Pavetim

iTrader: (15)

I hear everywhere on here that taller, like 18 or 19 inch rims will make our cars handle like crap, why? I understand there is less rubber but the ride is the suspensions job and not the tires job. so why would bigger rims make the ride crappy?

Juicy J

iTrader: (5)

I am no expert, but it completely makes sense to me.

Imagine you had a large marble, and you rapped it with 1 layer of rubber bands and you dropped it on the ground. Now imagine if you had a marble and rapped it in several layers of rubber bands and dropped it on the ground.

The suspension does affect it a lot, but the tires affect the ride as well. The tires will absorb those little bumps.

Pavetim

iTrader: (15)

I do understand that but my theory is you buy your tires and stuff for traction not suspension. I know it does absorb shock, but really if you get a well adjusted suspension you should be able to run 18's or 19's without a problem, I would think, maybe i'm wrong.

DopdBrd

iTrader: (25)

Think of it in an anatomy way....

So you are wearing shoes that have thick soles on them. You are on your feet all day. Every joint in your body take "shock" while you walk or stand all day long. You wear very comfortable shoes with thick soles and throughout the day you do not get fatigued or sore. Think of those as 15" tires and wheels.

Now, put on a pair of sandles and go throughout your regular day. Your feet get sore. You get fatigued a lot easier and at the end of the day you find that your joints are sore, your back is sore, and you are tired. Think of those as 18" tires and wheels.

Which pair would make your day easier and which pair would be more "comfortable"? Even though your joints take the "shock" of everyday movement, your shoes still play a big role in keeping you comfortable.

The suspension on the car will make it ride smoother, but with not much padding in between the ground and the car, no matter how "soft" your suspension is, you will still have a rougher ride.

Get what I'm saying?

MjMaro

iTrader: (11)

For traction you have to think about the sidewall height. You have much more sidewall on a 15-16" tire than you do on an 18-19" tire. Because of this, there is more room for the tire to "wrinkle" and grab the track instead of just spinning on top of it. Here is an extreme example: http://www.flickr.com/photos/7992614@N08/1480768032/

When the tire wrinkles it make the contact patch bigger, giving you more traction. Less sidewall = less (or no) wrinkle, especially on street tires. Hope this helps to explain your question.

EDIT: Just realized I answered the opposite of the questions you were asking, however the larger the sidewall the more shock can be absorbed through the tire, Dopd gives a good analogy for this.

Juicy J

iTrader: (5)

I understand what you are saying, but I still disagree.

The suspension is going to have to go up and down depending on what you hit in the road. If you have more sidewall the tires are just going to absorb the energy, or more of at least, instead of making the suspension go up and down, which you would feel to some degree... especially with a solid rear car like an F Body

I know exactly what I want to say in my head, I just dont know exactly how to explain it.

'Trust'

iTrader: (24)

There have been several very good explanations here, you can't really ask a question you don't know the answer to then discredit the ones you are given. Just my .02.

Obviously rubber is much less dense than metal is, so bigger tires, i.e. a tire on a 15" wheel has more room, at the atomic level, to absorb the shock of road conditions better than a tire that is on a 18" wheel. Although they are both rubber there is less material to absorb it, make sense?

With your logic, riding on bare rims, no tires at all should be just a smooth of a ride as riding on tires because it is all in the suspension travel, do you believe that to be true?

Juicy J

iTrader: (5)

Thats a perfect explanation. Pretty much proves the point.

JD_AMG

Everyone has their own opinion on what rides "good" and what doesnt, but with all else equal a stock 17" wheel will ride better than anything bigger. Part of the problem also is its seems most of the people getting the bigger wheels are staying on either stock suspension, or cheapo stuff, both of which ride and handle terrible compared to a properly setup suspension.

Pavetim

iTrader: (15)

I wasn't discrediting anybody bud and I do understand. Just didn't realize they made that much of a difference my maxima has 18's and rides good. granted the sidewalls are 45 series though so that makes a difference too. Sorry if I made it sound like I didn't believe you that was not my intention. but all good points i got it now, thanks alot. still gonna go with 18's though just look so good.

DBurgLT1

I've just always thought of the tires as the first part of the suspension. Everyone's ideas make sense to me?

Saturn5

The difference in tires matters, but the wheel weight also matters. Most larger wheels weigh more than the factory wheels. That's more mass that the springs and shocks have to control - and it's rotating mass to boot. It's a known fact heavier wheels slow your car down. They also make it ride and handle worse. You can compensate with different springs and shock valving, but you still have that unsprung mass to deal with.

Reducing unsprung weight makes a much bigger improvement in performance, ride, and handling than removing sprung weight from the rest of the car.

99Bluz28

iTrader: (35)

IMO,
With all thing being equal the shorter sidewalls of 18 and 19s will have a harsher ride quality. The real problem is people buying the cheapest tires they can find, mounting them on ungodly heavy wheels, while running the air pressure to high!
With a decent set of tires, the correct air pressure, and wheels that don't weigh a ton 18 and 19s will handle great.