Performance advantages of staggered wheels?

[phenometron]

Hey all, this may sound silly but:
Are there performance advantages to having a staggered wheel fitment (19s in back, 18s in front, etc.) or this strictly an aesthetic issue? I suspect performance is affected more by suspension components and wheel/tire width than by having a larger diameter wheel in the back...love the look, just curious from a practical standpoint! Thanks!

[cheapthrillz]

A larger diameter wheel typically weighs more, so I would say that it is purely asthetics....

[Damn True]

I was staggering around downtown last night. It was not a performance advantage.

As for the wheels, aesthetic. I don't care for it, but many do.

[cheapthrillz]

I was staggering around downtown last night. It was not a performance advantage.

As for the wheels, aesthetic. I don't care for it, but many do.

Too many Zimas will do that to you..... lol

[John Wright]

I was staggering around downtown last night. It was not a performance advantage.

As for the wheels, aesthetic. I don't care for it, but many do.

Plus it makes the car look funny when you rotate the tires...Bwhahahaha

[monteboy84]

I prefer the same size wheel/tire all around, but that's just me.

I believe "staggered" also refers to a setup where the rear wheels/tires are wider than the front. Whether a rear tire wider than the front is advantageous will depend on your particular car, but obviously there is a very basic advantage to having the widest tires that will fit under your ride.

[AM.MSCL]

There are a lot discussions on this topic. Some believe it does and others believe it does not. For driving around town most likely it will never make a difference. On a track some believe "it can help with turn and brake nose dive". You really will have to do a internet search and start reading. I have no idea if anyone has complete test data to provide on it or not.

[formula]

On a track some believe "it can help with turn and brake nose dive".

I can't imagine how that would work...

[Taman]

I think anything over 18's are a waste for racing. Purely aesthetic. I think the widest and lightest wheels are the best way to go. If 17's work, I wouldn't go any bigger. Rims and tires are more money the larger you go.

[monteboy84]

I think anything over 18's are a waste for racing. Purely aesthetic. I think the widest and lightest wheels are the best way to go. If 17's work, I wouldn't go any bigger. Rims and tires are more money the larger you go.

Agreed, to some extent. Go with the biggest practical brakes you can afford, and buy wheels to fit over them ;)

If it weren't for my 13" rotors, I'd probably go with 15 or 16" wheels. Far as I'm concerned, there really isn't any other reason to go with wheels bigger than what will clear your brakes. Depending on what the car is, 20's are overkill for most anything, and the 24's that all the ballers are running look stupid IMHO. Unfortunately now we have OEM's putting the biggest damn wheel they can fit on every car, so they don't look proportionally right with anything less than 20's.....

[phenometron]

Plus it makes the car look funny when you rotate the tires...Bwhahahaha

Yeah, but eventually you'd have the two fatties on one side which could be killer on a circle track!

But...I've never been a fan of the 20"s myself. I had to convince myself of 19"s on the rear, but the Buick is almost a 20 footer so it can handle it...and I'd still have room for some decent sidewall. I was curious about the handling implications of the 19/18 combo, so thanks for the input.

[ProdigyCustoms]

18 / 19 is fine. Many new performance cars come with even 20s. one of the baddest Camaros around is Jackasss and it runs factory ZR1 wheels (bigger then 18s). On street tires he handed race tired cars their ass at Motorstate, so the days of "19s and 20s won;t handle are long gone.

On your Riv, the car is so big it willswallow 18s and 19s like they are 15s. I am doing a 65 Riv and it will have much bigger wheels.

[phenometron]

18 / 19 is fine. Many new performance cars come with even 20s. one of the baddest Camaros around is Jackasss and it runs factory ZR1 wheels (bigger then 18s). On street tires he handed race tired cars their ass at Motorstate, so the days of "19s and 20s won;t handle are long gone.

On your Riv, the car is so big it willswallow 18s and 19s like they are 15s. I am doing a 65 Riv and it will have much bigger wheels.

Hey Frank, good to hear from you again. I've got 17's on it now and they look like roller skate wheels. They actually looked big to me at one time! I'm going to take you up on the project-planning offer. You guys seem to be the "go-to" people for this stuff. The first thing on my list is suspension. I've gotta start somewhere, and that seems most logical...I'm hearing a lot of stuff that fits the Chevelles/Cutlass/Skylarks will fit the Riv. Next, probably do the front brakes first while I figure what to do about the rear drums. Then the wheels...finally found some that I like that will fit. A piece at a time I say. Anyway, hit me back via PM and I'll shoot you my email address. Thanks a ton.

[ProdigyCustoms]

PMs are horrible for me, i get so many i cannot keep up!

Hit me up on email at [email protected].

[wendell]

If you're talking about "performance", you're talking about "racing". In racing it's simple; for a given permitted width it's the lightest weight and smallest frontal area. If you're limited by suspension, you add a little side wall. When you see a race car with 30# 18"s and 19"s on it, let me know. There's a gaggle of old cars on 15" that'll peel it's cap.

[phenometron]

PMs are horrible for me, i get so many i cannot keep up!

Hit me up on email at [email protected].

Email coming your way...thanks a ton!

[obengston]

I think its more of a personal taste if anything...