What are those big thin car tires about?

[Muse]

Around the corner from where I live I just saw a couple of cars with weird looking tires. They are of large diameter but it looks like the thickness (from where the rubber meets the road to the rim itself) is around 2", maybe less. Seems to me that the ride would be very rough, especially on our streets, which are not smooth these days (S.F. East Bay). Both of these cars had bizarre flashy swirly metallic looking affairs where hubcaps normally go (maybe those were hubcaps). What's the story on these tires?

I got specs off one:

Sunny
245/30ZR22 92W XL M+S
Radial Tubeless
SN3890
Extra Load

 

[Elfear]

Just the style some people like. Donks fit in that category although they like the really big wheels. 21" rims with lo-pro tires can look good on bigger cars but even that is pushing it IMO. 20" is about as big as I would go on the average-sized car.

Your question is kind of vague OP. Is there something you wanted to know specifically or were you just wanting to discuss big rims and lo-pro tires?

 

[Throckmorton]

Have you been living under a rock? That's been the style in the ghetto for a long time

 

[skyking]

the smaller sidewalls significantly improve ride comfort on bumpy roads. Too bad we all can't afford them

 

[ayabe]

the smaller sidewalls significantly improve ride comfort on bumpy roads. Too bad we all can't afford them

What if I inflate to sidewall? ;P

I like the new trend, donk wheels with the pep boys special 22" or 24" plastic stick on fender badges. Just in case anyone doubted your wheel size.....

 

[zerocool84]

Have you been living under a rock? That's been the style in the ghetto for a long time

Ghetto? It's not only in the ghetto, practically anyone who gets new wheels puts on low pro tires to make it look more sporty.

 

[punjabiplaya]

low profile tires are the new chrome

 

[JCH13]

Low-profile tires offer performance benefits in suspension tuning because the sidewall is stiffer and thus it is easier to control what the tire does under loading. The stiffer sidewall also improves fuel economy/available whp as they have less rolling resistance, i.e. less energy is used to flex the sidewall as the tire rotates.

Disclaimer: putting huge wheels and low-profile tires on your Corolla is not a great idea. The vehicle, specifically the vehicle's suspension, generally has to be designed to work with a particular wheel/tire combo for positive effects to be gained.

 

[punjabiplaya]

Low-profile tires offer performance benefits in suspension tuning because the sidewall is stiffer and thus it is easier to control what the tire does under loading. The stiffer sidewall also improves fuel economy/available whp as they have less rolling resistance, i.e. less energy is used to flex the sidewall as the tire rotates.

Disclaimer: putting huge wheels and low-profile tires on your Corolla is not a great idea. The vehicle, specifically the vehicle's suspension, generally has to be designed to work with a particular wheel/tire combo for positive effects to be gained.

ah, you edited it. I was about to say, how are bigass rims on your camry going to provide any benefit?

 

[skyking]

What if I inflate to sidewall? ;P

I like the new trend, donk wheels with the pep boys special 22" or 24" plastic stick on fender badges. Just in case anyone doubted your wheel size.....

wait what? It is a 22 or 24 badge? LOL! I'll be watching for that. It reminds me of the window decals. Ya no shit it's a Camaro.

 

[punjabiplaya]

What if I inflate to sidewall? ;P

I like the new trend, donk wheels with the pep boys special 22" or 24" plastic stick on fender badges. Just in case anyone doubted your wheel size.....

penis size is directly related to rim size

 

[ShawnD1]

penis size is directly related to rim size

And fuel efficiency is inversely proportional to penis size (and rim size).

mass moment of inertia

MMoI, in simple terms, is the rotational "weight" of the rims and tires. Larger moment of inertia means the wheel is harder to get moving, and it's harder to stop it. Moment of inertia has a linear increase with mass and a squared increase with radius. It can be simplified as:
I = mk^2 where m is mass and k is the mass' effective distance from the center of the wheel.


Long story short, people with large wheels hate the earth.

 

[exdeath]

You see me rollin on blades, you be hatin.

 

[Arkaign]

Low-profile tires offer performance benefits in suspension tuning because the sidewall is stiffer and thus it is easier to control what the tire does under loading. The stiffer sidewall also improves fuel economy/available whp as they have less rolling resistance, i.e. less energy is used to flex the sidewall as the tire rotates.

Disclaimer: putting huge wheels and low-profile tires on your Corolla is not a great idea. The vehicle, specifically the vehicle's suspension, generally has to be designed to work with a particular wheel/tire combo for positive effects to be gained.

This is true to a point, but there are significant diminishing returns up to a point where things actually become worse. Note the M3-GTR, C6R, etc, all perform magnificently better on the track vs even more powerful street versions, and none of them come with low-profile tires. Some of this is of course the weight reduction and race-tuned suspension and brakes, but some of this is the tires as well. It seems like the rule is that for typical cars people think of for extreme street-legal performance cars (911TT, Z06/ZR1, etc), that 17" to 18" provides the ideal size (with wider than standard size!), and 19" to 20" is more for looks without further gains, and you actually end up with a somewhat fragile vehicle with the rubber-band tires.

http://www.roadandtrack.com/tests/comparison/ultimate-gt-showdown

^^ Beyond the obvious weight cuts, look at the tire size differences.

I can't find it at the moment, but an Aussie outfit did the same type of comparison a few years back, using the same cars (Monaros?), with various wheel/tire configurations, and 17" was the winner.

 

[jlee]

This is true to a point, but there are significant diminishing returns up to a point where things actually become worse. Note the M3-GTR, C6R, etc, all perform magnificently better on the track vs even more powerful street versions, and none of them come with low-profile tires. Some of this is of course the weight reduction and race-tuned suspension and brakes, but some of this is the tires as well. It seems like the rule is that for typical cars people think of for extreme street-legal performance cars (911TT, Z06/ZR1, etc), that 17" to 18" provides the ideal size (with wider than standard size!), and 19" to 20" is more for looks without further gains, and you actually end up with a somewhat fragile vehicle with the rubber-band tires.

http://www.roadandtrack.com/tests/comparison/ultimate-gt-showdown

^^ Beyond the obvious weight cuts, look at the tire size differences.

I can't find it at the moment, but an Aussie outfit did the same type of comparison a few years back, using the same cars (Monaros?), with various wheel/tire configurations, and 17" was the winner.

They're running slicks, dude...tire composition is making much more of a difference than tire size. I'm not saying that 20" wheels/tires are going to give you better performance, but there's more than just wheel/tire size in play here.

 

[Arkaign]

They're running slicks, dude...tire composition is making much more of a difference than tire size. I'm not saying that 20" wheels/tires are going to give you better performance, but there's more than just wheel/tire size in play here.

That's a good point as well. I will find that other article with the comparison of street cars and street tires. The 19" and higher tires actually caused a reduction in performance, while 17" and 18" were about identical, and 16" and lower way too small.

 

[kornphlake]

And fuel efficiency is inversely proportional to penis size (and rim size).

mass moment of inertia

MMoI, in simple terms, is the rotational "weight" of the rims and tires. Larger moment of inertia means the wheel is harder to get moving, and it's harder to stop it. Moment of inertia has a linear increase with mass and a squared increase with radius. It can be simplified as:
I = mk^2 where m is mass and k is the mass' effective distance from the center of the wheel.


Long story short, people with large wheels hate the earth.

Bigger wheels means a higher final gear ratio, according to your other threads a higher gear with a wide open throttle means more love for the earth. Which is it?

You know just enough about physics to make dangerous assumptions, which wouldn't be a problem except you keep changing your assumptions.

 

[Muse]

Just the style some people like. Donks fit in that category although they like the really big wheels. 21" rims with lo-pro tires can look good on bigger cars but even that is pushing it IMO. 20" is about as big as I would go on the average-sized car.

Your question is kind of vague OP. Is there something you wanted to know specifically or were you just wanting to discuss big rims and lo-pro tires?

I just wanted some info of any kind. I'd never seen tires that looked anything like these. They looked bizarre to me, and as I said, my first take was that they'd provide a rough ride. I couldn't begin to imagine why they'd make tires like that or why anyone would buy them. I've been driving for decades...

 

[Muse]

You see me rollin on blades, you be hatin.

Hey, I spent half of last week putting new wheels, bearings and uppers on my quad skates. The old ones were pretty knarly.

I admit, cars are not my forte. I skate or bike when possible, in that order.

 

[Howard]

Bigger wheels means a higher final gear ratio, according to your other threads a higher gear with a wide open throttle means more love for the earth. Which is it?

You know just enough about physics to make dangerous assumptions, which wouldn't be a problem except you keep changing your assumptions.

Bigger wheels does not mean bigger tire OD. Tires, however, generally weigh less than wheels do, in the particular radial region we're talking about.

 

[kornphlake]

Bigger wheels does not mean bigger tire OD. Tires, however, generally weigh less than wheels do, in the particular radial region we're talking about.

I thought we were talking about putting 22" wheels on mid 80's sedans. The factory tire is barely 22" in diameter, adding an inch or two of rubber on top of that does affect the final drive ratio. It doesn't really matter though, I was just feeding the troll.

 

[Zap]

Low-profile tires offer performance benefits in suspension tuning because the sidewall is stiffer and thus it is easier to control what the tire does under loading. The stiffer sidewall also improves fuel economy/available whp as they have less rolling resistance, i.e. less energy is used to flex the sidewall as the tire rotates.

OTOH wheels like that are heavier and thus decrease fuel efficiency and straight line performance.

I thought we were talking about putting 22" wheels on mid 80's sedans.

I once saw one with 36" wheels. I kid you not. It was on... I want to say... a Cutlass Supreme or something like that. Thing looked like a monster truck because it had to be raised for the wheels to fit. And yes, the rear window proudly had some vinyl sticker that said 36". It was on Buckley Road near I94.

 

[Pariah]

Low-profile tires offer performance benefits in suspension tuning because the sidewall is stiffer and thus it is easier to control what the tire does under loading. The stiffer sidewall also improves fuel economy/available whp as they have less rolling resistance, i.e. less energy is used to flex the sidewall as the tire rotates.

Not true. Low profile tires do not provide performance benefits, just the opposite.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_NYWyVHcl0&feature=player_detailpage#t=120s

So you don't have to watch the first 2 minutes of the video to figure out what 2 cars they are comparing. The first car to run the course was an HSV tuned 425HP Commodore (Pontiac G8 in America). The 2nd car is basically the same one but with a supercharger added to produce 630HP (Super Clubby).

 

[Pariah]

OTOH wheels like that are heavier and thus decrease fuel efficiency and straight line performance.

You are correct. Comparing two setups with the same tire circumference and width. The set with the larger rims will be heavier. That extra unsprung mass is quite detrimental to both acceleration and braking, which obviously would decrease fuel economy as well.

 

[HarryLui]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KUKQqFZvjk8&feature=player_detailpage#t=185s