What wheel size do you like the best?

[ATL]

What wheel size do you like the best for your 6?

[Stretch]

Depends on what the car is for.

20's... (sigh). A bad idea on any car for any reason. 20's should be punishment for shoplifting. While they could physically fit, there is no safe way to run 20's. Darwanism will play its role with the moron who considers these for street use.

[Tire Guy]

Originally posted by Stretch@Apr 22 2005, 05:50 AM
You HAVE to run 235/40/18 or wider to maintain the proper load rating of the tire.*

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Whew! Thanks for the heads up, dude! I'll be returning my 225/40ZR18 92Ws first thing Monday!

P.S. No surprise on your wheel opinions. Please tell me the 16-inch wheel manufacturer in which you must own a lot of stock.

[Tire Guy]

Originally posted by Stretch@Apr 22 2005, 05:50 AM
20's... (sigh).* A bad idea on any car for any reason.*

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2006 BMW 760Li
Tires, (2) P245/40YR20 Front & (2) P275/35YR20 Rear

BMW disagrees with you. This car comes from the factory with 20s. BMW is not known for puttng something on their cars which would hamper performance.


2005 Audi A8 L W12
P275/35ZR20

Audi disagrees with you, too. They offer 20s as an option on the A8 L W12.

Plus 20s are being offered as standard equipment or factory/dealer optional on several trucks such as Cadillac Escalade, Chevrolet Avalanche/Suburban/Tahoe, GMC Yukon Denali, Ford F-150 Harley Davidson Edition, Dodge Ram Pickup, etc.

As far as 19s go, the list is HUGE of cars that come from the factory with 19s. No poseur cars, either. True performance machines, such as:

Ford GT (rear)
BMW 645Ci
Mercedes S65 AMG
Mercedes S55 AMG
Aston Martin DB9
Bentley Continental GT
Maserati Gransport
Mercedes SLR McLaren
Chrysler Crossfire SRT-6 (rear)
etc.

Must be a reason...(however, I will agree with most of what you wrote about putting 19s on a 6)

18s on a 6? Well, I guess you and I are just gonna have to disagree...

[ATL]

I like the way the car feels with the 18s myself. But for looks. 19s win hands down for a TRUE show car.

[crossbow]

And if you ask all those manufacturers why they put those wheels on...its all about aesthetics.

Same reason why ferrari puts holes in their rotors. Aesthetics.

M3's come with 19's in a staggered setup. Whats the first thing you do to fix them? Put 18's on in a non staggered setup. (Some guys even swap smaller rotors on so they can run 17's).

Local autox'er has a SRT Viper (04), and he bitches and complains constantly about the rear wheels (20's). Why? Not enough tire selection...and he can't put on 19's without modifying the rear parking brake, which moves him out of SS class.

Just because a manufacturer does something, doesn't mean its in the best interest of performance. Generally it has as much to do with marketing and aesthetics as any other option. And as you know, the current market trend is "bigger is better".

Of course with the current issues with gas prices, steel shortages, and possible further EPA nasties, I'm predicting in the next 10 years, everything is going to drop back down again. Smaller cars, lighter materials, and smaller wheels with final drives to match.

[MZBuckeye]

Aesthetics was my main motivator behind buying new rims for my 6, as I would guess is the case with most members on this club. What's so bad about that anyway?

18's look best on the 6. Many, many members on here have absolutely awesome looking 18s, and I'm sure their ride is just fine, their brakes don't look rediculous, and I'm sure the performance is just fine too. I wish I had them, but when I bought my rims, I had a 3, so 18's weren't even a consideration.

I'm pretty sure that changing the wheels, in most cases, is done to change the look. No other change to a car is as stunning as a wheel change. Who cares if you lose a negligable amount of performance?

16's on a 6 look like shit. I have yet to see one I like. Not worth the "performance" gains. People act like buying bigger rims for "aesthetic" reasons is a bad thing. I'll never understand this. 18's make the car look freakin' awesome. Check out Hoosteen's for a good example.

[DRAGONS6]

I like lightweight 18's the best. My rims and tires weigh about 2lbs less a corner than my factory 17's. Plus they're about "1/4 smaller in diameter due to the tires( they'll be the same size once i buy some Toyo T1-R's). I like 19's on a show car and 17's on a car that see's the track. I know 16's perform well but I really don't think they look good on a 6.

[Stretch]

Originally posted by toyoguy@Apr 23 2005, 12:21 AM
Whew! Thanks for the heads up, dude! I'll be returning my 225/40ZR18 92Ws first thing Monday!*

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A quicks can of tirerack shows that most tires in that size have a load rating of 88, well below the minimum of 91 that you so often warn people not to go below. You're relying on a 'reinforced' sidewall to gain extra load rating?

Crossbow said it.

[Tire Guy]

Originally posted by Stretch@Apr 23 2005, 01:03 PM
A quicks can of tirerack shows that most tires in that size have a load rating of 88, well below the minimum of 91 that you so often warn people not to go below.* You're relying on a 'reinforced' sidewall to gain extra load rating?

Crossbow said it.*

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That's because the 88 load index tire is a replacement for the Porsche 911 front size. That's what those tires were designed for. The 92 REINFORCED load index 225/40R18 are designed for plus applications. And, yes, I am relying on a reinforced load index tire to gain extra load rating because that's what a reinforced tire does! DUH! (I thought you knew a thing or two about tires?!)

As long as the load index meets or exceeds the original equipment load index and the replacement tire overall diameter is not more than 2% smaller, then you're okay. This is the industry standard that I've repeated many times. A 225/40R18 92W exceeds the oe 91 load index and is 25.1 inches tall vs. 25.5 inches for the oe tire (a difference of 1.6%). What am I doing that is contrary to what I've stated was acceptable?

Crossbow, no doubt aesthetics plays into it. As one other poster said so beautifully, what's wrong with that? That BMW 7-Series with the 20s looks great! But would BMW, the Ultimate Driving Machine, cave to aesthetic pressure and put a 20 inch wheel on their car that would destroy its famous driving characteristics? Absolutely not! Maybe a lesser manufacturer, but not BMW. My point was simply to address Stretch's comment that 20s were a bad idea on any car at any time. If that was the case, you'd never see a 20 inch fitment from the factory from BMW and Audi, two respected performance car manufacturers. (For the record, BMW does NOT offer 20 inch on the 7-Series in Germany. Probably because there is no demand for 20s and the Germans probably think 20s on a car are silly. My point is, though, that BMW wouldn't offer it in the US if it was a BAD idea.)