for performance! this arguement is done! PERIOD!




...now is the time for someone to ignorantly point out that a big light wheel will have less momentum than a small wheel. good for you smart guy!


*edit....another example......a little extreme but to the point! roll around a car tire and wheel by hand....easy huh? now do it with one for a dump truck or tractor! not so easy is it! same damn thing just not as big a diff.

Edited by duner, 15 February 2006 - 04:28 PM.

thank you duner, our own personal MythBuster!!

i think you've managed to explain it the best.

no prob

actually if you spin them both at 10 mph the 6 pounds in the 13 inch are traveling at faster RPM's han the 17" big one..not slower. thus being harder to stop right?. if the dumptruck wheel weighed the same as the small wheel and you spin them ..they would be equally easy to spin..but the big dumptruck wheel will be easier to stop because it has less RPM's or velocity... would you want to stop a 36" fan at 10mph or a 5" fan at 10mph? the rpm' would make it seem like 100 mph...

Edited by etmydst, 15 February 2006 - 04:47 PM.