which wheels and tires should i use at the track?

[lowridin2g]

when i go to the track should i use my 18 in. wheels and tires, pirrelli p7000 tires, 225/40/18, or should i use my stock oz racing wheels and tires 205/55/16. the tires are stock, goodyear eagle rsa with about maybe 40-50% wear on them? i know the 16's are lighter but would the lack of traction get me a worse time, or would the bigger heavier wheels and tires with more traction be better? lemme know guys.

 

[cucumber]

The 16's will yield a quicker time.

 

[McGruffAWD]

how much more do you think? we are only talking about 50 pounds at the most of difference. And the diameter of the wheel is stil the same..i plan on racing my 18's just to see what they get. Does anyone actually know the difference in the 2 sizes?

 

[lowridin2g]

dude 50 lbs. is a lot. and i have no idea if thats accurate or not but 50 lbs. is a lot. and by the way the diameter on a 18 in. and 16 in. wheel is not the same, a 2in. diff. brother. check your math skills.


to cucumber, how much quicker of a time do u think?and also how much more do u think my 18's weigh than my 16's? and i know ill lose a shitload of traction off the launch with 16's not to mention my 0-60' time will be worse. what u think? im desperate here man.

 

[gvr4ever]

allright,
first off i think you should use the stock wheels since your car is not making more than 300 whp (im guessing). its all depending upon how much power you car is making? using the 18 in wheels will be really useless. actually the tires with less tread will be the best for the strip.

 

[lowridin2g]

so far im leaning toward using the 16's on oct. 12th. sport compact and import wars at new england dragway. every response helps me out so lets hear your 2 cents guys. thanks.

 

[gvr4ever]

how much mods do you have?? you may also want to lower the tire pressure in your front tires for better traction

 

[McGruffAWD]

Originally posted by lowridin2g
dude 50 lbs. is a lot. and i have no idea if thats accurate or not but 50 lbs. is a lot. and by the way the diameter on a 18 in. and 16 in. wheel is not the same, a 2in. diff. brother. check your math skills.

Hrmm Okay let me put it this way. The overal Diameter of the wheels does not change.. Meaning.. The wheel isnt spining any faster or slower then your stock wheel. This is why your speed is still actuarate with 18's on it the if it were 16. Companys do this on purpose just for that reason.

With that said. The stock wheel size is 215/50/17 with a over diam of 25.0. With your 18's at 225/40/18 the over diam changes to 25.1 a .1 in difference. Now do you really think that, that is going to matter? What matters is the weight of the wheel and other factors. NOT your wheel size.

 

[lowridin2g]

im sorry man i did realize this not too long after i posted. my 205/55/16 are a total of about 23.5in. from bottom of tire to top and so are my 225/40/18. but what im saying is that i just weighed my 18's and 16's. the 16's with tire are 35 lbs. the 18's with tire are 45lbs. so it would be a big 40 lb. difference. u might say it doesnt make a diff. but it def. does and i will def. get a better time with a 40 pound weight reduction. again im sorry i wrote before thinking about the wheel diameter, and im also sorry we dont see eye to eye on the weight reduction thing.

 

[cucumber]

Originally posted by lowridin2g
dude 50 lbs. is a lot. and i have no idea if thats accurate or not but 50 lbs. is a lot. and by the way the diameter on a 18 in. and 16 in. wheel is not the same, a 2in. diff. brother. check your math skills.


to cucumber, how much quicker of a time do u think?and also how much more do u think my 18's weigh than my 16's? and i know ill lose a shitload of traction off the launch with 16's not to mention my 0-60' time will be worse. what u think? im desperate here man.

I can't really guesstimate your times, but I know of a few people that have went to the track with 18s and with stock wheels, and some have yielded a better time of about .3 seconds with the stock wheels. It makes a difference.

 

[mos]

Taking 50 pounds of spinning wheel off of your car is NOT the same thing as removing 50 pounds of crap in your trunk. You engine doesn't have to spin your golf clubs around when it leaves the line.

 

[lowridin2g]

very true. and just to let u know sport compact and import wars was cancelled today because of the rain. goddamnit

 

[KenTSIII]

Yes... rotating weight makes a big difference in performance. Also consider that 95% of the 40lbs is on the edge of that wheel. People notice huge gains by going to a lightened flywheel that is 5# lighter than stock... imagine what 20# (front tires) will do?