15" vs. 17"

[vw1303]

Another two words, moment of inertia. Since the mass of a larger diameter wheel if mostly at the outer edges it takes more force to accelerate it. I went with 15's because most of the time they are lighter than a 17 inch wheel. You can also get a low profile tire in 15 inch too, like 45 and 40 series, but only in europe. Plus if you ran such a low profile on a 15 inch rim your car would be really really low :agree: .

[miller]

Thats right 17 wheels are heavier and will make your car slower. Also say you spin the wheel on a launch. The heavier tires are gonna spin more because they have more momentum keeping them spinnging. In a smaller lighter wheel wheelspin wont be as bad. Also the larger wheel you get the more your gearing gets messed with. The bigger the wheel the more you increase your final drive gear ratio decreasing your torque multiplication. a 16in wheel is considered the blend between looks and performance. Im lookin at a set of Kosei K1 Racing 16''.

[NO_H2O]

My 16" wheel and tire combo is very close to the total dia. of the stock tire dia.(outer dia.) on the rear anyway. I have a 195/50/16 on the front and it throws the speedo off a little.

[dbcflash]

I think the primary practical reason for switching to 16" wheels or larger is to accomodate Much larger rotors and calipers. Many of the big aftermarket brakes will not fit inside a 15" wheel. Other than that, there really is no advantage. You can get a really short sidewall in a 15" tire and reap the handling benefits without all the fitment issues.

The most realistic reason for switching to larger diameter wheels is that it's the cool thing to do right now, just like there was a time when 13" wire spoke wheels were cool, or Chevy wheels with adapters were in, or big balloon tires on the back with stock wheels in the front was hip.

It's easy to get sucked in to these trends, but remember, if you don't have the big brakes to fill those tall, tall wheels, you're likely to be labeled a "poser."

I'm very happy with my 15" Pedrini's and the 185 55 15 tires in the front are just about perfect for the way I drive.

Not to say I can't appreciate a good looking show car with 17's or 18's on it. I just think I get more performance bang for my buck with the smaller wheels. I suppose the "ladies" dig the dubs though. That is another compelling reason for big wheels.

[boygenius]

I bought my 18" rims because I got a great deal on them and I plan on upgrading to massive brakes in the future when I have the power to require them. I like the fact that I can have the lowered look with the edge of my rims close to my fenders without the chassis being too close to the ground.