hashman626

Somebody once told me that once your rims get above 16 inches your handling decreases but I always see race cars, ALMS for example with rims that have to be 17 inches or bigger and those guys definitely know what's going on and wouldn't put them on their cars if there was a better choice (rules may say otherwise i have no idea). So yea, looking at konigs, the set I want comes in 16'' and 17'' inches, only 7'' wide tires though, but this is for a street car, potentially autocrossing so handling is important to me and ignoring suspension at the moment, just focusing on wheels, than everything else. thanks

Gene

iTrader: (1)

Well the problem with going up in size is that weight increases. On a pure race car bigger is better because you can shove massive brakes under there.

If you're just starting out autocrossing don't worry about messing with the car, spend your money on improving yourself as a driver. Until you have some more experience under your belt you won't be sensitive enough to notice setup changes.

otaku85

other arguments are that if you get bigger wheels you can improve steering response since the tire sidewalls tend to be smaller with the plus size rims. you'll obviously sacrifice ride comfort for performance. i upgraded my stock 225/50/16 to 265/35/18. i would check out this site http://www.1010tires.com/TireSizeCal...mp;vehicle=yes i don't think there is really anything wrong if you left your stock wheels behind for some 17 in rpf1. only real issue i have with bigger wheels is your speedo will be off a little

j9fd3s

iTrader: (3)

it depends!

most classes limit wheel size and thus tire size. they also limit you to stock brakes, and a non turbo engine.

and in that case, shorter is usually better. the first gen guys usually run on 13's, as its better with an NA engine in a limited prep class.

people who are running the less limited classes, or just have track monsters do seem to go for something like 17x10's, in other words, BIG

so the question is not what wheel works the best, but what is the best wheel FOR MY CLASS.

hashman626

smaller side walls, better handling, i've never heard that before but ill take your word for it. i have heard about the larger rims affecting speedometers but forgot so that's good you reminded me. maybe

gkmccready

Please remember it's the OD of the wheel+tire combination that matters for "gearing" and the speedometer accuracy. Since this is your street car a 205/55r16 is roughly the same as a 195/65r15 is roughly the same as a 205/50r17.

Bigger or smalls rims make no difference if you match them with tires that make up the difference. If this is from your street car with some occassional autocrossing, keep it simple and just go look on TireRack...

If you're racing the general rule is the smallest rims that clear your brakes. Then comes in all the fun of gearing that j9fd3s brought up. And often your rim choice will be dictated by tire availability. Assuming the class doesn't strictly specify.

But, again, you're talking street car with occassional autocross. TireRack is the answer.

otaku85

i didn't say better handling, i was refering to the steering response. There is less flex in the tires when the sidewall are thinner. usually this info is covered in most major tuner mag when they do their wheel and tire issues

10yearrx7

iTrader: (2)

I would say-

Bigger wheels = more weight but sometimes you need them to clear brakes. I would say go with the smallest possible but does more sidewall= more tire roll? Also you don't want you wheels to be to big because then they will have smaller side walls and scrape the rim on the ground during tire roll.

What I am trying to say is I think 17's would be best. With 16's there is just too much sidewall, ya they are lighter but I think 17's would produce better handling. BUT I just re read it and saw you are stickin with the same width so I don't know. I have no experience with this stuff I am just guessing.

gkmccready

I've seen some tiny *** sidewalls and big rims but I've *never* seen a properly inflated tire on any rim cause the rim to scrape on the ground.

And there are some pretty cool pictures of guys running Hoosier As on 18in wheels (on Corvettes) with cold tires pressures in the teens and even then they don't hit the rim...

10yearrx7

iTrader: (2)

Like I said I have no experience with this myself but I have seen rims sparking during hard turning when watching autox. Maybe they were under inflated, I don't know.

10yearrx7

iTrader: (2)

What you should do is wait and go wider. At least 8 in. all the way around

TrentO

I've run 15" 16" 17" and 18" rims on my FC. My opinion is the widest, shortest tire and rim the rules allow. I had 15" x 8" steelies with 225/50/15 RA-1's on them and they were OK up to about 300 rwhp. After that I went to a 17x9 in the rear with 275/40/17. That was Ok up to 350 rwhp. Then I upgrade the front brakes so the 17's went to the front and I'm now running 280/650/18 yokohama slicks (the /650/ is the height , comparable to a 35 series.

For stock NA hp I'd go as wide as I could for rims and get tires the same width as the rim.

-Trent

hashman626

^^interesting...