Who doesn't like big wheels?
Discussion
Wills2 said:
juansolo said:
Wills2 said:
You need good damping to go with big wheels Porsche manage it as do BMW on their M cars.
My old 911 and M3's were great on Yorkshire B roads, soaked up the bumps nicely.
Porsche have only managed it recently. Mine is on the smallest wheels that fit because on the big ones it came with it the ride was intolerable.My old 911 and M3's were great on Yorkshire B roads, soaked up the bumps nicely.
It's still fixing a problem that need not exist. Wheels should be no bigger than the brakes they surround. I hate seeing air around brakes, it looks horrible and is purely about vanity.
juansolo said:
Wills2 said:
juansolo said:
Wills2 said:
You need good damping to go with big wheels Porsche manage it as do BMW on their M cars.
My old 911 and M3's were great on Yorkshire B roads, soaked up the bumps nicely.
Porsche have only managed it recently. Mine is on the smallest wheels that fit because on the big ones it came with it the ride was intolerable.My old 911 and M3's were great on Yorkshire B roads, soaked up the bumps nicely.
It's still fixing a problem that need not exist. Wheels should be no bigger than the brakes they surround. I hate seeing air around brakes, it looks horrible and is purely about vanity.
There will always be an element of finding what you buy attractive and there is nothing wrong in that, I'm sure you like the look of your car? Should we think you vain for that?
Oh and you can't get 21" Porsche wheels for the 981/991 gen cars biggest available are 20".
Just a question, obviously. Has anyone here who has fitted larger dia wheels, with the appropriate low profile tyres, then had the suspension re-tuned to suit. I suspect it would go quite a way to making them more comfortable/acceptable. Of course, eliminating all the bloody pot holes the dam country has would help as well.
InductionRoar said:
TheEnd said:
HertsBiker said:
I can't stand massive wheels with low profile tyres,
Is there anything modern you do actually like?Gears are all wrong
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
Modern design is horrible
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
I hate technology
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
Cars have too much traction electronics
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
There are old cars out there, all you need to do is buy one.
robinessex said:
Just a question, obviously. Has anyone here who has fitted larger dia wheels, with the appropriate low profile tyres, then had the suspension re-tuned to suit. I suspect it would go quite a way to making them more comfortable/acceptable. Of course, eliminating all the bloody pot holes the dam country has would help as well.
I went from 17" to 18" wheels on the last Supra, at the same time I had all the shocks changed to fully adjustable ones, ride hight was lowered a little and spring rates adjusted. Handled much better than it did before and didn't crash over bumps.
HertsBiker said:
TheEnd said:
HertsBiker said:
I can't stand massive wheels with low profile tyres,
Is there anything modern you do actually like?Gears are all wrong
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
Modern design is horrible
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
I hate technology
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
Cars have too much traction electronics
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
There are old cars out there, all you need to do is buy one.
In any case, the idea that a car will ride crap just because it has large wheels is utter nonsense. My XKR has 20" wheels and rides superbly on all but the very worst roads. I had 14 or 15" steels on my old Punto and it rattled and rolled all over the place. Point (or rather points) being, large wheels may well be fine if the suspension is up to the job and the aesthetics are personal taste.
XJSJohn said:
my pickup has 16" rims and some great big doughnuts for tires wrapped around them, bounces down the road lovely, even with its cart springs at the back!!
We had a Jeep in the US for the last couple of weeks with 16" wheels and 70 profile tyres. The sidewall height just looked insane by UK standards!I've yet to drive a car that was better on bigger diameter wheels (assuming width and therefore tread footprint remain the same).
With the exception of some cars that have enormous brakes, it is just a styling fad. And now we have entire genres of car (SUV) designed around the big wheel, killing off more practical estates and mpvs.
The original Mini and Japanese K cars show that clever design usually involves a small wheel....however we are now conditioned to accept big wheels on the most modest cars.
I've had three cars: (E60 5 series,Alfa 159 and Cayman) where I've downsized from the 19 inch specced by the first owner.
With the exception of some cars that have enormous brakes, it is just a styling fad. And now we have entire genres of car (SUV) designed around the big wheel, killing off more practical estates and mpvs.
The original Mini and Japanese K cars show that clever design usually involves a small wheel....however we are now conditioned to accept big wheels on the most modest cars.
I've had three cars: (E60 5 series,Alfa 159 and Cayman) where I've downsized from the 19 inch specced by the first owner.
IanCress said:
There's an advert in our local paper every week for a new Astra GTC. 1.4T Sport or SRi or some other mildly sporty derivative. It comes with 20" wheels! On an Astra! Wouldn't want to be paying to replace all of them at the same time.
I've seen a few of these around on 20's and they look utterly rediculous. Something smaller would be far more suited to it.My X-Type had 18s and rubber band tyres, my XF has 17s and higher profile tyres - don't know if it's the wheels/tyres but the difference in comfort is night and day. My business partner had a 330d estate with M-Sport badges all over it and 18s with rubber band tyres - talk about princess and the pea, it's a wonder she didn't need a chiropractor every time she went out in it.
My Integra type R on factory standard 15" wheels with 55 series tyres had a great ride quality, terrific steering and balance, even running on Yokohama A048's on the road the ride was fine (and it really came alive on track, not too much grip).
I also had other DC2's where the previous owners had put larger wheels on (17 and 18" inch) and it spoiled the car in so many ways, poor ride, too much grip, more noise, purely a cosmetic appeal.
I also had other DC2's where the previous owners had put larger wheels on (17 and 18" inch) and it spoiled the car in so many ways, poor ride, too much grip, more noise, purely a cosmetic appeal.
Antony Moxey said:
My X-Type had 18s and rubber band tyres, my XF has 17s and higher profile tyres - don't know if it's the wheels/tyres but the difference in comfort is night and day. My business partner had a 330d estate with M-Sport badges all over it and 18s with rubber band tyres - talk about princess and the pea, it's a wonder she didn't need a chiropractor every time she went out in it.
It has nothing to do with the wheel and tyre size. I own both an X-Type with 18" wheels and 40 profile tyres, an S-Type with 18" wheels and 40 profile tyres and an XF on 20" wheels and 30 profile tyres. I previously had an X-Type on 17" wheels and 45 profile tyres.The S-Type chassis is simply all-round vastly superior to the X-Type chassis in terms of ride quality. Simple as that. Going from 17" X-Type to 18" S-Type was a massive improvement in ride. The 18" X-Type came after getting used to the S-Type's ride and feels a bit harsh - but I remind myself of how impressed I was with the S-Type's ride I was in the first place that motivated me to change.
The XF is rather stiffly sprung but rides on forged wheels which aren't as heavy as they might be. It's very firm, but not crashy or harsh. But it has adaptive dampers which helps.
As well as the general assumption of consumer societies that "bigger = better" and allusions to sporting pedigree that is popular in the car market, I think the simple fact of cars getting bigger obliges wheels to get bigger to in order to maintain some visual balance. A performance car from the 80s looks good with smaller wheels because the car itself is not only smaller but of less bulky visual appearance. Market demand, human physiology (look at TV shows from the 1980s, you'll be surprised how slim the average person looks!) and safety regs have obliged cars to be made bigger - and the wheels have to grow to look in proportion.
F1 will be most likely using 18'' wheels from 2017. Partly this is pure marketing, to make the cars visually more relevant to road cars, and partly justified in making F1 technical spec more relevant to road cars and hence encourage deeper involvement by the manufacturers. Not sure it really makes any difference from the average fan's perspective.
F1 will be most likely using 18'' wheels from 2017. Partly this is pure marketing, to make the cars visually more relevant to road cars, and partly justified in making F1 technical spec more relevant to road cars and hence encourage deeper involvement by the manufacturers. Not sure it really makes any difference from the average fan's perspective.
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