junt

I was wondering how much of a difference having a wide body fd has on handling and acceleration?

DomFD3S

Well, I would think that unless you are going at rather high speeds a wide body will have little effect. What matters more than the wide body are the sizing of your tires (for a wider stance) to accomodate the wide body. That is what is going to create a noticeable difference in the handling.

junt

I just assumed you guys knew I would get wide tires if I got a wide body kit.

Bacon

iTrader: (12)

well aceleration wont be affected at all and if it dose it will be alight increase( more drag+biger tires makes more friction) but that will be unnoticible...youll feel faster b/c your car looks cooler

handeling..well it depends on a million things..tires. suspension setup..bushings...airpress...ride height, swabars..and most important THE DRIVER..ive seen drivers take good handeling cars and have them handle like ****..and people with decent cars with shitty stock suspensions out drive cars with full out coilover suspension...(vosko- in his gtu...ask anyone on the cruse)

huge tires dont mean dick if u dont know how to drive...
stock susp and shitty tires can pull nearly a g on a skid pad...

junt

okay, if the only variable were the wide tires and body kit what is the difference?

junt

btw, I'm unopinionated about which looks cooler I'm only worried about traction.

Mahjik

iTrader: (1)

I doubt the wide body kit is going to give you anything but a different look on the car (strickly cosmetic) and some added weight.

I doubt the added weight is going to be anything you'll notice in handling. As stated above, if you are wanting to improve handling, you are going about it the wrong way with a wide body kit.

DK

iTrader: (5)

I have a question ... what widebody are you putting on it? Is it the Mazdaspeed "widebody" (I say that with quotes for a reason)? Or is it a real widebody?

legendrx7

iTrader: (12)

OK, say you are talking about the Pettit rear fender flares w/ 12" wheels and 335mm wide tires. How the hell could it not accelerate faster? I cannot lay down hardly any of my power in 1st and 2nd gears because of my skinny *** 225/50/16's if I were to have some 335/35/17's out back, I would be able to lay a lot more of my low end power down which would mean my car should accelerate quicker.

Also, say you are carving the mountain roads. Would you rather have some 225/50/16's or some nice wide sticky tires? Not much of a question for me. Think about exiting a corner at WOT instead of manipulating the throttle so you don't loose traction.

junt: go ahead an send me a PM after March 1st and I'll let you know how well fender flares and wide rear tires work. I'm sure it will be a drastic change in low end acceleration and in cornering prowess!

later,

Bacon

iTrader: (12)

well in a sense yea the 335 will allow u to put traction down better but once the tires lock..its all the same
but good point i forgot abt that could always run yoko a032-r's or just run drag radials..your stock rims will be happy then

as far as running a canyon on stock sus and big rears...not a good idea imho...the front will break loose b4 the rear...
i prefer the rear letting loose b4 the fronts..for some reason i find it easier to steer that way

junt

thanks legendrx7, I just thought it was obvious that I was talking about wide tires.

maxcooper

335s will be a lot heavier than a smaller size, so you'll be fighting a lot of intertia. The difference will definitely be big enough to feel. But, if you are traction limited, the wide tires would still help off the line. Better tires help a lot, too. My 265 S-03s will hold 370 RWHP through all of second gear in a straight line in the dry, most of the time. First gear is a joke, though.

You still have to feather the throttle coming out of corners with big tires. I run 285s all around at the track, and it is surprisingly easy to get the tail out on corner exit. If you are at the handling limit, any power application will send the tail out no matter how big the tires are. Of course, it was a lot easier with 245s on stock wheels, but it is not like you can just go 100% throttle halfway through the corner. If you can, you aren't driving at the limit!

Your top speed will decrease because the section area is incresed with a widebody (or even wide tires for that matter). Ever notice how Ruf (tuned 911s) uses the narrow body for a lot of their cars?

Increasing your track width should help handling. Widebodies should make it easier to get wide tires that won't rub. And they look cool. I listed some negatives, but I still think widebody conversions can be functional and cool looking.

The Unfair Advantage by Mark Donohue and Paul Van V. is a great book that sings the praises of wide tires. It's a great read, and will get you pumped to add some rubber.

-Max

legendrx7

iTrader: (12)

Thanks for adding some info maxcooper. I know you are very experienced with having a 3rd gen on the track. I am always glad to hear input from you.

The setup that I will have on my car will be: 275/40/17's on 10"s up front and 335/35/17 on 12"s in the back. The rubber will be the new Kuhmo Ecsta V700 race rubber. I have to admit that some of it is for show. As I will not probably have it on a track very often, mostly just for autocrossing and on the streets.

Any input will be appreciated.

thanks,