Big wheels..what's the advantage?

[J-440]

I personally am not a fan of 20" wheels and bigger on any car except for trucks. Especially on our classic iron. I'm assuming there is an advantage over the 17 and 18" wheels and tires because all of the manufacturer's that are using them on their hi-profile rides. One of the reasons why today's musclecars are so dam heavy are the big wheels used on them. I think they look goofy as hell but is there a performance advantage? I know that the tires are thinner which gives you better handling so there is no sidewall "bending". But the ride is rougher, the tread doesn't last as long, and not to mention the prices are expensive. Now the new Vette owner could care less about tire prices. So why add 20-22" wheels and tires to an older musclecar?

[mitch_04]

Great tire selection on 17-19" rims, allows room for large brakes, even more brake cooling available for openly designed wheels.

20-22" wheels? Personal choice, I don't believe there is any performance aspect.

By the way, tread wear is not related to sidewall height.

[Schwartz Performance]

What he said ^^^

There is no performance advantage. They can help with forward momentum but then are more difficult to stop than an 18.
I personally think 19's look good on some muscle cars. This is due to the fact that a 335/30/18 is pretty short compared to a 345/30/19 which fills up the wheel well better in some cases.

-Dale

[Nothingface5384]

its all about looks, thats it... 17 -18 combo i think is best 17s are still the chepaest, can get any size you want in front.
18s in back to get the height and width stagger you want

[J-440]

How about comfortable ride? Usually the rubber band tires I see on these big rims has got to be jarring your back on the road right?

[Schwartz Performance]

Trucks have a big sidewall and don't ride that great... And BMW's ride pretty good with a small sidewall...
Meaning the comfort will come a lot from your suspension.
The larger sidewall tires do flex and will act like a shock absorber, but then you give up a bit of the handling because it'll flex a lot going around corners.
So no, the "rubberband tires" don't jar your back unless you're referring to a tire like a 295/20/22 lol.

-Dale

[mitch_04]

Ride quality comes from spring and shock selection. You build cars as a whole, so if you want ride quality and stiff short sidewall tires, you will need soft springs. If you want higher performance in the corners, you are going to have stiffer springs and a rougher ride. There isn't a perfect situation, you are going to have to pick where you want to draw the line. Big soft cushy sidewalls and soft springs are going to corner like a boat but ride like a Caddy. However, you can get a pretty decent medium. My father used to have an '02 'Vette and it rode very well considering it's cornering abilities.

Just remember, it's all a system. Design it as a whole, don't focus on a piece.

[72BBSwinger]

I use 18" wheels to clear the 14" front brakes. There are no tires worth a crap in 15-17" sizes anymore either.

[DippedInSauce]

What he said ^^^

There is no performance advantage. They can help with forward momentum but then are more difficult to stop than an 18.
I personally think 19's look good on some muscle cars. This is due to the fact that a 335/30/18 is pretty short compared to a 345/30/19 which fills up the wheel well better in some cases.
-Dale

I totally agree with this reply. I'm running a 245/35/18 and 295/30/19 comb. I got really close to going with a 285/35/18 rear. But in the end I decided filling up the wheel well was more important. The 19x10 wheel was only 1.2 lbs heavier than the 18x10 and the tires weighed the same.

[Paul Huryk]

I agree with the posters above on many of their observations and comments.

We see wheels (and tires) as a visual and performance item that can optimize or damage vehicle performance if you make a good or bad choice.

Most of us have noticed the increase in tire and wheel diameter in the newer cars on the road - the new Camaros and Challengers come with 20" wheels as an option, but they still have a good amount of sidewall due to a 29" or so tire diameter. Most previous generation cars cam with tires ranging from 25" to 27" from the factory.

As an example, the 275-40-17 tire, very popular size is 26.75" in diameter, as is the 275-35-18. You size that up to 20" with a 275-25-20 tire and you get a tiny sidewall and a lot more weight on each corner (metal is a lot heavier than rubber). We have seen quite a few articles where comparing 15" up to 18" wheels and tires that indicate a dropoff in performance once you go above the inflection point of the ideal weight to sidewall combination. In most cases, 17" works the best at the 25" to 26" tire diameter.

One thing I have heard a lot about is how the really large size wheels are much more big brake friendly - it is true, to a point. Anything above 14" front brakes is overkill on a sub 4,000lb car and as almost all 18" wheels (and some select 17") will fit that size, no reason to worry about that possible issue.

I don't focus on the aesthetic look of wheel too much, just the performance impact of such items. Ditto for budget.