[s-cars] Wheel dilemma

[Brett Dikeman]

On Sat, Apr 11, 2009 at 11:38 AM, Tony Curran <tony.curran at sympatico.ca> wrote:

> 3. I'm cheap - want to do this for $200 (cdn) per wheel.

You get what you pay for with wheels.  Unless you live where the roads
are perfect, a cheap wheel on low profile tires will be bent in no
time, and you'll end up spending more.  I went through this with a set
of used Ronal wheels- they were utter garbage.

> Why do 45% aspect ratio fit on a 7.5 inch wheel but 40% don't (for tires in
> price range, looking a Sumimoto HTRs II and III)

I believe because the angle of the sidewall changes with aspect ratio
if the sidewall and wheel aren't the same width.  More specifically, a
lower aspect ratio tire will have a steeper angle.  Tire manufacturers
also change the geometry of the tire beyond the simple measurements-
some are very square, others more rounded at the edge of the tread.

> or should I just go with 18x8.

18s will be heavier than 17s.  The lower profile the tire, the less
compliant it is to the road surface. Vibration goes up, tire does a
poorer job of sticking to the road, unless the suspension dampening is
changed (the wheel hop changes.)

Brett