Disadvantages of bigger rims??
 

I had picked up a copy of Max Power, just to see what those silly brits were up to, and there was an article that said something to the effect of "for the performance minded you might want to stop at 16" rims, but to look cool, 18" & 19" are the way to go". I just wanted to know if there are any serious disadvantages other than making your gears seem taller with the bigger outer diameter of the wheel. Bigger rims do have more rotational mass, which does kill some of the off the line power, but with bigger rims is handling sacrificed at all??

one other question..... what are the biggest rims that I can fit on my 01
Civic EX without having to do any body modifications

bigger rims = narrower tires... you'll hardly notice any difference performance-wise with bigger rims, just look better:tup: the only downside is they are expensive:tdown:

i think 18" is the largest you can go, good luck:)

19's are probably the biggest you can go. Getting bigger tires will increase friction with the road, which can mean your gas milage goes :tdown:. But while increasing the surface you are bettering your grip to the road, which makes you turn and jump of the line better.

19's are the biggest ive seen.............

as far as power.............people say cause they weigh more you lose alot of power................you can buy 18's that weigh as much as 15's.............it depends what you buy...........

as far as circumfrence............it is exactly the ssame as STOCK...............215/35/18=STOCK...........weight depends what you can buy....................thats it.

generally, larger rims weigh more, and increase unsprung weight...more rotational mass means it's harder to turn...
you also loose acceleration, because it essentially lowers your final drive ratio.....theoretically you would have a higher top speed though..

This is interesting, never new these b4. [IMG]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/IMG]

moral......if you buy 18's w/ 215/35/18 tires...and they weigh the same amount as a stock wheel.......your lookin @ the SAME exact thing as stock excpect the 18's look Sick as hell...
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18 all the way!

It has been proven in several magazines that larger rims decrease horsepower so when because of
mass and overall turning diameter so when you want to go racing put on the factory rims and rubber.

<< moral......if you buy 18's w/ 215/35/18 tires...and they weigh the same amount as a stock wheel.......your lookin @ the SAME exact thing as stock excpect the 18's look Sick as hell...
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no jackhole, the larger rim diameter pushes more weight further out making it harder to turn the wheel. moral being, your wrong.

posted by me in a previous thread:

larger rim diameter does NOT always mean better grip or even better turn in. However a rule of thumb for performance gains is that the lighter the rim and the smaller the diameter diameter the more power you get to the ground. This is why drag racers use ultra light 13" rims to mount their slicks on (well that and they need the extra clearence for the slick). Also unsprung weight (ie the rims and tires) are worth 1.5X the weight anywhere else. So say you have stock steel rims that weigh 30Lbs and you buy some 13Lb volks. Thats a 17 lb difference. now multiply that by 4 and u get 68 lbs. now multiply that by 1.5 and you get 102. And for every 100Lbs you remove from your car you shave a 10th off your ET in the 1/4 mile. Now if you want to talk about auto cross, just look at the integra type R's in the speedvision touring cup championships. they routinly beat the M3s in track events and they use ultra light weight 16" rims with 50 series tires. Trust me, there is going to be a much greater difference in cornering ability and skid pad results if you get light 16" rims with sticky 50 series tires over say, your average weight 17 or 18" with low peofile rubberbands. Now before anyone starts citing "well ferrari and blahblahblah use such and such a size, guess what, you own a civic, and if you want to argue that point, ill be more then happy to get into suspension dynamics with you.

<< posted by me in a previous thread:

larger rim diameter does NOT always mean better grip or even better turn in. However a rule of thumb for performance gains is that the lighter the rim and the smaller the diameter diameter the more power you get to the ground. This is why drag racers use ultra light 13" rims to mount their slicks on (well that and they need the extra clearence for the slick). Also unsprung weight (ie the rims and tires) are worth 1.5X the weight anywhere else. So say you have stock steel rims that weigh 30Lbs and you buy some 13Lb volks. Thats a 17 lb difference. now multiply that by 4 and u get 68 lbs. now multiply that by 1.5 and you get 102. And for every 100Lbs you remove from your car you shave a 10th off your ET in the 1/4 mile. Now if you want to talk about auto cross, just look at the integra type R's in the speedvision touring cup championships. they routinly beat the M3s in track events and they use ultra light weight 16" rims with 50 series tires. Trust me, there is going to be a much greater difference in cornering ability and skid pad results if you get light 16" rims with sticky 50 series tires over say, your average weight 17 or 18" with low peofile rubberbands. Now before anyone starts citing "well ferrari and blahblahblah use such and such a size, guess what, you own a civic, and if you want to argue that point, ill be more then happy to get into suspension dynamics with you. >>



Good points SiRaver...err...I mean JoeB16:)

u know, i also have B16A2, B16Si, JoeB16A2 and some other names on various other car BBs. way to go there sherlock! lmao.

I notice that very little is being said about unsprung weight

getting heavier rims will increase unsprung weight and increase the stress on the struts and other suspension component. more unsprung weight will also result in decrease in struts/spring response, which result in decrease in ride quality (more vibration passed on to the cabin instead of being absorbed by the struts), and "flying" after hitting potholes at relatively high speed

that's my unsprung weight 101 [IMG]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/IMG]

<< u know, i also have B16A2, B16Si, JoeB16A2 and some other names on various other car BBs. way to go there sherlock! lmao. >>



I didn't know that.

<< I notice that very little is being said about unsprung weight... >>





did you even bother to read my post?

So what exactly IS the advantage of bigger rims then, besides looks? Or is it just for looks?

JoeB16 is being a Doink AGAIN!!

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<< So what exactly IS the advantage of bigger rims then, besides looks? Or is it just for looks? >>



a smaller side wall will allow cripser turn in, as well as offering proper suspension dynamics in SOME cars (see corvette, ferrari, and what not). Other then that its mainly used for asthetic purposes on daily driven cars such as the new Sentra spec V and IS300. On a civic there is no performance advantage over a 16" rim diameter.

<< JoeB16 is being a Doink AGAIN!!
>>



and you base this on... the proper information ive been supplying?

fck unsrung weight if my 18's weigh the same fcking amount as my stock wheels!!!!!.
did you read my post.
and dragers.......real ones use 13's cause they have 115 series ballloon tires and thats the only damn size of rim that will fit under the fcking fenders..................
and what do you want to argue...........vw,mitsubishi,and every other fck car company wxcept hoda puts 17's on their cars..............
but whatever

and 1/10 of you 1/4 mile..........gimme a break.........ditch the stupid fckin fire extinguisher you got in your car5 and there's your stupid 1/10....
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and i dont think ANYONE onthis site cares about 1/10 of a sec......
and what.......if i put on 13's Ill run 14.9 instead of 15.9????????? hmmm o.k.

Trevor, stop being so ignorant to factual information. Think about it. What would be the difference between 16s, and 18s, if they're the same weight? The AMOUNT of weight that is pushed to the outside, obviously. Since more weight is spread out through the tire, it basically has more rotational energy in the 16's than the 18's due to the whole unsprung weight topic.

Btw, 1/10'th of a second is a lot. Don't come crying back to the forum when some old-school CRX, or a Ford Focus kicks your ass by 1/10'th of a second. I doubt that will happen though; they'll beat you by way more. :)

I believe I mentioned unsprung weight.
B16 is right (siraver)
and even if the weight is the same as stock, hes right, your changing where the majority of the weight is. take a 2 pound weight, attach it to a 12" string, swing it around in a circle. now attach the same 2 pound weight to a 20" string (exaggerated) and swing it. WHich is easier to turn?

Like I said before, and noone touched on it, it essentially lowers your final drive ratio, so acceeration will be severley hampered if your going from 14" rim to 18" rim, even if they weigh the same.
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Very well-said Screamin... :tup:

well thank you kind sir...see....i'm here for a porpus....err...thats a dolphin...I mean a purpose..
:)

If I ditch the transmission, and the heavier parts of the engine, will that free up enough weight to improve my 1/4 mile times? Oh oh....how about we get rid of the ac....that might help too right? [IMG]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/IMG]

*Sigh*

what happends if i put on 10's............calculate that
will i be runnin low 14's?????

and who here is dragging a 7th gen civic.......your tellin me you guys compete and care about 1/10th of a sec????????

ok 1/10.........ok....put a cold air extension on your sri.....there you go
take out your sub box.......theres you 1/10
pulleys.......whatever........

all im saying is i'll take my nice looking big wheeels that shows alot better than 1/10 of a sec.

You idiot, screamingDOHC! Everythings wrong!
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It's spelt "porpoise". [IMG]i/expressions/laugh2.gif[/IMG][IMG]i/expressions/laugh2.gif[/IMG][IMG]i/expressions/laugh2.gif[/IMG]

this thread needed some humor I though...
my bad...spelling was never one of my strong suits.....
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