Tyres for 18in wheels

[admiral]

Have browsed and searched for inspiration but with little success.

I am doing a few upgrades on the Cerb - one which I'm considering is changing the 16in wheels to 18in. I'm not unhappy with 16s, but some new wheels will freshen the car up and the spiders do look great.

What's the collective view on suitable tyres? I'm using Toyo Proxies at present, which I'm happy with, but should I be considering something else?

Also, does anyone want to argue me out of changing the wheels? It would certainly be kind to my wallet.....

Cheers.

[satman]

I upgraded mine...made the car look so much more 21st centuary IMO.

Tyre issue...well how big is the can of worms....!

[admiral]

So what do use Satman, and are you happy with them?

[froggie]

255 35 18 and 225 35 18 good year f1 work ok for me,on a 8 by 18 rim,they dont catch even with nitrons verry low and set soft,.
will post picture if some kind person tells me how.

[cirvy]

I can certainly recommend my set up: Dunlop SSR, 225x40 at front, 245x35 at rear, all on 18" Spiders,Ohlin suspension,a great set up & so much grip it hurts

[Extra 300 Driver]

froggie said:

255 35 18 and 225 35 18 good year f1 work ok for me,on a 8 by 18 rim,they dont catch even with nitrons verry low and set soft,. will post picture if some kind person tells me how.

Mail the pic to me I will post it for you, if ya like!

[e-mail]

[tannertime]

Hi Admiral,

I put 18" spiders with Toyos on at the same time as adding Nitrons - the tyres have been good especially when warmed up properly.

Wet weather handling is also much better than before (when I was running Goodyear F1s on 16" rims) but I suspect a large part of that is down to the Nitrons.

Drop me an email if you'd like to know more....

JT

[19560]

froggie said:

255 35 18 and 225 35 18 good year f1 work ok for me,on a 8 by 18 rim.

That surprises me. Normally you'd expect 8.5" or 9" front rim and 9.0" or 9.5" rear for those dims. www.toyo.co.uk/index.php?fuseaction=car.t1-s Even TVR T350 spiders are 18x8.5 and the rear tyres are 235/40 but the fronts are 225/35.

admiral said:

I am doing a few upgrades on the Cerb - one which I'm considering is changing the 16in wheels to 18in. Also, does anyone want to argue me out of changing the wheels?

I'll have a half hearted attempt althoug IMHO both sets depending on use/weather would be best.

Assuming that you keep the rolling radius the same then larger wheels will:

Downside:- cost more, have more expensive tyres, perform worse in the wet, perform worse on bumpy roads, be more susceptible to tram lining, increase the weight of the car, increase the unsprung weight, produce a harsher ride, increase the rotating unsprung weight (second moment of inertia) and be more liable to scuffing on kerbs when parking.

On the plus side they should:- prevent the tyre from distorting thus giving greater cornering grip in the dry and on smooth roads, be more direct giving greater steering feel, produce less heat and be better for long high speed journeys, and effectively increase the spring rates being an easy way to fine tune your springing rates from summer to winter if you swap back to the smaller wheels for winter and they should look good. Perhaps most of all they allow you to use top quality (UHP) rubber and fit larger diameter discs.

Also note that fitting lower section tyres with less sidewall flex can make the car more sensitive to suspension geometry changes.

Lowering the car can adversely effect the handling by throwing the static geometry out, and giving you too much camber correction and bump steer.

[admiral]

Thanks for all the replies. I have to decide tomorrow morning, so have sufficient to sleep on it.