Is there any handling value what so ever when placing larger inch rims on our cars with the exception of less weight? From what I understand, it is strickly cosmetic.

 

Yup, strictly cosmetic.

 

i dunno, i went from the stockers to 16x7.5" kosei K1s, and 215/40/16 tires. handling is definitely better . . . mainly do to a lot more grip. and i personally like the steering response of the lower-profile tires better than the 55 series RE010s.

 

I noticed much better steering response as well as less body roll with 17's, I also have tein ha's with this setup though.

 

I commented about the stock wheels when I bought mine, and they said honda tried bigger wheels, but they couldn't make it handle as well with them. He was just a sales guy though, so who knows.

 

So can you account for the handling due to the tires and not the size of the rims?

 

I went from the stock gunmetals to 16x7 Regamasters wrapped with Dunlop SP9000 (205/45/ZR16). Huge difference in acceleration, braking, and yes, handling...

 

Isn’t acceleration inversely correlated with the size of the wheel?

 

well, if you want to get picky, then yes, i suppose . . .

40 or 45 series tires is really just not feasible on the stock rims. also, a 6" wide rim is just not going to be any good with a 205/50/15 tire. slop-city. so, a 16" rim, or a rim that's at least 7" wide would be optimal.

i would assume that a 205/45/16 tire would act fairly similar to my 215/40/16, although i would also assume that i am getting more grip with my setup.

 

yeah everything is affected when you change wheels..braking, accel and handling..so if you are worried about those things..make sure you get a quality light wieght wheel..the jdm itr wheels are 16..so i still consider that stock..the rtr guys use a 17', dont they?

 

Hehe... U have a much lighter rim/tire combo...

I would only get 16's for the street. Lower profile tires and wider tires is probably better for handling. At least that's the case on the street. If you go with racing compounds on track, the sidewalls of DOT R compounds are so hard, a 15 inch tire feels crisper in feel than 17's with street tires. 16's seems like a good compromise, but they don't make R compunds in 16 that fit Hondas.

I'll just stick with the 15's....

 

depends. jason's running an 11lb 16" rim; the stock 15's weigh 15.6lbs. i think he's got an advantage there . . .

my 16" K1's weigh 15lbs exactly, but due to the smaller overall diameter of my 215/40/16 tires, my acceleration and braking were also improved.

 

No, it is related to the relative position of the mass of the rotating object (wheel) relative to the center of the object. As one moves mass out to the periphery of a spinning object, the object will not rotate as fast, or will take longer to get to a certain speed vs. having that mass located more centrally. Think of an ice skater putting her arms in to spin faster...same mass in both instances, just the postion makes the difference. In general, the larger wheel will have more mass at the periphery, so it will take longer and require more energy to spin at the same rate as a smaller wheel...as long as the total diameter including the tire is the same.

 

thats bs cuz in Japan, the DC2 ITRs came with 16" wheels

 

Very well said, Jon7.

 

Thats true in regards to weight, but in regard to gear ratios, wouldn't the flywheel have to spin more to get a bigger(taller) wheel to spin 1 revolution?

 

Weight is definitely a factor, but if the OD is the same or VERY close (1-2% of OEM) then the engine doesn't work any harder for the same acceleration, as the overall gear ratio has not changed significantly. Thus, the most important thing is to find a tire/rim package that keeps the OEM OD.

The benefit in handling comes from stiffer sidewalls of lower profile tires when using a larger diameter rim. Acceleration will vary depending on the tire OD as well. You will either end up with more top speed or more acceleration depending on whether you are slightly larger or smaller in diameter.

 

exactly. and i find at tirerack.com that the 'specs' link for each tire is VERY helpful. it lists the total revs/mile of every size of tire they carry. very cool.

 

My only problem with rims like Spoon, Mugen, etc... Is that they are great light rims but they are ugly as sin.

 

really? i like 'em. of course, i like my K1s as well, and most people think those are ugly as well.

but that USDM front end? ugly!

 

I think handling would improve. We took my buddies 17's off his Del Sol and put my other buddies 18's on it and it made a dramatic difference in handling. There was absolutley no body roll at all. Those wheels looked big as hell on his car. they looked like twenties.

 

I don't usually look at my rims while I'm driving. Who cares what they LOOK like? I don't care what my b-pipe looks like, but it does the job!

Rims that big are a waste of time. There is a point of diminishing returns on plus size rims. R&T proved it with a BMW. +1 and +2 had the best gains, while +3 and +4 handling was DECREASED. This was on a 3 series using 16", 17", 18" and 19" rims.

Changing rims will have NO EFFECT on body roll, it's just the FEEL that changed. Period.


[Modified by FBP_1171, 12:34 PM 9/4/2001]

 

Honestly George, I do...very much so

 

Jason - does it have anything to do w/ going w/ a bigger tire width? I mean, RE010 are 195's and you're running SP9000 in 215's (?).

 

George~

A major reason I like the SP9000 tires more than my RE010's is the fact that they are outstanding in the wet, as well as dry. I must be honest though, I have never driven a track with the RE010, so I can't provide an efficient "track comparison". For everyday street driving and my experience at VIR with the SP9000's, I give them

Sean (Cosworth)~

Actually, I'm running a 205 width, not 215. The width is not an extreme increase, but yes, I do feel the increase has helped. I can say that these are the best tires I have had yet, though I've only had 3 different setups so far with my R. The other two setups were of course the Bridgestones, along with Yoko Paradas which were awful in my opinion. Furthermore, the SP9000 is the only tire I've had on the Desmonds. Long post, but wanted to be accurate in my impressions