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is wider necessarily better?

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Old Sep 25, 2002 | 03:10 PM
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Question is wider necessarily better?

looking for new wheels...is wider wheels necessarily better? not planning on putting down that much power..will eventually have dp, cb, intake, ic, pfc hi-flow cat. think 8" is okay?
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Old Sep 25, 2002 | 03:47 PM
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I'm no expert, but I would say 8" is fine.

Usually people just feel that if they are going to pay money for aftermarket wheels, why not get wider ones.
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Old Sep 25, 2002 | 03:53 PM
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From: https://www2.mazda.com/en/100th/
my opinion: if you are going to buy different wheels you might as well get the factory 17" size.

mike
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Old Sep 25, 2002 | 03:53 PM
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That's what I'm sayin...I'd go with 17x9 and 17x9.5's if I was going to pay for new wheels, unless they were stock 99's ...that'd be sweet too.
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Old Sep 25, 2002 | 05:13 PM
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rynberg's Avatar
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The problem is when you reduce the height of the sidewall (going from 225/50 16 to 225/45 17 for example), you reduce the total volume of air the tire holds. This means you reduce the load bearing capabilities of the tire and increase the chances of a blow-out. This is why most plus sizing is done as follows: 225/50 16 => 245/40 17

Going to 17x8 wheels will likely not increase your handling noticeably if at all. Go with at least a 8.5-inch wheel so you can run 235/45 or 245/40 (not optimally).

BTW, my wife thinks wider is better.....
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Old Sep 25, 2002 | 05:14 PM
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ive got 17x8's up front and 17x9.5's rear. even if you went with 9's in the rear, its definatly worth the money to get that beefy roadster wide *** look. i personally think my 8's up front are kinda *****, i wanted 8.5's but ran out of $chedda.
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Old Sep 25, 2002 | 05:15 PM
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oh, i forgot to mention that i can truley, truley take turns a hell of alot faster with the wide girth of the new contact patches.
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Old Sep 25, 2002 | 05:26 PM
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Wider is better. This was one of the lessons in the book "The Unfair Advantage".

And Pontiac commercials, too -- they said wider is better so it must be true.

This should accompany the other wheel sizing maxim -- "less wide than stock is a foolish non-upgrade."

-Max
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Old Sep 25, 2002 | 05:41 PM
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Originally posted by rynberg


BTW, my wife thinks wider is better.....
good one
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