how big should you go ??

[KnifeEdge_2K1]

why do u need to go bigger?

shorter sidewalls = stiffer sidewalls, less deformation in the sidewall means less deformation of the contact patch and thus more ultimate grip, it increases the responses in steering and ultimately handling

you cant go too big tho since the increase in weight will ultimately bring performance down due to increased unsprung and rotational rate

the sidewall also cant be too short otherwise handling at the limit becomes much more difficult and as a driver if you dont feel safe to take it to the limit you wont be able to use all the potential of the car as easily, and if we're talking about street tyres, with a sidewall of only a centimeter or so the tyre has no give at all so you will feel even the slightest bumps which is a no-no for comfort

[KnifeEdge_2K1]

i think you guys are totally missing the point here, im talking about performance, not astetics

for an NSX-R it comes with 17 inch rims which i think are perfect on it since it isnt exactly a big car. on a side note tho, keiichi tsuchia (i cant spell his name) the drift king uses 18 inch rims on his private nsx-r, i think that's a bit too much since you dont really need bigger brakes on the nsx-r, and the sidewalls on an 18 incher would be getting pretty damn short

with civics which come with like 14 inch rims i think they should go up to 16 if you're going to add bigger rotors and sport tyres, tho i'm pretty sure 15s are enough in most cases

on something like a 911 or ferrari or aston then 18-19s would make more sense since they are much bigger and heavier then japanese cars

[2ndclasscitizen]

Larger wheels can also affect gearing. Upgrading to a larger wheel can make a car drop of it's performance band on upshifts, the FPV GT is an example of this

[PerfAdv]

Knifedge, are you asking in general or do you have a specific car in mind?

Only big enough to fit brakes, if you're upgrading brakes...

For aesthetics, maybe a little bigger. Most manufacturers are offering decent sized rim/tire packages now. The factory upgrade will most likely be the way I'd go, don't have to worry about clearance, offset, etc.

I stayed with the stock size of 205/45-16 but upgraded to Pirelli Zero Nero on my MX-5. Going bigger, like you said might give better grip but the transition from grip to slip gets worse. Better just to get stickier rubber and upgrade shocks/springs.

[Revo]

You lads are pathetic!

I'd go all the way up to 60" or thereabout

[drakkie]

Just follow whatever the factory thought worked well and not go more as 2"over It's probably the best balanced choice then In the factory they had time to figure everything out well,so i'd not deviate too much from it

[clutch-monkey]

a clear cut case of too big:

[magracer]

Well the answer obviously is 13"... if you are talking about original minis. Same with every car, it just depends what you are looking for. If it's performance then you would go for the lighter wheel and tire combo... Larger wheels usually mean more weight, but weight varies big time between wheels so you could go bigger and lighter up to a certain point.

Best case I can think of was the M3 which came from the factory with the choice of 19" and 18", the later where the ones of choice as they where that suited the suspension set up better. I don't know if that still holds BTW.

I think +22" are nonsense, unless they are on a Hummer which is another nonsense issue altogether.

Just follow whatever the factory thought worked well and not go more as 2"over It's probably the best balanced choice then In the factory they had time to figure everything out well,so i'd not deviate too much from it

Going plus 2 max is a good rule of thumb...

[fpv_gtho]

Personally i'd go 16 on something like a Fiesta, Polo, Mazda2 etc, 17 inch on cars a class larger, 18 inch on everything else (EVERYthing else).

I heard a while ago that the majority of performance tyres on the market, the 18" range actually provides more grip than the 19" range, although i dont know what truth is in that.

As far as brakes go, if V8 Supercars can fit 370mm rotors and 6 piston calipers behind a 17" rim, you can probably find a decent enough brake kit for behind 18" rims.

[Falcon500]

Personally i'd go 16 on something like a Fiesta, Polo, Mazda2 etc, 17 inch on cars a class larger, 18 inch on everything else (EVERYthing else).

I heard a while ago that the majority of performance tyres on the market, the 18" range actually provides more grip than the 19" range, although i dont know what truth is in that.

As far as brakes go, if V8 Supercars can fit 370mm rotors and 6 piston calipers behind a 17" rim, you can probably find a decent enough brake kit for behind 18" rims.

Well one thing worth mentioning your saveing near $110 a hoop getting an inch less.

also 18s have more development because mosty manufactuors have 18s....more market more testing development so id buy it.

[fpv_gtho]

Well look at what HSV did with the DTS Clubsport. The normal car had 19" wheels, but the DTS got 18" rims for the racing tyres

[Falcon500]

Dont forget thare are diffrent quality in the wheels used....my brothers AU xr8 had a softer compound tyre then an equivelnt VT SS handeld great but expesive tread and not as hard wareing.....another great example look at the diffrece bettwen a wrx and an sti threat wrx has a good set of street rubber the sti almost litrally has grooved slicks (they look like the "street tyres" they use on japense tuner days at tskuba etc) so it all depends on the trade off your willing to have long life,prone to aqua planeing and such

[kingofthering]

i think you guys are totally missing the point here, im talking about performance, not astetics

for an NSX-R it comes with 17 inch rims which i think are perfect on it since it isnt exactly a big car. on a side note tho, keiichi tsuchia (i cant spell his name) the drift king uses 18 inch rims on his private nsx-r, i think that's a bit too much since you dont really need bigger brakes on the nsx-r, and the sidewalls on an 18 incher would be getting pretty damn short

with civics which come with like 14 inch rims i think they should go up to 16 if you're going to add bigger rotors and sport tyres, tho i'm pretty sure 15s are enough in most cases

on something like a 911 or ferrari or aston then 18-19s would make more sense since they are much bigger and heavier then japanese cars

it is Keiichi Tsuchiya

[Prius]

I say 20", because it is a happy medium of real big and really small.

[derekthetree]

I say 20", because it is a happy medium of real big and really small.

on what type of car (apart from SUVs ) are 20" wheels not really big ?

EDIT: in fact any bigger and it looks like you're driving around on rubber bands