BIGGER WHEELS = SLOWER CAR???, can you say INERTIA??? Options

[pflau]

just wondering.... do bigger wheels make the car accelerate slower and stop longer because of the greater rotational inertia??? yes I know big wheels make steering more responsive.. so maybe going from 15 to 16 makes sense.. but 17 and 18???? do some people sacrifice performance for look???

phil

[97GTinKC]

But its not the wheel diameter that matters, its the overall height (and weight) of the tire/wheel package, an 18" wheel with a 35 series tire could be the same overall height as a stock 205-55-15 and might weigh more or less, depending on brand, as long as the weight and overall diameter are the same, it should make no difference in acceleration. (other than maybe better traction with a hi-perf tire) there is a lot of variation in weight between brands of both tires and wheels. thats how Centerline got so popular in the streetrod market, they had one of the lightest, strongest wheels available, (ugly though),,,The old original Cragar Mags looked good, but they were HEAVY!
You also need to remember, the wheels are UNSPRUNG weight, vs the body/eng/trans being SPRUNG weight (meaning they sit ON the springs), the less UNSPRUNG weight the better. Say you hit a bump, if the wheel/tire/spindle assembly weighs 50lbs rather than 40, more of the energy from the bump will be tranferred to the body thru the spring, giving a rougher ride, worse handling. with lighter wheel/tire setup, the shocks and springs can control the bumps better since there is less moving mass. (this is actually where drilling the rotors started, they were looking for less unsprung weight)