Suspension/Wheels/Tires/Brakes

Do the stock 16" wheels for the FD allow for the best handling compared to 17"+?

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Old Jan 6, 2004 | 03:47 PM
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EdwardNorth's Avatar
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From: Ferndale, MI
Do the stock 16" wheels for the FD allow for the best handling compared to 17"+?

Hi all,

I was wondering... What is the best size wheel to have if you want to work on improving the handling and lateral acceleration of the FD? I was considering possibly upgrading to 17's eventually, and I want to know what is the best thing to do for the best handling. Would 17's potentially handle worse than the 16's? The direction I want to take in building up my 7 is to make it as good of a road-racer as possible.

And while I'm on the subject, does anyone know how high you can increase skidpad/lateral accel.? i.e. is 1.05 Gs or greater possible? I imagine upgrading the suspension and putting stickier & wider tires on would be a good start.

Thanks guys! I feel very n00bilicious with the way I'm asking these questions, but I couldn't find anything to answer them.

Last edited by EdwardNorth; Jan 6, 2004 at 03:49 PM.
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Old Jan 6, 2004 | 04:13 PM
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djantlive's Avatar
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strut bar on front is a good start, followed by coil overs all around. better tire such as the SO2 or Michelin Sport are good choices. these are summer tires though.

16 and 17 will not make a difference in handling, as long as the 17 is light weight. 18 are typically heavy and will not offer better handling.
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Old Jan 6, 2004 | 05:25 PM
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neevosh's Avatar
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Going to a larger wheel will give you a shorter/stiffer sidewall on the tire. Also, upgrading the wheels will give an option to run wider wheels, up to 10", as compared to the stock 8" width.
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Old Jan 7, 2004 | 10:28 AM
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it really depends. tires would make the biggest difference. Grassroots Motorsports did a few articles regarding wheel sizes and such. 16s are lightest and will allow a larger sidewall which helps on bumpy stuff. 17s are a little heavier, but has smaller sidewalls which will result in quicker turn in and response and a little more contact patch. My opinion is that 18s may be too big and heavy for this car, but a lot of experienced people on the board here use them so I could be wrong. Checkthe suspension archive for some good info also.
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