Switching to 17’’ tires
- Thread starter wrpsuite
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TonyB66
New member
It's the rolling diameter that effects speedo accuracy, with that the odometer too. One can have a smaller diameter tire with a larger wheel...
Weight impacts performance, in many respects, acceleration, braking, suspension response, fuel economy, et al. The location of weight matters too. Wanting 33s or thereabouts, I decided upon 17" wheels, heavier than the same in 16, but the tire on the 17" wheel has less mass than the comparable tire diameter for a 16-inch wheel. Mass closer to the hub is less impactful to performance... In the whole scheme of things minor, but for some, a consideration.
Weight impacts performance, in many respects, acceleration, braking, suspension response, fuel economy, et al. The location of weight matters too. Wanting 33s or thereabouts, I decided upon 17" wheels, heavier than the same in 16, but the tire on the 17" wheel has less mass than the comparable tire diameter for a 16-inch wheel. Mass closer to the hub is less impactful to performance... In the whole scheme of things minor, but for some, a consideration.
IBallEngineer
New member
A few factors here, the rim size is not a consideration for speedo readings. Measure your current tire diameter and then the new tires. Your reading will be affected by the percentage of difference. You should also check the accuracy of your current tires using a gps of any kind. I went from 265/70-16 to 265/70-17 and actually got more accurate. The tire was a little taller, I don't remember by how much. More likely my 16" tires were just worn and the diameter difference was negligible.
westdiablo
New member
1" bigger diameter. Car sits 1/2" taller.
Speedo reads 3% slower.
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dogtail
New member
15",16",17",18" rim doesn't matter, its only tire diameter. If you take your current size tire and your desired new tire you can do height and revs per mile calculation on this very handy site -
Tire Size Calculator
Tire Size Calculator
phattyduck
Elite Member
Need to know what your current wheel/tire setup is...
265/70-17 is almost exactly the same rolling diameter as 265/75-16. If you keep the same rolling diameter, performance will be very similar (unless you change types of tire at the same time).
-Charlie
Jidaran
New member
I saw that Tony alluded to the fact that a bigger rim with the same size tire would mean less weight, but that this change might be so small as to make no difference. I wasn't sure if there were any other differences - from a performance perspective or even as far as tire selection.
From what I've seen the 4th and 5th Gens generally come with 17" Rims, even thought the tires are close to the same size as the 3rd Gen. I wasn't sure if that shift was due to practical considerations, or if it was just for aesthetics.
TonyB66
New member
Just to be clear, I didn't mean total weight, but the tire weight or weight further outward from the center or hub. An additional pound of weight at or around the hub will be less impactful then a pound further outward... People who are very weight-conscious consider such, usually track guys though. I do little things like this, often out of habit, understanding that the real world results are likely very little. There is a cumulative effect of such an approach, and weight considerations are always factors in my projects.
jwall5280
New member
I made this switch to 17 inch rims from my stock 16s, not a huge difference in performance, just notice I sit a little higher and it looks better. I can kind of feel bumps a little bit more, but that could be due to other factors like needing more air in my tires maybe...
