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Wheel Size Question
Gremlin - 3/6/08 at 10:45 PM

What size alloy wheels are best for a BEC Indy with R1 engine?

Not sure if this should be here or in the BEC section so sorry if its wrong.

Are 17" to big/heavy?


Daimo_45 - 3/6/08 at 10:49 PM

Too big and too heavy and would just look dddddddddddddddddaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaammmmmmmmmmmm ugly on a 7 anyway!!!!!!!!


worX - 3/6/08 at 10:57 PM

I guess for an Indy you should probably stretch to 15's...


Steve


blakep82 - 3/6/08 at 11:01 PM

if you want 17s, then go for 17s, its about what you think looks good. not what everyone else thinks.

small wheels will give you better accelertion, bigger wheels will give a better top speed. handling may go a bit off with bigger wheels i think.

but whatever, if you like the look, then do it


MikeR - 3/6/08 at 11:12 PM

i've seen some of our cars with 17's and thought they look great.

Personally, i'm going for 13's with lots of rubber. I like that look. Although by the time i'm finished we'll probably have no rubber left on the planet!


Gremlin - 3/6/08 at 11:34 PM

Wheels just look so much bigger on the 7 than they actually are...

Whats best size? 14 - 15?


tom windmill - 3/6/08 at 11:53 PM

15" with a 50 profile tyre should see you right


mr henderson - 4/6/08 at 06:52 AM

quote:
Originally posted by blakep82
if you want 17s, then go for 17s, its about what you think looks good. not what everyone else thinks.

small wheels will give you better accelertion, bigger wheels will give a better top speed. handling may go a bit off with bigger wheels i think.

but whatever, if you like the look, then do it


But, of course, no difference in overall gearing if the bigger wheels are fitted with lower profile tyres (which is what is normally done on main-stream cars.


blakep82 - 4/6/08 at 07:24 AM

^true enough, i was just thinking of overall diameter


bimbleuk - 4/6/08 at 08:00 AM

Just my opinion but I would pick 13"s for mostly track or 15"s for mostly road if you were after performance and low weight. If you like the look of bigger wheels then go for them.

I've actually got 14"s on mine as I wanted a compromise but now I feel I'm more compromised by the choice of tyres at that size. I can get R888s or AO48s for example but not as wide as I would like.


Gremlin - 4/6/08 at 08:31 AM

As its mainly road I will be using it on the 15" sound ok.

So thats 15" with 50 profile tyres... what width wheel/tyre and does the offset matter?


Humbug - 4/6/08 at 08:44 AM

I've got 14s which look just fine on my car IMHO. However, as mentioned the choice of tyres is limted for 14s, so I might look at getting 13" or 15" wheels when the time comes to replace the tyres


mr henderson - 4/6/08 at 09:23 AM

Something else that might be worth throwing into the consideration pot- bigger wheels with lower profile tyres will have stiffer sidewalls than the same rolling radius produced by smaller wheels with higher profile tyres.

So, it's a question of offsetting better cornering grip (big wheel option) with more comfort (smaller wheel option)


britishtrident - 4/6/08 at 11:07 AM

Fitting any rim that is too wide on a Seven style car will spoil the handling.
The tyres that are available for 17" rims are designed for much heavier cars, the down loads in a BEC or any Sevenish car won't be high enough to get the rubber working.

The tyre profile is also important because the tyre side wall provides a fair bit of the suspension movement that keeps the tyre tread in contact with the road.

How heavy a 17" wheel and tyre will be compared to say 13" depends a lot on the make and type of wheel rim, proper racing rims are less than 1/3 the weight of the rims commonly available which are designed to cope with cars of XJ Jag weight.

Also remember with 17" rims contact with a kerb will most likely destroy both the tyre and the rim.

Most sensible way to make a choice is to study what Catherham supply on their various models.

Personally I would choose narrowish rims between 13" and 15" dia with the rears 1" wider than than the fronts and tyre widths to match


MikeRJ - 4/6/08 at 11:38 AM

quote:
Originally posted by mr henderson
Something else that might be worth throwing into the consideration pot- bigger wheels with lower profile tyres will have stiffer sidewalls than the same rolling radius produced by smaller wheels with higher profile tyres.


And very stiff sidewalls can destroy handling just as easily as making it better!