Wheels question

[socal180sx]

I'm sorry if this is a repost but I was going to get some 17x8 in. wheels but figured I could save a little money if I bought used wheels. I found some nice ones, but their 16x8. my question is what size wheels do you, more expirienced guys drive on your s13? will I lose traction with sixteens or is that good enough.Thanks.

[Red coupe]

IMO from purely a grip basis smaller is better (to a point), I have no problem running stock tire sizes...Tread compound is more important then tire size.

1st- with the money spent on new rims, and tires to fit them, you could have just gotten a way better set of tires, and still had some money left over....

2nd-Per dollar a smaller tire will always give you a stickier compound then a bigger tire. Take for example the G-force T/A KWD, for 205/55/15 they are ~$100 each, I looked at them for a friends car (IIRC 245/40/17 or something close to that) and they were ~$225, thats $125 dollars per tire for the same grip, so for a buget of X dollars you can get much stickier compounds if you have smaller rims

3rd while there are benifits to a wider tire footprint IMO its not as drastic as every one makes it out to be... because a circle only intersects a plane at one point when sitting on it the actual area of the tire on the ground is dependant on tire pressure and load. A wider tire will distribute the load over a greater width so the length will decress. While a wider footprint should be more stable it isnt helping you put more rubber on the ground as many people belive...

The 16's should actualy be lighter, and them being the same width can hold tires just as wide. the tires should be cheaper for the 16s to, so as I mensioned you could probably afford a better tire on the same budget. The only real problem with the 16's is there are considerably less options for 16 inch rims as far as tires go.

[hannibal]

The only real problem with the 16's is there are considerably less options for 16 inch rims as far as tires go.

Good advice overall, but arent there more tires available in 16s than 17s??

socal, big wheels are usually just for looks. People with 18s or 20s on an SUV often dont realize how much they have to pay for tires. Smaller wheels are lighter and perform just as well as larger diameter wheels.

[Rex]

As a general rule the larger (otherwise similar) wheel will be heavier, thus negatively impacting acceleration.

From the Tire FAQ

Why do people recommend wider tires? Don't wider tires mean more grip?

In a short version, no. Don't go e-mailing me about how wrong I am yet, either. Think about your tire as a balloon (more accurate than most people think) holding the weight of your car up. Now, if you place a balloon on the ground, it has a certain area that contacts the ground, this is the 'contact patch', now you can make the patch wider(wider balloon) but the total rear remains the same, because the pressure on the balloon is the same.

Now, what does this mean to YOU? It means that since the same amount of tread is in the contact patch area between either tire, 'grip' should be the same. Thusly, the only things affecting grip(since the area of potential contact is the same) are tread design and friction(tread compound) and finally how well the suspension does a job of keeping the tire in optimum contact with the road surface.

Unfortunately it is not that simple. A wider tire does have some benefits over it narrower counterparts, with a wider contact patch comes a bit better lateral stability(to a point, lateral stress doesn’t vary THAT much between narrow and wide tires), but sacrifices some ride comfort, and less noise cancellation(in theory).

Something else to consider:

Think of a gap in the road surface, typically these run perpendicular to the tires contact patch. On a narrow tire, with a long contact patch, the gap in the road surface would take up more (percentage wise) of its contact patch than a wider tire. Make sense?

...so wider tires do provide some benefit, to a point. Wider tires usually come in stickier compounds, too. Yet, the compound and tread design has far more to do with tire grip than the size.

Now quit asking me how wide of a tire you can fit on something.

[Red coupe]

Good advice overall, but arent there more tires available in 16s than 17s??

I have 15's I dont think so though 17 seems to be a more popular stock option so more tires seem to be made, I have heard quite a bit of grumbling from the 16 crowd that they are neglected like grandparents in a cheap nursing home...

[nismofly]

if anything youll have more traction with the 16s because of the thicker sidewall

i run 16x7.5 and theyre fine

if you get a 16x8, run a 225/50/16, youll be fine

just make sure to get good tires

[Skipper5]

one of the reasons racers use widr tires is for temperature considerations. the wider tires have a larger surface area and will transfer more heat away from the tread so the tire will not overheat as quickly. of course as a consequence the wider tires do take longer to get to temperature.

the puzzling thing here is most national level autocross cars are running the widest tire they can get...thus we have "tire warmers" to get the tires to temp.

i run a 225/50/16 (avon techR) on a 7.5" wheel. its plenty of grip for the course. if anyone has some 14s i might be interested in trading/buying them

[nismofly]

yeah you probably know or have heard of Don Nimi of PDM racing, hes running 275 and 295 hoosier's, a3s05's id assume

[Skipper5]

btw, if you guys are interested in reading a thread from another forum regarding tire width and general tire dynamics in autocrossing check this out: http://forums.bimmerforums.com...=tire

it boils down to a bunch of bimmer guys in a pissing contest. quite interesting though.

[Nismo_Freak]

yeah you probably know or have heard of Don Nimi of PDM racing, hes running 275 and 295 hoosier's, a3s05's id assume

Don needs some JGTC class aero and enough power to get up to speed to use that kind of a tire.

[nismofly]

well with the 295 rwhp he was saying he was having problems getting it to hook up

now im not sure if more tire is the answer, but i wont question somebody with his record

[socal180sx]

Thanks a lot guys, it helped me a lot I guess Ill get some 16 0r 15x8's on some azenis 615's- sound good? oh well thanks a lot.