Seeking wheel advice from someone who KNOWS

[Tamago]

Originally Posted by 09TRD

My main purpose for buying wheels concerns width; the OEMs are just 5.5" wide.

A 7" wide wheels would yield big improvements.

Aluminum is the only choice in that width and the roads here are in rough shape. That brings the choices down to a ~ 19 pound plus cast aluminum wheel or a ~ 14 pound forged aluminum wheel.

(As a mechanical engineer, I have already ruled out the possibility of running a featherweight RACING wheel, since I know it would bend do to impact loading on these roads shortly after it was fitted to the car.)

I'd give those Enkeis some serious consideration if I were looking to track the car. But I'm not.

ohh you're a mechanical engineer.. it call comes together....

and how exactly is going to a wider wheel gonna "yield big improvements" ? your gas mileage will drop, running a wider tire will cause your car to tramline, and you'll have more issues in the snow as well as in water (hydroplaning)

so mr engineer.. justify those reasons to go to a wider wheel and i'm up to speed.

[09TRD]

Originally Posted by Tamago

ohh you're a mechanical engineer.. it call comes together....

and how exactly is going to a wider wheel gonna "yield big improvements" ? your gas mileage will drop, running a wider tire will cause your car to tramline, and you'll have more issues in the snow as well as in water (hydroplaning)

so mr engineer.. justify those reasons to go to a wider wheel and i'm up to speed.

The relationship between wheel width and general improvements in handling is well documented.

A 205 mm wide tire mounted on a 7" wide rim will neither tramline nor aquaplane.

[Tamago]

Originally Posted by 09TRD

The relationship between wheel width and general improvements in handling is well documented.

A 205 mm wide tire mounted on a 7" wide rim will neither tramline nor aquaplane.

after purchasing your Ford Falcon wheels and most likely firestone tires to go with them (get the whitewall ones for that full whitetrash effect) you let me know how badly it handles in the ruts compared to stock..

running a good tire on your stock width wheel will be just as good as your proposed setup..

that being said if you're gonna RACE THE CAR you should go to a wider wheel, but on such a light vehicle, you're never gonna over-drive those stock wheels..

but you're not racing.. so you don't need 7" wide wheels


dude... seriously... you're speaking out of both sides of your mouth here

[Russelt3hPirate]

Originally Posted by 09TRD

The relationship between wheel width and general improvements in handling is well documented.

A 205 mm wide tire mounted on a 7" wide rim will neither tramline nor aquaplane.

really?

I've found that when I installed our 205s on our 7" wheels we noticed more tramlining and hydroplaning.

and we've got excellent summer/rain tires (RE750s).

then again what would we know? we're only running 205/55/15s on a 7" wheel on a Yaris where it rains constantly during the summer.... ahaha.