i was just wondering if having a bigger wheel in the rear, such as a 17" wheel would give some sort of traction advantage when using a smaller wheel up front? recomended??

 

i dont think so, but im not sure so free bump.

 

17", only if the rubber was 1/2" thick!!!!!!!

 

think of it like this, with a fwd car, the rear tires are basically being pulled down the track vs a rwd where the front tires are being pushed. so, naturally, wouldn't you want a small, lightweight wheel/tire combo in the back(skinnies)?

 

If you had a taller tire in the rear you might gain additional stability. Using a large wheel in the rear won't help traction but I understand your thinking of shifting the center of gravity further forward. You would be better off putting attention towards tuning your suspension if you want to increase traction.

 

About the only thing a larger/thicker rim/tire in the rear does is prevents the car from what is normally called "skating".. In most powerful fwd car, the rear of the car is usually pretty light, and factor that in when running a lighweight "skinny" rim/tire combo, then the rear will start to skate, or drift side to side, when you start to get up to speeds. Some people like to run a larger rim on the back because it takes away some (not all) of the skate, but is heavier. A lightweight skinny will skate a noticable amount more then a wide rim, but it will be light, and yeild a far less rotational mass...hope that helps