They say that 16 inch rim will make a car faster then if it had 17 rim. Is it mostly the rim weight that causes this to happen? So if there where 12 pound 17's vs. 15 pound 16's, that would mean the 17 would be faster.. correct?

 

Rims are'nt gonna make you faster. Your motor mods are. You're talkin' about 3lbs here. Your cd case with cd's in it probably weighs that much or more.

I prefer 16's. Tires are also cheaper to replace on 16's than 17's in most cases.

 

Bigger rims will give you a longer gear ratio which will result in a lower trap speed. Rotational mass plays a factor too...


[Modified by LSDelSol, 9:31 PM 10/2/2002]

 

A rim with a smaller overall diameter will be able to accelerate quicker but a rim with a larger overall diameter will have a higher top speed rating (yes, there is a limit as to how fast you can spin a wheel)

smaller rims are usually used at the track for this ability to spin up faster due to the fact that on a shorter radius circle, the extended egdes of the circle(circumference) are able to react to a force from the origin(axle)faster(requires less torque per acceleration time) then compared to a larger rim. Also a smaller rim will have less weight of an equel style rim with a larger diameter, thus decreasing the total force required to encrease centripidal force of the outer edge of the tire(the same is true for the inverse, that braking distance will be decreased as wheel/tire size is decreased)
That is why some people run 13 inch steelies at the track.

Inverse of the, only at the track, where breaking the beam is an important part of the race, Larger diameter wheels have the ability to move farther before contacting the beam, meaning that more surface area has passed(more force has been transfered from the tire to the ground), giving them the ability to more or less "jump the gun"

In your 12 lbs 17's vs. 15 lbs 16's, it is not possitivily true that the 17s would win, although it is a possibility--the key to that being, that in the end, its all up to the driver
Oh, and i have never seen 12 lb 17's to save my life

Hope this helps....

 

Let me give you an example that might help...
I'm a student pilot, flying small Cessna 172's everyday..
On our Airplanes, the tires on the landing gear are only about 14 inches TOTAL diameter(tires and all....ever seen 5 inch rims, i have)
Now, they have to be that size for 2 reasons 1.)saves wieght, and

2.) We need them for 3 things, taxi, take-off, and landing...on take-off and landing roll- the plane only is on the ground under 55 knots...therefore, a large diameter tire that can sustain higher roll rates is not needed...a smaller tire is needed because on landing, the plane usually flares in at about 45 knots, the moment that the tires hit, they spin up to 45 knots; so, a smaller tire is required so that it can spin up quickly and it won't snap the landing struts
now to that you can argue that bigger planes actually have bigger tires, which is true, but they also have heavily reinforced struts, and multiple tires per strut to help dissipate the forces.....

More help
someone correct me if i am wrong

 

BTW- I want my title to say "the wheelman" for all the typing i just did

 

for best acceleration U want the smallest rim that will fit over your breaks. However alot of peeps like the looks of big rims so they go for looks.

 

Thanx for the replies.

 

i'd rather get 16s than 17s. my friend is regretting his 17s, now he has 16s! he said that bigger rims made him slow.

 

Weight increases in areas classified as unsprung weight or rotational weight have a greater effect on acceleration than weight increases in areas of sprung and/or non-rotational.

 

13s and 14s own! stunnas love them 16s and 17s, get mad love yo eric

 

I bought the 16" slipstreams for the looks and fairly low weight. I really really almost got the 15" slipstreams just for the performance. It was a very hard choice but in the end, I wanted a little better look than the performance gain from the difference in wheels.

Aaron

 

I wanna sell my kosei's for smaller kosies, but they're discontinued and cost hella more now.... and my rims are stained and have scratches in 2 of them :/ uhg...

 

haha i'm surpised all of you talking about rim weights when none of you noticed that in lightweight rims some cases...well most cases involves a tire being heavier than the rim itself. what matters most is overal diameter. take your measurements with a tape measure around the whole tire. Oh also depending on where the weight is most will determine if your car is faster or slower. the edge of the wheel being heavier than the center of the wheel makes a difference. ehh i'm tired maybe what i just said didn't make sense...hahaha