And now, a rant about wheels and tires that are too big.

[crgator]

An interesting read about the growth of wheels
Can we please just go back to using smaller wheels and tires?

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[Silver23]

lol quit hitting curbs
and I like bigger wheels that fill up the well.

 

[Montana]

Some positives, some negatives.

Find the middle ground.

 

[jewc75]

I remember when the car culture was about letting people do what they want with their cars and appreciating them for what they are.

 

[Waterick]

lol quit hitting curbs
and I like bigger wheels that fill up the well.

With bigger wheels planned, they just make bigger wheel wells.

 

[Gray Goose]

The issue here is the large rim, low profile tire preference. On a sports car, I guess they kind of make sense for the handling. Just be prepared for potholes to take their toll.
I really like 31x10.5R15LT on a truck. Not too big, and really functional in most conditions (race track excluded) Bonus is that the tires once worn out work great on the farm wagons.

 

[Rivers90]

The larger disc brakes on cars today need a bigger wheel to fit over them. So 17 or 18 is the minimum size that fits.

The short sidewalls on tire do make for more flats and a more harsh ride. Also short sidewalls are not good for driving off road. TFL tried to drive a land-rover down a trail and it had 2 flats on the first bit of trail. Other SUV's being tested with more side wall had no problems.

 

[K5Blazer]

Porsche pioneered the use of “plus 1 & plus 2“ wheel and tire sizing in 1983 I think.
As I recall they went from a 13 or 14” wheel on the 911 to a wheel 1-2” larger. Pirelli made the new low profile tires to fit the new wheels in an effort to keep the overall tire/wheel diameter the same.

Going plus 2 on something like a VW GTI, which already had a plus 1 14” wheel, had profound effects on handling, it was quite a performance enhancement.

The shorter sidewalls of that time were much taller than the extremely thin donuts they use today.

 

[colinl]

Besides the ease of damaging wheels and tires, ride quality is horrible on ultra-low profile tires, and it's very expensive to mount and balance, with many independent shops lacking the equipment to safely mount.

Speak with your wallet, as usual. Don't buy a vehicle with 23s. It might have big enough brakes that you can't go lower than, I don't know... maybe 17s or 18. But there's a massive difference between a 23 and an 18 even if the tire is 35" tall. (And it's likely not 35".)

 

[Ozarkbeard]

Some positives, some negatives.

I don't like the added expense. And the added weight makes it more difficult if you have to change a flat yourself, in the middle of nowhere.

 

[commadorebob]

That is a tech blog. Grain of salt.

 

[Tim d]

An interesting read about the growth of wheels
Can we please just go back to using smaller wheels and tires?

Larger wheels makes your acceleration slower and hurts gas mileage.unless your a hardcore off roader,the extra couple inches of ground clearance is useless.imo.

 

[Maverickman74]

Not a fan of big wheels on a DD car. Also 4x4s should have wheel wells capable of accommodating a wheel/tire package with a 1 to 1 sidewall to wheel diameter ratio. on our Mavericks that would be 34s. I dont think thats happening. The Maverick should have come like the Bronco Sport with 16" standard. I guess that means it is truly AWD not 4x4. Perhaps one day we will see bumper and computer mods that will fit 34s or better yet brake mods that fit 32x10.5r16s.

 

[Maverickman74]

Larger wheels makes your acceleration slower and hurts gas mileage.unless your a hardcore off roader,the extra couple inches of ground clearance is useless.imo.

Wheels have little to do with ground clearance, tires do. Even with 24s and rubber bands on em it would still be a shorter tire than the standard xl hybrid.

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