NmexMAX

iTrader: (22)

I was wondering about this lately because ever since I have had my 17's on, I have been losing races that I have won before I put my rims on.
I know this subject has been covered before, but the search function didn't yeild any valid results.

maxima42

iTrader: (3)

By putting aftermarket wheels on your car, it makes it significantly heavier. The factory wheels are going to be much lighter than 17's. The engine now has to drive larger wheels that qweigh more, which is why ou noticed a difference in your acceleration.

hokiemax

iTrader: (2)

I had 15" GXE hubcaps for a week, as opposed to my stock 16" SE rims. The car was a lot faster, at least it seemed like it. I'd be driving around without thinking about the 15" hubcaps. I'd be like "man, the car feels fast today!"
and a minute later "OH that's right, I've got the hubcaps right now."

operationNOS

so why doesn't everybody just run with hubcaps.. instead of going all out for rims... is it just for looks, how many benefits are there in rims?

-Aaron

190hpKiLLA

iTrader: (11)

Its All about the style!!!!

maxima42

iTrader: (3)

true rims add a lot of style, but if you plan on racing you are better off going with either factory stel wheels with hubcaps, or with lightweight racing wheels.

MAXEJA

i have 18's on my car and you can tell a huge diff. in acceleration, also when applying the brakes. It takes more time to slow my car down. But it is worth it for the looks.

Vyrus

iTrader: (4)

I have Racing Hart CP-035s in a 17" size, and they weigh in at 13.7 pounds (although they're supposed to be 13.5 lbs.). They are considerably lighter that stock wheels, however I do not really see an acceleration gain. But here is what I see of the Racing Harts as opposed to my 1996 GXE steel wheels.

• +More road feel (more bumps; stock is too cushy)
• -More tire spin
• -People staring at your car and checking it out
• -Worse looks because they look aweful without lowering springs (which I now have).

I see 3 - and 1 +, so I think maybe I should have stuck with the stock ones. I could have done so much more with the money......and the tire spin might be a result of my Yokohama tires, but I still think it's because of the wheel weight.

sleeperGXE

Anybody know how much stock 15" GXE steel wheels weigh?

abnorm

Who here thinks that stock wheels look better without hubcaps?

BEJAY1

iTrader: (19)

Just G-teched my 17" vs 16" OEM wheels. I know the launch and conditions really make a difference but my 0-60 looks like .10 - .15 sec improvement with the smaller rims.

Unfortunately the 1/4 suffers with 16" as I'm near redline before the 1320' mark in 3rd. Guess I gotta insert another shift in there...

Frezny

It's not the exact weight of the wheel. It's the placement of more inertial mass at a larger distance from the center of rotation. It exponentially increases the inertia of rest when you have larger diameter wheels. You can get plenty of 17" wheels that weight less than half the stock wheels, but the intertia will hurt you the heavier the wheel.


That's a significant difference in acceleration wich obviously shows more in the 0-60 times because of inertia of rest when the car is not moving is exponentially greater with larger wheels. However, your 1/4 isn't "suffering" as much as the fact that you have accelerated quicker, and thus reached redline quicker. This is a good thing. But your car slows accelerates a little less near readline (6200 rpms) than it did at about 5,200 rpms, and it feals like you're "suffering".

NmexMAX

iTrader: (22)

Larger diameter wheels are supposed to help cornering as well as looks, at least that's what I thought. So how much is .1-.15sec difference in terms of length, you know, is .1 equal to about a half carlength or so?

TurDz

iTrader: (3)

I think 16'' wheels are the best compromise of size. They provide very decent handling, and you don't lose too much on your trap speed.

Vyrus, you should be spinning your tires at all...I have 16'' and I don't. It probably is your tires. For your next tire, get Potenza RE730 or 950, a little noisier in the cabin, but NO MORE tire spin.

anyway, hope that helped.

SuDZ

For some thats all it is about.

SuDZ

BEJAY1

iTrader: (19)

I don't streetrace but I can guess. Ok math...
Say 95mph trap speed = 528,000'/hr = 146.66'/sec = 14.66' in .1sec.

How bout 14.6' - 22' length for a 1/4 or streetrace to 100mph. .1sec means over a car length.

Am I close?

black019

*** gettin 18's yo im gettin 13 inch enkeis

Nismo

iTrader: (18)

what about putting 2 doughnuts in the front

ptatohed

iTrader: (12)

When I first decided which size wheels to purchase, my only considerations were:
larger wheels = better looks, better handling
smaller wheels = better ride quality, cheaper price

I never considered smaller = faster. I learned about that after I made my purchase. I'm still very curius as to the speed differences though. BEJAY1 was nice enough to do a G-Tech run for us and came up with 0.1s for 0-60. But that was from 17" to 16" alloys, what about 17" to 15" steels? Or 18" to 15"?

Also, how would changing the actual outside diameter of the tire (not just the rim size) affect acceleration/speed? I know the odometer will be tweeked but would going either larger or smaller make a difference? Nismo joked about it but seriously, would racing with two spares on the front help a lot? Less traction certainly but mega light and smaller total outside diameter.

Also, I was thinking about the concept of bigger sidewall absorbing more energy. Kinda like when you have shocks on your mountain bike, you expend more energy because the shocks sap your engergy. Or how soft skateboard wheels will roll slower than hard ones. So why can't that concept be applied to cars?

And what about cars that are lightening fast that come with 17/18/19 inch rims like the M3, Corvette, Porsche, etc.? Would those cars be even quicker than they already are if they had 15's?


All I know is when I went from my 15"s to my 17"s, I noticed the BIGGEST improvement in handling. I love it. It's just too much fun taking those highway onramps at speeds that smush you into your car door without any tire squel. It's a little work but I feel the best compromise is getting the 17s/18s you want and keep your 15's handy for those Friday nights. :)

dwapenyi

iTrader: (3)

If you change sizes that affect your overal diameter, you are actually changing the gearing of your car.

Generally speaking, putting donuts on your front wheels will make your car very fast. Well, assumming you can get good grip. Maybe 13 inch wheels with 215 tread would be better. 0-60 times will probably be better than any Max out there. Handling will absolutely suck, though The large sidewall will have too much flex, making handling mushy. And, your top speed will be much lower. It'll get to the top speed faster, but the top will be lower. If going straight the fastest is what you want, getting wide
13" wheels and tires would do it.

If you put on wheels and tires that make your effective diameter larger than stock, your car will accelerate slower, but your top speed can be higher. I say can because the gearing may be too much for the car's given power to overcome. As it is now, a stock Maxima can not get to red-line in 5th gear. When you reach your top speed of 137-140 mph, your car is at 5800 or so rpm. That's about 800 rpm below redline. The car just can't push anymore. Aerodynamic forces have become too much. Well, not too too much, you're doing 138 mph Not bad for a ~200 hp V-6, not bad at all.

DW

NmexMAX

iTrader: (22)

I was thinking of getin 215/55 15's, or 205/60's up front! yeaa. for those friday nites, ha!! that's tonite!! I'll do this and race the same guys i lost to and tell you guys what's up! peace! I'm goin to lunch!