|
Tire & Wheel Forum sponsored by The Tire Rack |
|
|
|
Thread Tools | Display Modes |
01-04-2005, 11:18 PM | #1 |
Scooby Guru
Member#: 32459
Join Date: Feb 2003
Chapter/Region:
Tri-State
Location: NY
Vehicle:02 WRX VF34 (SOLD) Junior Tuned 301whp |
Anyone gone from 17 to 16" rims?
I've been driving on 17" P1 rims for over three years and feel that I'm in need of change. I am thinking about going back to 16" stock rims to see if it will improve the drivability and hopefully add some nimbleness to my car.
What's your opinion on this? will my car feel a little quicker than before? Thanks in advance,
* Registered users of the site do not see these ads.
|
01-04-2005, 11:43 PM | #2 |
Scooby Specialist
Member#: 36712
Join Date: May 2003
Location: RHE, SoCal
Vehicle:2003 WRX Wagon WRB |
Tire characteristics make a huge difference in handling, perhaps more than the wheel diameter. A 16" tire with a stiff sidewall and casing will feel more nimble than a 17" touring tire.
If you want tires that will make your car quicker, try the Toyo T1-S in 215/40-17 on your P1's. They're very light, and the smaller O.D. will give you 4% more torque to the wheels than a 225/45-17 or 205/55-16. The shorter sidewall is generally good for being nimble, but I don't know what you have now. I have a set of P1's and a set of 16" stockers with 205/55-16's. The car is quicker on the P1's because the tires are smaller outside diameter. It's not just a butt dyno thing, I've measured it. Smaller tires, like 215/45-17 in my case, make a bigger difference than the extra few pounds of the P1's and 17" tires. |
01-04-2005, 11:46 PM | #3 |
Scooby Guru
Member#: 32459
Join Date: Feb 2003
Chapter/Region:
Tri-State
Location: NY
Vehicle:02 WRX VF34 (SOLD) Junior Tuned 301whp |
I have Sumitomo HTR all season tires in 215/45 size. How about getting Toyo in 215/45/17 size? will 5mm make that noticeable difference?
|
01-04-2005, 11:59 PM | #4 | |
Scooby Specialist
Member#: 36712
Join Date: May 2003
Location: RHE, SoCal
Vehicle:2003 WRX Wagon WRB |
Quote:
I find the 2% difference between my two sets of tires to be very noticable during acceleration. The car winds out faster, the next gear change comes up quicker, and life is just better all around. The link below has some info on the T1-S (he misspells "Proxes"). The third paragraph talks about tire diameter. http://spdusa.com/newpage6.htm |
|
01-05-2005, 12:03 AM | #5 |
Scooby Specialist
Member#: 36712
Join Date: May 2003
Location: RHE, SoCal
Vehicle:2003 WRX Wagon WRB |
If you go with 215/40-17, be sure to keep the pressure at 40-44 psi or so. That's not exact, but a tire with less volume of air needs more pressure in it to support the weight of the car.
|
01-05-2005, 12:09 AM | #6 |
Scooby Guru
Member#: 32459
Join Date: Feb 2003
Chapter/Region:
Tri-State
Location: NY
Vehicle:02 WRX VF34 (SOLD) Junior Tuned 301whp |
215/40WR17 BFGoodrich Scorcher T/A Black
I am thinking about getting a set, but a lot of people are reluctant to buy them for its low price. Maybe I should hold off on these sets. Last edited by txl146; 01-05-2005 at 12:42 AM. |
01-05-2005, 01:03 AM | #7 |
Scooby Specialist
Member#: 44945
Join Date: Oct 2003
Chapter/Region:
SCIC
Location: santa monica, ca
Vehicle:06 LGT wag silver |
plus the toyo t1-s is just the lightest tire out there.
|
01-05-2005, 12:17 PM | #8 | |
Scooby Specialist
Member#: 36712
Join Date: May 2003
Location: RHE, SoCal
Vehicle:2003 WRX Wagon WRB |
Quote:
Luke knows a ton about the tires on Tirerack, and I've never seen him give bad advice. Edit: On the other hand, if you want "nimble" try the Toyo Proxes T1-S or the Proxes 4. I have the Proxes 4's, and my car feels nimble to me. Also, make sure you have enough air in your Sumitomos. If you aren't running at least 40f/37r, give that a try. |
|
01-05-2005, 05:47 PM | #9 |
Scooby Specialist
Member#: 72630
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: CA
|
This summer I will be changing back to 16's. I was running some heavy 17's until this winter when I switched back to stock and snow tires. I could really feel the difference. Acceleration, braking and hard downshifting were noticably better with the stock wheels. The 17's handled better on sharp turns, but that can be fixed with some nice tires. Not to mention the daily driving is much smoother.
|
01-05-2005, 08:29 PM | #10 |
Scooby Guru
Member#: 21118
Join Date: Jul 2002
Chapter/Region:
Tri-State
Location: LI, NY
|
i have run 14, 15, 16, and 17" on my wagon in the last 2 months. w/o a doubt tyre width/style of tyre make the biggest difference. then wheel weight.
|
Thread Tools | |
Display Modes | |
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
Has anyone gone from a rwd car to an awd car? | BlackoutWRX | General Community | 40 | 11-23-2005 11:43 AM |
Has anyone gone from v8 struts to Koni's or others? | sjscooby | Brakes, Steering & Suspension | 2 | 10-18-2005 09:12 AM |
Has anyone gone from Cobb stage 2 to stage 1? | txl146 | Factory 2.0L Turbo Powertrain (EJ Series Factory 2.0L Turbo) | 2 | 03-01-2005 10:49 PM |
Has anyone gone from a Mod friendly car to just a plain ol' NICE car like a BMW? | STR8OUT | Off-Topic | 29 | 04-30-2004 03:41 PM |
Anyone gone from large turbo to small for city driving? | Brian Broz | Factory 2.0L Turbo Powertrain (EJ Series Factory 2.0L Turbo) | 5 | 10-24-2003 03:06 PM |