How do wheels affect driving performance?

[Matthew Ross]

Hey everyone,

For the past several months, I’ve been driving on a set of aftermarket steel wheels that I bought from Tire Rack. Today, I switched back to the stock Honda alloy wheels. I immediately noticed two things: 1) the car is quieter and 2) the brakes feel a little better. Am I crazy, or can wheels have these effects? I’m thinking the noise reduction deals with the way the wind moves around inside the wheel.

Topic

[Gary]

Bigger wheels=less acceleration due to changing the rear(or front) ratio.
More sidewall=more flex.
Less sidewall=better cornering rougher ride
New tread helps braking because there is more friction.

Just some things off the top of my head

[Andrew Button]

Less sidewall causes more vibration which in turn wears things out quicker. Harsher road feel, more lateral force on hubs and bearings. Best to have oem size and profile of tyre.

[Mike]

I’m guessing your wheels that you changed had different tires on them too. The tire is where the noise is, as opposed to the wheel. I’m guessing you changed from a noisy winter tire on the steel wheel to a quieter all-season tire on the alloy wheel. If that’s the case, that also explains why the braking is better.

[Matthew Ross]

Hey guys,

To clarify, I switched tires from one set of wheels to another. So only the wheels are different. The tires are exactly the same. Still I’m noticing a difference in performance.

[college man]

[quote=”matthewross1987″ post=132071]Hey guys,

To clarify, I switched tires from one set of wheels to another. So only the wheels are different. The tires are exactly the same. Still I’m noticing a difference in performance.[/quote]

Weight reduction steel vs alloy. alloy wins

[Matthew Ross]

Ok, cool. Thanks.

[Andrew Button]

yes, recipricol weight of wheel. Oem is best. Putting 4 OEM spares on even better.

[Lorrin Barth]

I have a hard time believing one could feel the difference between alloys and steel wheels. I’ve switched back and forth and never noticed a difference. Maybe at a 1/4 mile track you might measure a difference.

Now, if the rims were different widths, that will change the profile of the tires and maybe change the handling of the vehicle enough to notice even with same tires.

[Andrew Button]

Unsprung weight on the front end of a drag car will affect the 60′ time, and the height of the tire affects rollout on the staging beams.

[Author]

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