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I was talking to my dad (who was a greaser back in the 50's and 60's), but he was telling me that having bigger rims and tires doesn't do anything for performance reasons, but I really don't know for sure. Can anyone tell if there are any benefits for having bigger rims and tires; especially on our civics?

 
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they will help for cornering and stuff cause they most likely will be wider. they wont make it faster as far as i know.

 
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well lessee:

-wider tires = slightly better stability in dry conditions, slightly worse stability in wet conditions, slightly slower acceleration since the friction resistance is slightly greater, hehe

-thinner tire-sidewalls = less wrinkling under load so slightly better grip at speed, worse grip at launch, transmits more road feel (can be enjoyable or painful depending on the surface and how hard your suspension is already)

bigger wheels in terms of diameter and width will slow acceleration, but the tradeoff is a thinner sidewall to maintain the overall size

anythin else?

 
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You get to be slower cuz they weigh more

 
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I kinda knew that, but what I was told somehthing to the fact that the bigger the wheel you have, the less revoltions it makes or something.... I don't even know if thats true or not. I probably sound like a complete idoit for asking this. oh well.

 
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<< I kinda knew that, but what I was told somehthing to the fact that the bigger the wheel you have, the less revoltions it makes or something.... I don't even know if thats true or not. I probably sound like a complete idoit for asking this. oh well. >>



Using my car as an example, with a 185-65-14&quot; stock tire on a 14x5.5 steel wheel, the overall height is 23.47&quot;. My final gear ratio remains 3.95:1
Now, with a 205-50-15&quot; tire on a 15x7 Kosei K1, the overall height is 23.07&quot;. The gear ratio increases to 4.02:1. At 75mph on my speedometer, the car will actually be going 74mph.

 
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hey neonmike, how do you like your k1's? ive heard they're the lightest cast wheels out there for the money, and ive also heard that Kosei bs's about their true wheel weights... hehe, what do you think in terms of the wheel strength and any effects on acceleration?

 
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Mine weighs pretty much exactly the advertised 13.5lbs. They're about 34.5 lbs each with my 205-50-15 Potenza RE730s and 44psi of air. I haven't had any issues with bent rims in over a year now.

I love the way they look, going down the highway, all you can see is brake rotor... (or drum hehe)

 
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I think that if we kept the stock 15 and just went with a lighter wheel we would get some better acceration.

Joe

 
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I think the biggest advantage to the ligher wheels is to reduce unsprung weight. Should help handling.

 
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try taking a rock and tying it to a 1 foot long string and swing it around. then do the same with a 2 foot string and you'll see its harder to get the rock going with the longer string. same goes for your wheel diameter.

 
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<< try taking a rock and tying it to a 1 foot long string and swing it around. then do the same with a 2 foot string and you'll see its harder to get the rock going with the longer string. same goes for your wheel diameter. >>



If you keep changing the tire aspect ratio to keep the same tire OD, then nothing changes. Your speedo will work ok, and your revolutions per mile, acceleration, etc will stay the same. If your combo gives you lighter weight, then there would actually be a tiny advangage to accleration, but probably not noticed.

It's the tire diameter that counts, within practical limits, not the wheel diameter.

 
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thanks for pointing that out. by &quot;wheel&quot; i meant tire and rim.

 
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Kool.

I don't know much about Civic's yet, but I've seen a few tire swaps. Some have gone terribly wrong. [IMG]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/IMG]