Why 15" wheels over 17" for 205 track car
Discussion
Hi all. New on here but wanted to ask everyones opinion on this point. I had a Peugeot 205 years ago and changed the standard wheels to 17" comp MO's. They were lighter and in my opinion the car handled better with less tyre flex... But in many forums I am finding people hate this and swearing you should use 15's. I am now currently building a 205 track car and have big brakes to fit so want to fit 17's but wonder why all the hang ups people have about this!??!
HereBeMonsters said:
Lighter than the standard SMRs, probably. But look at how light the 15" MOs are.
In fact, I would say even 15"s are slightly over-wheeling it on a 205. If I could I would go for some 1.6 wheels on my 1.9 for trackdays.
Well the French F2000 series run 17's and 18's with big brakes and big results too. Ok they have maxi arches but thats just external space.In fact, I would say even 15"s are slightly over-wheeling it on a 205. If I could I would go for some 1.6 wheels on my 1.9 for trackdays.
Like for like 15" compomotives will be lighter than 17" compomotives.
Reducing the mass of your unsprung rotating components is the most effective form of weight saving - 1kg saved on the mass of your wheels/tyres is worth ~ 4kg saved from your chassis.
Tyres for the 15" wheels will also be cheaper to replace - which is handy for a track car.
17" wheels will also (negatively) affect your engines ability to accelerate the car unless you compensate by changing your diff / gearbox ratios and or extract more torque from your engine.
Finally, it will also affect the cars ride & handling, though this is more subjective and will vary from car to car.
Reducing the mass of your unsprung rotating components is the most effective form of weight saving - 1kg saved on the mass of your wheels/tyres is worth ~ 4kg saved from your chassis.
Tyres for the 15" wheels will also be cheaper to replace - which is handy for a track car.
17" wheels will also (negatively) affect your engines ability to accelerate the car unless you compensate by changing your diff / gearbox ratios and or extract more torque from your engine.
Finally, it will also affect the cars ride & handling, though this is more subjective and will vary from car to car.
Edited by BeefMaster9000 on Sunday 22 January 16:36
Cheers for your thoughts guys. The rolling radius of the 17" tyres and 15's is not that much different because of the lower profile 17's. The 17" tyres weigh less as there is less rubber. The final drive im using makes the gearing lower anyway so the slightly longer radius is ok. The extra is ok by me but could be a problem on a mega tight budget
I'm considering moving from 14 inch to 15 inch for tarmac rallies. Wouldn't contemplate anything further than that though some of the French got to bigger rims for home brewed "maxi" versions.
Surely 17 inch wheels will affect castor/camber and the rest of the suspension geometry so would need a lot of effort to get it to work right. The standard suspension geometry is pretty good on these.
Surely 17 inch wheels will affect castor/camber and the rest of the suspension geometry so would need a lot of effort to get it to work right. The standard suspension geometry is pretty good on these.
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