Why bigger rims

Smaller wheels on the other hand usually make a car feel more comfortable especially when it comes to driving over potholes and rougher road surfaces. If you are thinking of pimping out your ride by adding massive alloys just be warned that the bigger the wheel the bigger the tyres and therefore the higher the rolling resistance. The more something resists, the more energy is needed to move it. Therefore you are going to burn more fuel to move your car.

Also, larger tyres weigh more so this too will also negatively affect fuel consumption. So, if you are thinking about switching tyre size you should really think about what it is you want to get out of your tyres. If you want to improve handling and performance maybe you should upsize your wheels. On the other hand, if you want to improve noise and comfort and fuel economy you could look at putting on smaller wheels.

Open journalism No news is bad news Support The Journal Your contributions will help us continue to deliver the stories that are important to you. However, sometimes just changing tyre brand and type will improve these areas without having to change size.

Tyres are manufactured with these various requirements in mind and you can search online to find the right tyre type for you. Also, be careful how wheel size affects the aesthetics of your car. Like us on Facebook and and follow us on Twitter for the latest updates.

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Cars, then, that have been designed to feature large wheels from the off, or those with more advanced suspension systems, can mitigate the influence of the extra size and weight. There may yet be a technical solution that completely offsets the effect, too. Bigger, heavier wheels often mean worse fuel economy, while the cost of tyres is also worth considering. Using tyre comparison site Blackcircles.

Finally, bigger wheels are far easier to kerb, a particular problem for SUVs that get used on rough terrain. Advertisement Back to top Is it still worth it? For some, yes. Bigger wheels help offset the sheer visual bulk of modern cars, while the lower tyre profile in theory improves cornering stability. While some chassis development engineers accept the impact on ride comfort that big wheels have as inevitable, the very best consider it a challenge not to accept.

But what they have in common, as high-performance derivatives, is the happy combination of advanced suspension technology, performance tyre technology and extra suspension tuning that tends to be lavished on go-faster models. Porsche has yet to launch the Turbo version of the current Macan , but the pre-facelift version rode with a versatility denied by lesser variants.

The key here is to make sure you buy a car with optional adaptive damping. Matt Saunders. Your car can be made to look badass and more compact in side profile. But how does a big set of wheels affect your car in terms of performance? Are you needlessly sapping the life out of your time and your handling? To get a wheel spinning, you need to apply a torque through its axis. This torque value can be calculated using the radius of the wheel and the tangential force produced by the wheel.

We can treat the torque value as a constant assuming your engine produces a stable torque figure which therefore means that if the wheel radius changes, the driving force acting from the wheel must also change. Now, increase that wheel diameter to a set of inch Need for Speed style, fake diamond cut rims from your local Halfords.

Run the calculation through again and that driving force will decrease to Newtons. So, increasing your wheel size will decrease the driving force from your wheels which will culminate in a decrease in acceleration of said wheels. This is all assuming that every other component like the engine, driveshafts, gears and differentials are kept stock, making them specifically engineered for the original wheel size.

Car and Driver ran an interesting test a few years ago to show just how much difference wheel sizes can make to acceleration using a VW Golf.