Why the hate for big wheels?
Discussion
Loads of hate on here for cars with big wheels, I think big wheels look great compared to smaller ones on the same car. I'm a bit annoyed with myself for not ordering the 19" wheels instead of the standard 18" on my current BMW.
I saw a pic on here recently of a Cayman on 16" wheels it genuinely looked crap. There is always the "it drives better", "it's understated rubbish", "more predictable" etc etc
IMO they drive better with bigger wheels, cars of the same type always feel soggy to me when they are on the smaller wheels than a larger alternative.
I saw a pic on here recently of a Cayman on 16" wheels it genuinely looked crap. There is always the "it drives better", "it's understated rubbish", "more predictable" etc etc
IMO they drive better with bigger wheels, cars of the same type always feel soggy to me when they are on the smaller wheels than a larger alternative.
Many PHers consider "how a car goes" to be more important than "how it looks". So functional features are held in higher regard than styling features. Big wheels tend to have low profile tyres, which make the ride harder and often make handling worse. Hence why there's a certain "hate" if you want to put it like that, for big wheels.
There is no way you can be a keen driver and you must spend all you time going up and down motorways. Let me guess, you've got a diesel too and cant understand the hate over petrol?
Harsh yes but even a complete knuckle dragger can see the benefit of a good ride when it comes to fast driving. I love the look of big wheels but to be honest on my gti which has 18 inch wheels crashes where it should flow, 17s would be a far better choice and im looking to go down a size
Harsh yes but even a complete knuckle dragger can see the benefit of a good ride when it comes to fast driving. I love the look of big wheels but to be honest on my gti which has 18 inch wheels crashes where it should flow, 17s would be a far better choice and im looking to go down a size
Edited by Presuming Ed on Sunday 22 September 18:43
There is no way you can be a keen driver and you must spend all you time going up and down motorways. Let me guess, you've got a diesel too and cant understand the hate over petrol?
Harsh yes but even a complete knuckle dragger can see the benefit of a good ride when it comes to fast driving. I love the look of big wheels but to be honest on my gti which has 18 inch wheels crashes where it should flow, 17s would be a far better choice and im looking to go down a size
Harsh yes but even a complete knuckle dragger can see the benefit of a good ride when it comes to fast driving. I love the look of big wheels but to be honest on my gti which has 18 inch wheels crashes where it should flow, 17s would be a far better choice and im looking to go down a size
Edited by Presuming Ed on Sunday 22 September 20:42
Other than the technical downsides (harsher ride, poor turning circle, etc), there's the association with the "it'z got twenty inch rimz innit blud" type morons, and the simple fact that to a lot of people huge wheels DON'T look attractive.
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, though, so why worry what I or anyone else thinks? Just don't call me "blud".
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, though, so why worry what I or anyone else thinks? Just don't call me "blud".
You wll gain more feel and what you think is a more sportier handling with low profiles. Most car TV programmes have filmed comparisons of a standard sporty hatch and one blinged up with the phattest wheels. In most cases a car on standard wheels will be faster around a track than one on supersized drug dealer alloys.
vikingaero said:
You wll gain more feel and what you think is a more sportier handling with low profiles. Most car TV programmes have filmed comparisons of a standard sporty hatch and one blinged up with the phattest wheels. In most cases a car on standard wheels will be faster around a track than one on supersized drug dealer alloys.
Have you got any links to the programmes?clare1986 said:
Doesn't matter how much your car has cost you, your safety ultimately comes down to those four bits of rubber that connect you to the road.
I drove my mother's Ford Ka in the rain a few weeks back, I have never felt so unsafe in my life.
Give me 245/40 over 165/65 everytime.
I may be wrong and please feel free to correct me if I am but a larger width tyre can actually be worse in the rain as there is a greater chance of aquaplaning where as narrower tyres will tend to cut through any surface waterI drove my mother's Ford Ka in the rain a few weeks back, I have never felt so unsafe in my life.
Give me 245/40 over 165/65 everytime.
Si.P said:
clare1986 said:
Doesn't matter how much your car has cost you, your safety ultimately comes down to those four bits of rubber that connect you to the road.
I drove my mother's Ford Ka in the rain a few weeks back, I have never felt so unsafe in my life.
Give me 245/40 over 165/65 everytime.
I may be wrong and please feel free to correct me if I am but a larger width tyre can actually be worse in the rain as there is a greater chance of aquaplaning where as narrower tyres will tend to cut through any surface waterI drove my mother's Ford Ka in the rain a few weeks back, I have never felt so unsafe in my life.
Give me 245/40 over 165/65 everytime.
I was also under the impression that narrower tyres were more resistant to aquaplaning. Si.P said:
I may be wrong and please feel free to correct me if I am but a larger width tyre can actually be worse in the rain as there is a greater chance of aquaplaning where as narrower tyres will tend to cut through any surface water
this is what I also understand to be true in most cases.. but its not actual size od contact, but Kg/cm2 of ground contact.
excluding the normal priviso (?) of decent rubber
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