On wheel sizes

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Tue 4 Jul 2023 21:29
On wheel sizes - niel.2

In layman terms what's the difference between larger wheel sizes and smaller? My current understanding is that larger sizes (less rubber, less air) are more "posh" and hard, and smaller sizes (more rubber+air) more comfortable? The car I am pondering about has a range between 17" to 20" and while the luxury trim I have in mind suggests 20" I'd rather choose 18" (if it's possible to downgrade, will double check on that).

Edited by niel.2 on 04/07/2023 at 21:30

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Tue 4 Jul 2023 22:23
On wheel sizes - bathtub tom

If you want to hoon it around corners like every one's on a race circuit, go for the larger wheels/lower profile tyres and damn the comfort/expense.

If you want reasonable comfort/economy/quiet ride, go for the smaller wheels. A further advantage being the tyres will probably last a longer mileage and cost a lot les to replace.

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Tue 4 Jul 2023 22:52
On wheel sizes - Adampr

Larger wheels aren't really 'posh', more 'sporty'. To some tastes, they look better, but I think it's overall size (i.e. including the tyre) that really matters. Silly big wheels with low profile tyres are uncomfortable and like to go pop over pot holes.

You can normally fit smaller wheels, but they can clash with the brakes if your car is actually fast and has big brakes too.

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Wed 5 Jul 2023 05:24
On wheel sizes - JonestHon

Larger wheels aren't really 'posh', more 'sporty'. To some tastes, they look better, but I think it's overall size (i.e. including the tyre) that really matters. Silly big wheels with low profile tyres are uncomfortable and like to go pop over pot holes.

You can normally fit smaller wheels, but they can clash with the brakes if your car is actually fast and has big brakes too.

I think car designer makes the wheel arches bigger to fit with their 'view' of how the vehicle should look like. Designing the car shape is an art form that collides with engineering, marketing and bean counter requirements, what's best for most people in the real world is lower down the pecking order.

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Mon 10 Jul 2023 16:12
On wheel sizes - Manatee

Very low profile tyres are a fashion statement, and a fairly naff one at that.

This Ferrari 330 looks good to my eye on 14" wheels and 80 profile tyres.

classicmotorsports.com/news/one-100-ferrari-330-gt.../

Low profile tyres can perhaps improve grip, although F1 cars managed very well on highish profiles until recently. And where the brakes have to fit inside the wheel, there's more scop for big brakes and calipers. Of course the wider the tyre, the lower the profile, for a given sidewall height. Wide tyres are another fad.

I'm surprised the quest for energy efficiency hasn't borne on this. A car with narrower tyres will use less fuel, all else equal. The tyres on that 4 litre V12 Ferrari are 205's.

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Mon 10 Jul 2023 17:03
On wheel sizes - Andrew-T

<< Of course the wider the tyre, the lower the profile, for a given sidewall height. Wide tyres are another fad. >>

Not entirely - as cars got faster and heavier, they needed more rubber surface on the road. To get that you either lower the pressure or widen the tread ! Just look at the ludicrous wheels on F1 cars.

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Mon 10 Jul 2023 17:25
On wheel sizes - sammy1

""I'm surprised the quest for energy efficiency hasn't borne on this. A car with narrower tyres will use less fuel, all else equal. The tyres on that 4 litre V12 Ferrari are 205's. ""

Whatever the argument saving fuel in this modern world does not even enter the agenda such as the need to "" save the Planet "" and burn less. From poor design car shapes to engines sizes we don't need E5 and E10 less efficient fuels, and now EVs very heavy and the quicker they go the more power they use so what has changed for the better When you do the pluses and minuses not much.

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Mon 10 Jul 2023 18:41
On wheel sizes - Andrew-T

From poor design car shapes to engines sizes we don't need E5 and E10 less efficient fuels, and now EVs very heavy and the quicker they go the more power they use so what has changed for the better

Are you forgetting that part of the rationale for E10 is to burn ethanol (made from sugar cane etc) instead of fossil fuel ? It may be less 'efficient', but not 10% less.

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Mon 10 Jul 2023 20:01
On wheel sizes - sammy1

From poor design car shapes to engines sizes we don't need E5 and E10 less efficient fuels, and now EVs very heavy and the quicker they go the more power they use so what has changed for the better

Are you forgetting that part of the rationale for E10 is to burn ethanol (made from sugar cane etc) instead of fossil fuel ? It may be less 'efficient', but not 10% less.

No, what about all the energy getting the plant based fuel to the plant and then to the refinery to mix the product. Oh and then someone making a pretty packet making the E only for it to be burnt My MINI had its MOT today Pass !

idle CO 0%

fast idle CO 0.01%

HC 3ppm

Not much pollution here and 50mpg easy, could be more with pure petrol I wonder what an EV is sending out of the power station?

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Mon 10 Jul 2023 20:16
On wheel sizes - RT

From poor design car shapes to engines sizes we don't need E5 and E10 less efficient fuels, and now EVs very heavy and the quicker they go the more power they use so what has changed for the better

Are you forgetting that part of the rationale for E10 is to burn ethanol (made from sugar cane etc) instead of fossil fuel ? It may be less 'efficient', but not 10% less.

No, what about all the energy getting the plant based fuel to the plant and then to the refinery to mix the product. Oh and then someone making a pretty packet making the E only for it to be burnt My MINI had its MOT today Pass !

idle CO 0%

fast idle CO 0.01%

HC 3ppm

Not much pollution here and 50mpg easy, could be more with pure petrol I wonder what an EV is sending out of the power station?

BS! How much CO2 and NOx is being produced - not tested at MoT time but the main pollutants from motor vehicles

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Mon 10 Jul 2023 23:12
On wheel sizes - sammy1

BS! How much CO2 and NOx is being produced - not tested at MoT time but the main pollutants from motor vehicles

It is not all doom and gloom, a lot of these gases are not stable for long but absorbed or react with other compounds. Note The animal kingdom is not dying out because of the motor car ICE or EV

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Tue 11 Jul 2023 00:53
On wheel sizes - Terry W

Both CO2 and NOx are greenhouse gases. They are very stable. Additional emissions take centuries to return to an equilibrium.

The level of CO2 in the atmosphere fluctuated between 180-280 PPM for the million or more years to 1950. It is now 420PPM.

There is a strong scientific consensus that higher atmospheric greenhouse gases will result in higher global temperatures leading to materially changed weather patterns and increased sea levels. You may feel you know better of course.

The earth can adapt and find a new equilibrium - possibly with more sea, less land area, and higher temperatures.. It is the speed of change which threatens humanity through desertification, loss of coast lands, competition for scarcer resources etc.

That increased CO2 may in several thousand years allow an Amazonian type rain forest to cover the UK may be true but of zero consequence to me, my children or grandchildren.

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Tue 11 Jul 2023 09:18
On wheel sizes - Mike H

Note The animal kingdom is not dying out because of the motor car ICE or EV

Perhaps you're unaware of the respiratory problems that people, particularly the young and old, living in cities suffer mainly due to NOx emissions. They are also a big problem in alpine valleys, where they accumulate, due the increasing number of HGVs, causing significant damage to the local flora and fauna as well as people living in the villages. Our son's thesis for his masters degree was on this very subject.

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Tue 11 Jul 2023 13:17
On wheel sizes - sammy1

Note The animal kingdom is not dying out because of the motor car ICE or EV

Perhaps you're unaware of the respiratory problems that people, particularly the young and old, living in cities suffer mainly due to NOx emissions. They are also a big problem in alpine valleys, where they accumulate, due the increasing number of HGVs, causing significant damage to the local flora and fauna as well as people living in the villages. Our son's thesis for his masters degree was on this very subject.

Respiratory diseases are one of the worse problems that can befall humans. If you cannot find good air quality in alpine regions then we are in serious trouble. How much the UK Government really cares about air quality is something else. Councils are still giving planning permission for new builds adjacent to motorways and other busy routes. You have the road a flimsy fence and then the houses. Common sense would say I don't want to live here but people do and the noise pollution. As always it is business driving what goes on with little thought to heath and environment.

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Tue 11 Jul 2023 14:14
On wheel sizes - Andrew-T

<< Councils are still giving planning permission for new builds adjacent to motorways and other busy routes. You have the road a flimsy fence and then the houses. Common sense would say I don't want to live here but people do ... >>

Sammy, with all your green leanings I think you should not be implying that green belts should be left alongside motorways simply to reduce (slightly) pollution levels for house dwellers. There is an equally important need to conserve what 'countryside' we have left, partly because it is nice, and partly to make use of it for growing things we can eat - instead of living on other countries' production, with all the transport cost that calls for.

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Mon 10 Jul 2023 23:05
On wheel sizes - Andrew-T

<< No, what about all the energy getting the plant based fuel to the plant and then to the refinery to mix the product. Oh and then someone making a pretty packet making the E only for it to be burnt >>

The same costs accrue for the main fossil-fuel component, surely ? The cost of 'mixing' must be pretty marginal.

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