6th Page, Wheels and Tires: This is one area where your insurance company will not appreciate you spending money. Nevertheless, it's one of my favorite topics as it has the ability to make the most profound effect on the aesthetics of a car as well as drastically improving it handling characteristics.
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Got Grip?
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It's very important to take wheels and tires seriously as they are the only thing holding your car to the path you're telling it head down. It makes my skin crawl when I see someone take off a set of wheels and tires that were tuned for the car, only to replace them with a set of huge chrome wheels with the cheapest tires they could find. Being an automotive engineer, I understand the basics of wheels and tires, and I know that they have load ratings and tires have speed ratings. I hope that everyone understands you should not replace a tire with a sidewall rating of 99Y with something rated at 97V. Easily possible with our vehicles. If you don't understand this, there are several articles available to help you understand this on TireRack.com. Please educate yourself before making a mistake that may lead to your demise if you get in a high-speed chase.
All that serious stuff aside, there's two phases to this discussion as well: 1. Wheels: What width, what diameter, what offset, how much should they weigh, forged, cast, or carbon fiber? 2. Tires: Width's, Aspect Ratios, Speed and Load rating for your applications, tread wear rating, and which compound? |
