john12brd56401

On hondas i have heard that it is not safe to go over the stock rim size when switching to aftermarket rims- is this true? or is it okay to go from say a fourteen to a sixteen or fifteen?

steveo135

I'd like to hear the reasoning behind this.. Why wouldn't it be safe to increase the rim size? Because that statement is false.

randomtask77

LOL, I'd like to know where you read/heard this as well.

H22Ej1

thats not true, however when increasing the rim size you have to be concerned about the correct tire size to use...an incorrect selection can cause numerous problems

nsxtasy

Of course you can use larger diameter rims than stock! They refer to this kind of fitment as "plus one" (when it's one inch greater diameter than stock) and "plus two" (when it's two inches bigger).

However, as a general rule, the outer diameter of the tires should be approximately equal to that of the the stock tire size. This avoids the problems that H22Ej1 alluded to above, such as tires rubbing on suspension or body parts, inaccurate gauges, slower acceleration, etc.

The way the outer diameter of the tires can be equal, even though the diameter of the wheels is larger, is by choosing a tire size with a shorter sidewall. For example, if you have a car with a 185/65-14 stock tire size, it has 14" wheels, and the sidewall is 185 mm * .65 = 120.25 mm tall. The outer diameter of this size is 14" + 2 * (120.25 mm /25.4 mm/in ) = 23.47". The same car can use 15" wheels with 195/55-15 tires, for which the sidewall is 195 mm * .55 = 107.25 mm tall, but the outer diameter is 15" + 2 * (107.25 mm / 25.4 mm/in ) = 23.44".

Also, stickied at the top of this forum is a topic titled

Forum Rules and FAQ - READ BEFORE POSTING

It says:

Which is why the title has been changed from "true or false?".

john12brd56401

hey sorry about that- i dont get to the computer much now that im broke- i did scan through them briefly however did not catch that and will watch it from now on- i have a buddy in town here that is known for his street credit workin on hondas- he says it isnt safe because it puts too much strain on the axles- have always assumed this to be a personal preference of his but wanted to make sure because i have never heard it from anyone in person before- i know i have read articles in import magazine about guys preferring to use stock size rims and tires on their race cars but never really knew for sure- thank you all for your inputs!!!

dc2tunerx

absolutely not

alphalanos

Doesnt really stress the axles. Very wide wheels and tires or low offset wheels put stress on the wheel bearings. Huge heavy wheels can wear out suspension components faster. But as long as you keep the overall diameter as close to stock as possible like nsxtacy said, its ok. Going a little wider than stock and an inch or two bigger is no problem and is usually beneficial for performance, assuming youre using a fairly lightweight wheel and sticky tires.

backyard_concepts

22's ftw.lol

nsxtasy

An inch and especially two can be a big problem for rubbing. Going 10-20 mm wider is usually no problem. Performance benefits are usually pretty small; the big factor in performance benefits is in the availability of stickier tires, which can go either way.