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Old 01-04-2005, 11:18 PM   #1
txl146
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Default 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,
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Old 01-04-2005, 11:43 PM   #2
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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.
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Old 01-04-2005, 11:46 PM   #3
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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?
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Old 01-04-2005, 11:59 PM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by txl146
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?
If you mean going to a 215/40-17, then yes, that's noticable to most people. Going from 225/45-17 to 215/45-17 is about a 2% reduction in diameter, and going from 215/45-17 to 215/40-17 is another 2%.

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
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Old 01-05-2005, 12:03 AM   #5
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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.
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Old 01-05-2005, 12:09 AM   #6
txl146
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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.
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Old 01-05-2005, 01:03 AM   #7
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plus the toyo t1-s is just the lightest tire out there.
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Old 01-05-2005, 12:17 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by txl146
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.
Ask Luke about them. If they suck, he might not say "They suck", but he'll steer you toward something else. If they are decent, he'll tell you so, and you can try them and tell us how they are.

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.
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Old 01-05-2005, 05:47 PM   #9
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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.
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Old 01-05-2005, 08:29 PM   #10
Boxologist
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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.
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