Rim Decision

[nathan1]

Definitly #2 in 18's Yeah boy!!

[mde3]

The #2 design looks better, also because the support ring is closer to the center of the rim...it might be less vulnerable to bending over serious potholes (although with 9" rims this may also be an illusion)... Also important to know what metal alloy is being used..go with the stronger if possible....The weight of these rims and tires is going to be way too much for a stock powered 8v btw..they will really inhibit braking, turning in, and acceleration...due to the excessive added weight of what I am assuming will be 235 x 35 profile tires (for 9" rims)... Know that adding one pound of unsprung weight is like adding 10 lbs weight to the car. Will lower gas mileage as well.

So if your net wheel/tire combo weighs in at 27 lbs..not all that unlikely btw...it will be like adding around 400 lbs to the car..as well as all that extra gyroscopic inertia when steering and braking.

"The Grinch"

[mike919]

Yeah, thanks..... but it cant be much better with 17's can it?

If 17's will help my car out then i might just go in that direction because i really like the power and handling of this car.


ALSO the rims i plan on will not be 9inchs in the rear, im going with 18x8 all the way around.

[mde3]

Well I know everyone seems to be in love with the larger rims and tires, as we see them on so many "hot sports cars"...However remember these cars have a lot more power to begin with, and were designed for these larger rim/tire assemblies, where the springs, shocks. suspension linkage and final drive ratio's were matched to the heavier brake, and larger wheel and low profile (high rebound) tire assemblies. Your suspension was tuned for a specific unsprung weight too...you can go outside these boundaries a bit..but too far and you can really hurt the handling characteristics...

I switched back to 16's on one of my 16V's simply because..the wheels weighed the same as the stock MB wheels, and the final combination (suspension was also modded) made for much more predictable handling in daily driving conditions..even though I had a smaller tire patch. The car is much better over short period bumps at the apex of a tight turn, than with the 9 lb heavier 17" wheel/lower profile tire combination I was using..The tires would get aiborne for a fraction of a second with the heavier lower profile wheel tire combination..Even though they may have had more grip when actually on the ground, they do not grip well while in the air....

[mike919]

So would you say that 17's would be a decent size rim?

[BabyHands]

17" is perfect for the w201. Perfect car to wheel ratio.

[FLYNAVY]

Yeah 17" is good.....18" works, but it is pushing it. 19 just looks ghetto in my opinion. Evo's can probably get away w/ 19's but why would you want to....it just hampers your performance that much more. Another problem w/ 19's is the offset game you get into, and more importantly the width of the wheel. I can't stand tall skinny wheels (as viewed from behind) which are tucked way too far inside the fender. If you are going to run plus size wheels, you need to have them fat as well IMHO.....otherwise it just looks off, just a detail that a lot of people overlook. There is simply no way that you can run 19's on a stock w201 w/o doing this, and even then I would be skeptical about the every day drive-ability (with rubbing, etc).

[mike919]

17's i can live with. But when you all say its good im not talking about looks, i want to know if 17's are going to hurt my cars performance.

[BabyHands]

That depends on several things, such as the weight of the rim, tire choice etc. Put some heavy ass 17's and some sporty low profile tires on and most likely your performance will suffer.

[mike919]

I was planning on 40 profile tires, the rim weight i really have no idea.

But why would lower profile tires make my performance drop? Wheel revolutions?

[BabyHands]

Originally Posted by mike919

I was planning on 40 profile tires, the rim weight i really have no idea.

But why would lower profile tires make my performance drop? Wheel revolutions?

The low profile tires will contribute to a harsher ride quality. For example, let's say you have a 190 on some 15" rims with some fat sidewalls, when your car hits a bump you will just kinnda feel a subdued thud. With a 17" wheel and super low profile tires that same bump will be like a huge slam.

[mike919]

Yeah i know that but when you said performance i thought you meant something like handling performance not the ride quality.

[mde3]

Trust me when you are pulling the apex of a hard corner and you hit that bump...the tire rebound will be much faster due to the smaller volume of air in the tire..the tire is effectively a shock absorber when driving, and low profile tires have less absorption than the taller side wall tires.

If you are running a heavy 17" rim..and they can vary as much as 5 - 7 lbs in weight, and a low profile tire..the rebound of a bump will definitely affect your performance..not just ride quality.

Try taking a stiff assed suspension on a gravel road that has washboard, and see where you end up while drifting a tight turn when you hit the washboard....a compliant suspension may lean a bit more, but it will suck up the bumps and let you come out of the corner nicely sideways but in control...a stiff suspension will lead you quickly into the field or the ditch. I just use that example to illustrate the effect of short period bump absorption.... A car's suspension should always be tuned to it's most frequent application. If you only ride on well maintained and smooth asphalt roads..then you probably will not have much problem with the larger (heavier) wheels and low profile tires, other than possibly reduced acceleration, reduced braking and more understeer

[BabyHands]

Thank you mde3, your post illustrated what I was getting at.

I know when I'm in my lowered 16vlv I have to be quite selective about which roads I decide to smash on. They gotta be nice smooth roads. Any big bumps and the handling gets a little scary.