Location: Yuba City, California .... The BIG Cowpie!
The Challenger SRT8 has 20" wheels. The Camaro SS is going to.
Are these massive wheels really necessary for peformance? Put another way, is the extra bit of performance really worth the tradefoff in comfort and safety, knowing you are going to bend rims in potholes?
The 911 has 19" wheels
The Ferrari 599 has 19" in front and 20" in back. Same for the ZR1.
Are 22" wheels on the horizon? How soon before there is no more tire and they just dip the rim in vulcanized rubber?
Are these wagon wheels really necessary on a street driven car. Doesn't this just guarantee that you will be buying a $400 rim every year due to potholes. there isn't much sidewall on an 18" tire but these 20s are so low, that it seems that every pothole risks bending the rim. Do these people drive in the real world for crappy roads or not?
I don't get this trend toward 22" wagon wheels on cars. I don't understand how the slavish pursuit of performance knowing that comfort must suffer and you are going to bend rims in potholes.
I don't get it.
__________________ Solstice GXP Coupe You still don't need a trunk to haul ass...
even at Red Rock Canyon in Las Vegas!
You and me brother.I can't for the life of me see why people put 22" or 24" or that ever on a truck.It just gripes me to be behind one of these when they come up to a speed breaker or a set of railroad tracks and they have to virtually stop and creep across.I know they have to do this to save those wheels but dang they bought a truck.Don't even think about putting a lawn mower or refrige in the bed,I guess they have to borrow someone elses.
Location: Huntersville, NC formerly South Bend, IN
BTW, 20" wheels are usually a detriment to performance. The lower sidewall of the tire helps response a little but the massive weight penalty from the wheel more than offsets the benefits.
Wider wheels, whose diameter is as small as will clear the brakes, with wider tires makes for better handling. If I were running a Solstice in SM2 I would try to find or make 16x10 wheels for their lighter weight and ability to barely clear the OE brake calipers. If I went with a BBK I would figure out how small of a wheel would clear it and get those.
This rationalization is why some of the very high-end cars you mentioned have 19" or 20" wheels. The new 911 turbo has 15" rotors up front paired with 6 piston brembos, try to fit a 18" wheel over those.
Wider wheels, whose diameter is as small as will clear the brakes, with wider tires makes for better handling. If I were running a Solstice in SM2 I would try to find or make 16x10 wheels for their lighter weight and ability to barely clear the OE brake calipers. If I went with a BBK I would figure out how small of a wheel would clear it and get those.
definitely! I was trying to find some 17x8 or 16x8 that would clear our caliper... that would be so fun on an autox course.
Location: Huntersville, NC formerly South Bend, IN
Quote:
Originally Posted by idkfa
definitely! I was trying to find some 17x8 or 16x8 that would clear our caliper... that would be so fun on an autox course.
It would appear that "The Rack" has a 17x8 ET55 wheel made specifically for the Sol/Sky in their "Winter" section. Sport Edition F10: 17x8 ET55 20.0lbs $126/each. It's a start!!
If you really want smaller lightweight autox wheels you're going to have to call CCW and spend some $$$.
Are big wheels necessary? Is 260 hp necessary? Is a convertible necessary? None of it is really necessary. It's all in the eye of the beholder. I've got 45 series rubber on 20's on my Tahoe slammed on air bags. It's not for everyone, but I like it. And I've never bent a rim. I think I've only had a flat tire twice in over 25 years of driving so far. (knock on wood)
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Mysterious, Lightside, GXP, My Mod Page
Not sure how to reply to this. First ti should be pretty obvious if you ever get anywhere near a porsche or ferrari why they run those big wheels. 16inch rotors don't fit under 18 inch wheels.
The question I think you should be asking is why all these so called performance cars are so dam heavy? Which means they require larger and larger brakes.
I am disaponted in the fact that if I went with 16 inch wheels on my porsche I would be very limited in the tires I could run. Only a handful of companies make 16 inch wheels in wide widths for the street. So for more variety and lower cost I had to switch to 17s. Pretty big wheels for a very little car.
Oh I am ordering a set of CCWs for the porsche once I get the final demensions. Until the body work is done and the test wheels fitted and tried out I won't know what size to get.
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I love the life but I never sold my soul...
We have a couple of guys in So Cal that have 22's on their Solstice. To me, beyond the performance, or lack of issue, these are too large for this size car. Out of scale, but they love them so more power to them.
To me they are big gyro's that really impede performance, out of scale to the vehicle, no tire side wall so you have a bad ride, etc., etc.
With that said I have 20's on my GMC Sierra--they look great. The factory 16" rims look way too small.
__________________ GXP--Cool / 5-Spd.
TSW Nogaro 19" Rims, 245/40ZR-19 Dunlop SP Sport Maxx XL Tires, M/F 3" Exhaust, Side Cowl Panels, Side Skirts, Gentex Rear View Mirror, Stubby Antenna, Little Chromies, Momo Shift Knob, Hand Brake, & Floor Plates, Full Interior Reupholstery.
What's really funny to me is when people upgrade to those massive rims and forget to upgrade the brakes. If that's not asking for trouble I don't know what is.
Im on route to upgrading to 22s in the rear and 20s up front. I do it for show. I have a nice19inch wheel for daily use and track use.They are very light too.Made by privat. 1pieace wheel.
So that is my reason for looking at a big wheel.opps i forgot to add. I love a nice lip on the wheel. The ones im looking at come with the choice of a 7inch lip. YUM you can eat off of those.
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Performance Auto and Sound
Compression Performance
The simple answer is NO, oversized wheels are not necessary for performance, they are there for looks, period. Some have argued that the wheels are bigger in order to clear the gigantic brake setups on these high end cars. That's another chicken vs the egg argument. Do these cars have big wheels as a result of big brakes or is it the other way around? Look at it this way, are those brakes necessary for any level of performance that a street tire can attain? No. The trend toward larger wheels is just that,a trend based on the desires of the consumer.
No more so than two seater sports cars are necessary! :-)
Fashion is fashion, none of us would have bought the solstice if we didn't like the way it looked now would we. I find it funny the irony of some peoples thinking.
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North Fort Worth Solstice #2020
Mine on: 12/10/2005 from Alan Young Dealership
Color: Deep, Steel/Sand, Hahn Turbo, and other good stuff.
Location: Rosamond, CA - Home of Willow Springs Raceway
Pretty much large wheels on performance cars are there to clear the brakes. The heavier the car, the larger the brakes needed to stop it. If you want above and beyond braking then you'll require even larger brakes. Cars like the Enzo are at the top of the performance heap and it would be silly to put "just enough" brakes on them. "Just enough" brakes are for cars like the Solstice whose price and low performance envelope doesn't justify the need of having super braking power.
Personally, I like the look of larger wheels IF the size is proportionate to the car. 19's would be as large as I would be willing to go but I would prefer wider, lightweight 18" wheel's for this car.
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2007 Cool GXP with Darkside Top, 5 spd, Ebony Cloth, Monsoon with Single CD, Sport Pedals, XM, A/C
Mods - Solo Street/Race Exhaust, K&N Drop-in Air Filter, EDAL
