Who doesn't like big wheels?
Discussion
Previous car had 19” alloys, can’t remember the exact tyre but there was only about an inch between the bottom of the alloy and the road surface. Looked good but the ride was staggeringly firm, really not suitable for the average British road.
Replaced it with an estate on 16” alloys, the ride was significantly better unsurprisingly. I bought a set of 15” alloys to fit some winter tyres to - these were even more comfy, I ended up buying a second pair of 15’s to have two sets, a dedicated winter and dedicated summer set. The original 16’s sold on eBay, never looked back since. Another bonus, a brand new Conti PremiumContact6 fitted and balanced? £67 per corner.. Even the 16’s were at least £100 a corner for a decent tyre.
The OH has 18’s I think on her vehicle, again the ride is just so unpleasant. So, I am not a fan of big wheels. They look good but that’s where the benefits end, smaller wheels are better protected from potholes, ride better and tyres are cheaper.
Replaced it with an estate on 16” alloys, the ride was significantly better unsurprisingly. I bought a set of 15” alloys to fit some winter tyres to - these were even more comfy, I ended up buying a second pair of 15’s to have two sets, a dedicated winter and dedicated summer set. The original 16’s sold on eBay, never looked back since. Another bonus, a brand new Conti PremiumContact6 fitted and balanced? £67 per corner.. Even the 16’s were at least £100 a corner for a decent tyre.
The OH has 18’s I think on her vehicle, again the ride is just so unpleasant. So, I am not a fan of big wheels. They look good but that’s where the benefits end, smaller wheels are better protected from potholes, ride better and tyres are cheaper.
hungry_hog said:
Keeps the wheel refurb guys in business! That's another thing hardly any deep dish wheels fitted as standard now.
I believe that this is due to suspension design. The more flush the wheel, the longer the A-arms can be, which means less change in camber with a given suspension deflection. Unfortunately it means a lot of ugly, flush faced wheels vulnerable to damage
ChemicalChaos said:
I believe that this is due to suspension design. The more flush the wheel, the longer the A-arms can be, which means less change in camber with a given suspension deflection.
Unfortunately it means a lot of ugly, flush faced wheels vulnerable to damage
I didn't realise that Unfortunately it means a lot of ugly, flush faced wheels vulnerable to damage
I think one of the worst culprits is the Golf GTi Mk5 / 6 - those diamond cut wheels look like they would be kerbed by a stray speck of dust!
The Escort RS Cosworth , a quite handy mover , with 227 BHP , came with 16s in 1992 .
Not long after some cars were packing double this BHP figure and needed bigger brakes , much bigger brakes , so in came the 17s and 18s,
I once saw a car on 20s ,looked ridiculous with rubber band tyres.
Then , Eureka , someone also had the idea to produce an 18" version of the Ronals Ford supplied OEM and while they were about it
some OZ type rally wheels were also produced in 18" with a specific offset for the big brake boys .
The red car on Top Gear last weekend I think had the 18s on it ,difficult to tell .
Not long after some cars were packing double this BHP figure and needed bigger brakes , much bigger brakes , so in came the 17s and 18s,
I once saw a car on 20s ,looked ridiculous with rubber band tyres.
Then , Eureka , someone also had the idea to produce an 18" version of the Ronals Ford supplied OEM and while they were about it
some OZ type rally wheels were also produced in 18" with a specific offset for the big brake boys .
The red car on Top Gear last weekend I think had the 18s on it ,difficult to tell .
Kawasicki said:
I swapped the V12 in my Lamborghini for an i4 diesel with common rail and turbo and it drove so much better. The fuel economy was transformed too. I rarely used the stupid V12 after that.
Quite a task. A small turbo petrol say 1,5l would give plenty of driver satisfaction too, plus a little lighter and slightly easier conversion. With the smaller engine, smaller wheels and brakes should be possible.Win win.
My wife is looking for a new car (a once in a decade or more thing for her) and wants comfort and a high spec.
Most manufacturers push you down a 'sporty' route as soon as you head towards the higher end models, the tech comes at the price of bigger wheels, thinner tyres etc. More often than not it's the 'GT', 'GT Line', 'S' model. Not necessarily extra power to justify bigger wheels, brakes etc either, just a sporty look and ride.
Isn't that basically the opposite of how things used to be?!
Most manufacturers push you down a 'sporty' route as soon as you head towards the higher end models, the tech comes at the price of bigger wheels, thinner tyres etc. More often than not it's the 'GT', 'GT Line', 'S' model. Not necessarily extra power to justify bigger wheels, brakes etc either, just a sporty look and ride.
Isn't that basically the opposite of how things used to be?!
Another issue of oversized alloys is weight and not just because they increase unsprung mass (which is bad) each inch diameter adds a kilo or two per corner, this has to be spun up like a flywheel under acceleration so performance is lost here too.
You also need some tyre compliance to promote grip as well as comfort too little a car will skip down a bumpy road like a pebble. Might be fine if your neighbourhood has lots of smooth tarmac but that's rare in the UK.
There's a trade of with most things but the fashion for oversized alloys is heading towards the negative and you could get better all round performance putting smaller alloys on what's coming out as standard fit now. Manufacturers make what people want and will buy, which is not always what they need or is best, ergo oversized alloys.
You also need some tyre compliance to promote grip as well as comfort too little a car will skip down a bumpy road like a pebble. Might be fine if your neighbourhood has lots of smooth tarmac but that's rare in the UK.
There's a trade of with most things but the fashion for oversized alloys is heading towards the negative and you could get better all round performance putting smaller alloys on what's coming out as standard fit now. Manufacturers make what people want and will buy, which is not always what they need or is best, ergo oversized alloys.
fooman said:
There's a trade of with most things but the fashion for oversized alloys is heading towards the negative and you could get better all round performance putting smaller alloys on what's coming out as standard fit now. Manufacturers make what people want and will buy, which is not always what they need or is best, ergo oversized alloys.
I think the exact same statement could be made about tablets in place of physical controls. Is it more practical? Very unlikely. Is it safer? Almost certainly the opposite. It is however easier to market, looks more 'current' and fortuitously for manufacturers is cheaper, so it's here to stay.tommy1973s said:
Because he knows that big wheels are dumb. Yet all new cars come with oversized wheels. Until the fashion changes, those of us who want to buy a new car, but who prefer optimal sized wheels, unfortunately are stuck with the idiot wheels.
I am not sure it's just fashion. Some people want to optimise ride quality and some people prefer to optimise response. Nothing wrong with either choice. hungry_hog said:
It's gone completely mental and the 'bling' demand is partly to blame
I know cars are larger now and there is demand for bigger brakes but back in the day (early 90s), 15'' alloys were decent for a hot hatch. Now it's 19''
A high performance saloon/coupe like an M3 would be 16''/17'', now it's 19''/20''. i think even the BMW 850i (which is a huge car) only had 17''s.
Porsche 911 was 16'' now 21''
Keeps the wheel refurb guys in business! That's another thing hardly any deep dish wheels fitted as standard now.
Brakes. I had an RS5 that couldn’t have anything smaller than a 19” wheel because of the size of the brakes, I was glad of those things on many an occasion.I know cars are larger now and there is demand for bigger brakes but back in the day (early 90s), 15'' alloys were decent for a hot hatch. Now it's 19''
A high performance saloon/coupe like an M3 would be 16''/17'', now it's 19''/20''. i think even the BMW 850i (which is a huge car) only had 17''s.
Porsche 911 was 16'' now 21''
Keeps the wheel refurb guys in business! That's another thing hardly any deep dish wheels fitted as standard now.
Diamond cut alloys do look good until the inevitable happens.
I had a Cavalier on 18's with 35 profile tyres way back in the day and it was a bit if a chore, but I've either forgotten or the roads weren't as bad 25+ years ago.
Lately, I've had 18's on my wife's old Astra a few years back then the same on a Volvo, both were a bit brutal even on higher profile sidewalls. I then bought a V50 with 18's and after a few months took them off and it's now in 16's with 205/55/16 and it's transformed the car.
The other car, ie hers... it's an XC70 so is on 235/65/18's and that plus stupidly soft suspension was the main reason for buying it, even though I still do like the visual appearance of bigger wheels / lower ride height but in the real world, the latter are just hard work more so as the roads now are appalling.
I don't think I'd ever go back to a big wheel / low profile combo... a rather tragic admission I guess!
Lately, I've had 18's on my wife's old Astra a few years back then the same on a Volvo, both were a bit brutal even on higher profile sidewalls. I then bought a V50 with 18's and after a few months took them off and it's now in 16's with 205/55/16 and it's transformed the car.
The other car, ie hers... it's an XC70 so is on 235/65/18's and that plus stupidly soft suspension was the main reason for buying it, even though I still do like the visual appearance of bigger wheels / lower ride height but in the real world, the latter are just hard work more so as the roads now are appalling.
I don't think I'd ever go back to a big wheel / low profile combo... a rather tragic admission I guess!
Changed our Kuga recently and the wheels have gone up from 18" to 19" as standard. Such is the design of the vehicle that they don't actually look that big, but there is a definite deterioration in the ride quality and road noise. Disappointing.
Swapped the Capri from 205/60/13's to 205/50/15's mainly due to the fact that trying to find anything other than Nankangs in the smaller size was difficult. 15" size opens up all the usual choices such as Michelin, Continental, Goodyear, Uniroyal etc. Capri definitely feels sharper but there is a small deterioration in the ride quality. However, I'm much happier with the Uniroyal Rainsport tyres on the car rather than the horrible Nankang ditchfinders that were on it before.
I almost went down to 15" on my swift from the 17" wheels.
Ended up buying an MX5 so 15" it is. I have no intentions on changing the size either.
Although I prefer smaller wheels some cars just don't suit them. E.g Super Cars. etc. You just wouldn't see Ferrari or Lamborghini build a new car now with 14" wheels
Ended up buying an MX5 so 15" it is. I have no intentions on changing the size either.
Although I prefer smaller wheels some cars just don't suit them. E.g Super Cars. etc. You just wouldn't see Ferrari or Lamborghini build a new car now with 14" wheels
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