Why should I put 17" wheels on?

[rdane]

Just curious as to everyone's thoughts on changing from 16" Fuchs to 17" Fiskes, pros and cons. The Fuchs weigh 38# total, whie the Fiskes weigh in at 34.5#. I suspect the tire sizes will bump the weight to the Fuchs advantage by 15#? or so when I am done.

Care to comment?

[JeremyD]

More tire choices...

[Jack Olsen]

Fuchs look better, IMO. But 17-inch wheels offer more tire choices -- although it's really the 15's that suffer the most from reduced tire options.

[pbs911]

With the Fuchs aging, Fiske offers a strong wheel that provides better tire selection. You also get less sidewall flex with the 17" wheels due to the lower profile tire. The ride will become more "feel of the road" as there is less tire to absorb the imprefections in the road. You can also move to bigger brake rotos and calipers. Personally, I think Fiskes look better than Fuchs.

[Targa Dude]

Me too Paul.. I might even get me a set of FM-5's.

Jorge (Targa Dude)

[rdane]

I like my Fuchs but these guys have caught my eye at the moment....



More importantly what are the down sides of adding these wheels and tires to a 215 HP 2700# car?

[Mike Feinstein]

If you've stiffened your suspension with bigger T-bars and sport shocks, you might not like the pounding you'll take with larger wheels/smaller tires. Just a thought...

[Bill Verburg]

You will gain a few #'s at each wheel, depending on the tires chosen, the Fikse and Kinesis wheels are as light or lighter than Fuchs even in larger sizes but the tires are heavier. The weight is not the primary negative though.

The biggest issue will be the negative impact on gearing if you go to a tire w/ a dimeter much over 25". This is only a real issue at the stoplight drags, on track it usually is not important unless it causes you to have to shift at inoppurtune times. This is usually a non issue but does depend on the track and torque and Hp characteristics involved.

The advantage of 17" is the larger widths available(up to 275mm nominal) where the largest 16" width is 255mm nominal) . For track work the gearing hit is a non issue but the additional width can be a huge plus because of the increased overall size of the friction circle.

The best of all worlds is achieved by using an R rated 17" tire like the Michelin Sport Cups. Even thought heir nominal width is 255mm(max in 17") they actually measure out at 276mm when mounted on a 9.5" rim w/ a height of only 25.1"

[Targa Dude]

With 22/28 Tbars, Bilstein HD's all they way around and my skinny tires
215/40 fronts and 235/40 rears My ride isn't harsh at all...

Jorge (Targa Dude)

[BlkBird]

Yeah guys, sure, more tire choices. Sidewall flex. Sure.

Stylin. Pure & simple. Gonna go cruise down the strip chasing those honeys in 17" rims. Yeah, baby!

Actually I moved to Ruf 17" rims because I wanted to run a wider tire in the rear. My old 245/45s just didn't seem to fit the wheel well after seeing some 315s at Road Atlanta. But I settled on 275s. No self respecting Turbo should be seen in skinny rubber.

P.S. Trust Bill. He knows his stuff.

[89911]

17" rims get the honey, pleeeeeeaaaaase! You need the dubs and the bling bling. 22" at least!

[Mike Feinstein]

Are those the ones where the six outer fins continue spinning when the bling-mobile stops at a traffic light?

Very, er...um...cool.

[BlkBird]

Those things look like something of a Ronco kitchen appliance commercial! Slice onions without crying, that sort of thingie me-bob. And I thought my Ruf's were cool...

[stormcrow]

Aren't those rims the ones that look like they're going backwards when you look at them on a vheicle going down the road. I saw a SUV with something of that nature on them.

Steve

"A Porsche does more then just go fast in a straight line"