hello all, i want to get new wheels for my project. is there an advantage going to a 16 or 17 inch wheel,versus a stock 15"?

thanks

Robin

Other than looks there is a better selection of tires available for the larger Dia.

rims.

More rim less taya goooood.

larger wheel = less sidewall on tire = less tire flex = faster lap times

Bigger wheels = capacity for bigger brakes too.

Agreed on all reasons above.

16" by 10" wide should give you all the tire you can use.
However 15 x 10 allows you to runthe new Hoosier 275/35-15 or Hoosier 22 x 9.5 x 15 R25 FA slick.

Not necessarily. Have you seen the size of the sidewalls on F1 cars? Huge. Less sidewall = less cusioning effect from the tire = less time of tire/pavement contact in the bumpy stuff. You have to weigh it for your intended use. It's a balance, just like everything else in engineering. Dispite what the pimps think, bigger isn't necessarily better.
Mark D.

From my own scientific studies, I have found that 15" wheels have one huge advantage over the larger diameter wheels that you spoke of...

tons more cashes left in your pocketbook.

You can't forget that you have to take into account the difference in the rotational inertia of the smaller wheel & tire vs. the larger one
After all, more weight at a greater radius on a rotating object can make a significant difference in the acceleration & braking of the car
Just another view

*insert nerdy smiley here*

Charles

A few points--

1: You can put tires with short side-walls on smaller diameter rims. There's nothing preventing you from doing that but the annoyance factor of running higher RPMs on the freeway. I ran 195/50-15s for quite a few years on my car, and those have short sidewalls. (And Clay's wife Betty's car had 195/45s or /40s for a while!)

2: Tires with taller sidewalls tend to weigh more than tires with shorter sidewalls. IF you keep the overall diameter the same, the weight distribution of the wheel/tire combo may actually be a little more central with a larger wheel and shorter tire. I have seen some research that supports this notion (someone I know weighed a few tires and wheels and did some back-of-a-napkin number crunching) but nothing definitive....


The two biggest factors, to me: The larger rim sizes have a greater variety of decent rubber to choose from; and they leave you more room for big brakes if you need those. And lots of people like the look, of course.

--DD