Traction with bigger rims

[Spoolin99]

Hey guys i have a 98gst with the stock rims on it and im looking at this set of 18's that my friend is selling. How much traction can i gain from going from a 16"-18" will it slow me down or help? Thanks,Shawn

 

[candela]

SLOW SLOW SLOW...

 

[stickman]

It all depends on the wheels that you get.I have 18's on my 95 and they are about the same weight as the stock 14's.But if you lower the car you have to watch for the tires rubbing.They handle great on solo 2 race tracks and they get good traction on the strip.If you drag race alot I would say go with a smaller wheel,but other than that,it's really up to you!!!

 

[benleyd19tx]

Traction....What? That should only effect it because your wheels will turn slower than stock. But then you'll lose op speed capability...and it'll slow acceleration a little + it will screw up your speedometer.

 

[benleyd19tx]

Traction, What? ok umm......that should only effect it because your wheels will turn slower than stock. But then you'll lose top end speed capability...and it'll slow acceleration a little + it will screw up your speedometer untill you get it recalibrated.

 

[stickman]

18's with a 40 series tire is the same size as a 16 with 55 series tires on them,plus the 18's on my car have 225 tires on them(a little bit wider).

 

[Hobbes =^.^=]

How would 18s do if they were 18x7.5 and weighed only 17 lbs?

 

[TaLoNBLiNGBLiNG]

Depends on the weight of the new wheels and if the diameter of the new wheels/tires match the old wheels/tires. Going wider will help too.

 

[snox135]

You will lose some straight line traction because the tires do not flex as much as the smaller rims. If you get the correct size tires and they are the same weight as stock it will not make you slower or screw up your speedo.

 

[TwoLiterV8Eater]

bigger wheels will slow you down more than smaller ones because of rotational mass...even if the wheel weighs less it still has more mass, causing the slower acceleration. no matter what size tires and wheels you have, your car will still have the same amount of contact patch (the part of your tire touching the roac) wider tires have a wider but shorter contact patch, giving better lateral grip, but not as much straight line grip. so in actuality skinnier tires have better grip for straight line acceleration. It seems odd but its true. if you ever watch drag slicks when a car does a burn out you can see that they "balloon" causing the tire to get taller and skinnier, giving more traction to the car.

I would stick with 16" wheels, and a 45 or 50 series tire..it may not be the 'tuner' thing to do, but it works good.