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Bit of dilemma


Almeida1234

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Lol it was a general quote more than a scientific fact but generally a lighter wheel would respond quicker than a heavier one no?

 

Youve got two things to consider, unsprung weight and rolling radius.

 

Increasing a rolling radius will make a car accelerate more slowly but will increase top speed, its effectively the same as making the gearing longer - an inch isnt a lot but it will make a difference, the car will feel more spritely on 18's than 19's.

Unsprung weight is the same as normal weight, but reducing it has considerably more effect on the cars dynamics - reducing inertia means that everything goes better. Ive played with various different wheels on my driftcar and the difference is very noticable, even between an 18 inch 350Z Ray and a 17 inch SSR Type C (featherweight rims), everything from the turning to the suspension just works better.

 

Youre always going to be best off with the smallest, lightest wheels that will cover your brakes, but they are rarely the ones that look best ;)

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I havent played much with wheel diameters on the zed yet but did on my rx7's, 16" stock rim to 19". 17" was by the far the nicest feel (could get wider tyres than stock 16's), 18's felt ok but different to 17's and 19's were just shocking, it made the whole car feel cumbersome and lethargic and the ride suffered too as was having to run such low profiles.

 

Docwra, surely rolling radius should remain the same if correct profiles are run to counter the increase in wheel size, surely we are only talking 7mm?

 

Currently looking for a decent set of light weight 18's as after taking the car on track with 19's i am sure it will feel better :)

Edited by Jetpilot
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Docwra, surely rolling radius should remain the same if correct profiles are run to counter the increase in wheel size, surely we are only talking 7mm?

 

Yep, but Im talking about a like for like kind of thing, as youve said yourself reducing sidewall thickness can affect ride. If we go like for like, a 19 inch wheel has a circumference roughly 11% greater than a 17 inch, so on your RX7 the final drive with the 19 would go from 4.1 to 3.65, thats a pretty big reduction on the road or track.

 

Id definitely recommend 18's for track work on the Zed and the standard Rays are pretty unbeatable for the money TBH. :thumbs:

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